Alajuela Province is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua. The Cordillera Central (the Central Mountain Range) runs through its borders allowing for some awesome scenic views. The two most active volcanoes in Costa Rica - the Poas Volcano and the Arenal Volcano - are also found within this province. We spent several days here, doing and seeing a lot of interesting things. The province is a popular vacation destination offering a host of outdoor activities; in fact, when we visited we ran into hundreds of teens from the U.S. on school trips and community-sponsored tours.  Below are pictures from just two of the sites we visited while we were in Alajuela Province. The first was a visit to an organic coffee farm near the Poas Volcano to learn about the process of growing, harvesting and processing coffee beans . The second group of photos is from an elementary school we visited as part of the tour company's Day in the Life program. The teachers and students were so happy to see us. The kids put on a dance show, some wearing traditional masks, with a few from our group dancing right along with them. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to tour the school grounds.

Alajuela Province (part 1)