Arenal

You can do a Google image search on the "Arenal Volcano" and find some pretty spectacular pictures. I would know because I have many of them on my computer (at home, at work) and on my phone. I've been staring at these pictures for months as we planned the trip to Costa Rica. I've read about this volcano and the 4 other "active" volcanoes in Costa Rica...a lot. I've got the pictures and I've learned all sorts of interesting things. I know that this tiny little country sits atop the Pacific Ring of Fire, which means that it is not at all uncommon for super-heated rocks to go flying out of the earth. I know that Arenal has been consistently active since 1968 when this great chimney of the earth blew its top. I know that there are about 100 other volcanoes scattered around the country. And I know that the people of Costa Rica are apparently so fascinated with these things that they make paved roads so people can drive right up to them, they have even made some of them wheelchair accessible and installed viewing decks around the cratered tops of others. They like their volcanoes.


I know all this because I am so utterly afraid of them. And I am in awe of them. I've never seen a real volcano before. I made one in school and stunk up the house with vinegar and baking soda until I was forced to destroy my magnificent clay creation. But after spending months reading and looking at pictures, I finally had the chance to see one up close and personal. There is just something weird and wonderful about it.

Here you are, in a country sitting on top of gobs of hot molten lava, and rather than going somewhere else less likely to blow up, you pay good money to get as close as you legally can. That doesn't make a lot of sense, but it is awesome. So after driving 3-4 hours we get to the town of La Fortuna. I got out of the car next to the local cathedral, did a 360 and asked where the volcano was. I thought it was nearby. Then the clouds cleared a little and there it was. Literally right in front of me. But I couldn't see the top of it. Disappointed, I grumbled my way through a few shops and then we found a Burger King. That was a sweet site. And they had an air conditioner. La Fortuna is north of the "Central Valley". So we went from a very comfortable 70-75 degrees in Atenas to a balmy 85-90 with 3000% humidity. So it felt like home. After we ate our somewhat real cheeseburgers Jeremy, Sarah, Heather and I decided to trek around to the other side of the volcano. Due to my extensive and careful research I knew that one side had a clearer view. And from where I stood in town, it just didn't look like the pictures. So off we went and finally found the "observatory". We drove through the woods for a while up this very unpaved road to a parking area and a wide open view of Arenal. Oh, here is the sign you see when you reach the observatory:



Not exactly a comforting sign under the circumstances, but we dutifully complied by backing into a parking space. But wait, there's more. Here is the other sign:



You may be able to see the part that has been blacked out. It says "Maximum Stay Time 20 Minutes." So once upon a time, you could only stay in this area 20 minutes. Wonder why? Could it be that your 3000 meters from one of the worlds most active volcanoes?

For contrasting purposes, I want you to see one of the pictures I did not take. I found this one online. It is a night time shot of a very active Arenal:


Pretty cool, right? So this is what I am thinking about when I get there. I'm thinking of a very noticeable trail of lava spewing out of this mountain. That was not the view we saw. But what we saw was still spectacular.







Fast forward to our last night in Costa Rica. We were having dinner with a local family. The husband asks if we had seen a volcano yet. So I told him of our trip to Arenal. He asked if we were there after dark. I said no. He said "So you didn't see the lava?" I said "Nope." He said "Well, actually you did." I said "Huh???"

So take another look at the last picture above. You see that kind of smooth part that looks like mud sliding down the mountain? That is apparently lava, at least according to our local friend. We just couldn't tell in daylight. Once again, pretty cool right? That's what I meant when I said it was weird and wonderful all at the same time. It felt weird standing at the base of this perfect looking volcano that could (I thought) blow up at any moment, but it was also wonderful to realize that I knew who made it. It was designed for a purpose that is sometimes violent, but was made a thing of beauty. "Awe-inspiring" is the term that came to mind. Maybe I'm starting to see why the Ticos would make it as easy as possible to view these things.

Seeing Arenal, even during the day time, was one of those moments you never forget. A truly amazing experience. But the more amazing thing is that those moments happened pretty much every single day of our trip.





John, Jonah, and Jeremy.


Jeremy, Jonah, Sarah, and Heather.


Jonah found a Costa Rica National Park stick to play with...


On the way out of the Arenal observatory, we saw some guys stopped in the road. We all wondered what they were doing, then Sarah suddenly asks "Is that a snake in that tree that they are looking at?" I did what any rational person would do...I jumped out of the car with my camera. I bravely asked the nice gentlemen what they were looking at. And to my great relief, they said "Toucan!"






A couple of the many fantastic scenes on the way back from Arenal. I think this was on the way to a town called Zarcero, but I'm not certain. Wherever it was, it was worth the trip.




Hasta la próxima,

Juan