Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica
“The Earth is God's pinball machine and each quake, tidal wave, flash flood and volcanic eruption is the result of a TILT that occurs when God, cheating, tries to win free games.” - Tom Robbins
A little over 5000 feet above sea level the Arenal volcano has until recently been the most active in Central America and was considered one of the world’s ten most active volcanoes. The last eruption occurred in July 1968. Our tour guide’s parents lived in the area when the eruption occurred. His mother 8 months pregnant with him, gathered his two older siblings and rode out with her children to safety in advance of the lava from the volcano. Wowza!
During our two days there the volcano was shrouded in clouds until one lucky evening most of the group decided to take advantage of the natural hot springs in the area and I decided to indulge in a cocktail and commune with nature. As the evening advanced the breeze blew the clouds away revealing the peak. My server was very poetic and referred to the clouds as a coronet on the peak. While we had talked about needing a sacrifice to see the peak, I had not realized how rare it is at this time of the year for the cloud cover to part.
We were right in the transition period between the wet and dry season and while it rained every night and we got some spray once in a while we did not get rained on. We did carry our raingear with us all the time, as our insurance against the rain.
As we left San Jose early AM on our way to Arenal, our first stop was at the artisan town of Sarchi best known for its beautiful wooden elaborately painted ox-carts.
A national symbol of Costa Rica, the ox carts played a key role in the country’s history. Starting in the 1800s the rural roads were rough and ox carts were the sole means of transportation for coffee beans and other goods to nearby and far away markets and ports.
A large oversize ox cart is a symbol of the town of Sarchi and holds pride of place in the town square. Homes are painted with the beautiful decorations as are lamp posts, bridges. It’s quite a pleasure to drive through the town. Of course, this is a key stop for beautiful local souvenirs. We dutifully stopped and enriched the local economy in our small way.
Next stop was the town of Alfaro Ruiz with it’s beautiful church, and gardens blooming with flowers. Couples walk through these arches on their way to the church to celebrate their marriage. Locals say that it gives them that final chance to contemplate on their relationship and the solemnity of entering into a marriage.
Here is Costa Rica, the word “soda” does not mean a carbonated drink of mixer as it does to most of us particularly the ones who live in the USA. Here it refers to a restaurant.
Speaking about language we had several Spanish speakers amongst the group; one from Mexico and a couple from Argentina. It was interesting to me how words between the various American regions are different or have different meanings.
A stop in the town of Fortuna at the base of the volcano on our way to our hotel for the night. This bakery looks like the best fortune to a bunch of hungry travelers, doesn’t it.
The town got its name because of its good fortune in escaping any and all lava from the volcanic eruption which flowed in the opposite direction to where the town is located.
Costa Rica is so green and different regions grow different crops but pineapples are a big cash crop here. Pineapple fields spread as far as the eye can see. Do you know how to pick the best pineapple when shopping in a grocery store?
One of the many tips that we picked up from our tour direction. Close your eyes, stab out and pick up the one your hands land on. That’s how simple it is. All features have already developed when the fruit is picked. Who’d have guessed?
Given all the pineapple history floating in my head, it was inevitable that I ordered a Pina colada as my cocktail of choice that evening on my return to the hotel.
I decided on a small snack to go with my drink. Apparently, the meaning of an appetizer in the United States of America is very different from an appetizer here in Costa Rica.
A group of ten or more people couldn’t have done full justice to this, so needless to say I barely made a dent in the plate. My drink was delicious and went a long way to soothing all the tiredness out of a long day.
While I was trying to watch the drifting clouds over the volcano hoping for a glimpse of the top of the volcano without needing to sacrifice something major this beautiful colored bird came to visit with me awhile. Alas he was not interested in my nachos but he tarried a while with me.
An excursion to the wetlands and the Cano Negro wild life refuge took us to the nearby border of Nicaragua. No fuss, no muss, no barbed wire just a little stone planted on the banks of the river. We might have even crossed over into Nicaragua as we backed out boat to return to our starting point.
This howler monkey has clearly done a lot of jumping and playing around because it is clearly exhausted and enjoying a well deserved nap in the trees. Actually the entire family of monkeys were spread out in the trees with their tail wrapped around the branch to keep them secure in their perch.
Our first sighting of a Cormorant perched on this branch by the water fishing for it’s food.
A lot of emerald basilisks in this area, this time the female of the species. A true Jesus Christ moment as the lizard jumped off the branch that it was resting on into the water as we approached and scampered away walking on water.
They are fast and I just managed to film the jump and water landing before it disappeared from sight.
Vampire bats take refuge on the underside of this tree. They were fluttering at the danger of human species approaching their resting space.
This local fisherman added a nice element to our trip especially when he offered his catch of the day that he ad snared using a lure and a rope.
Bright beautiful Costa Rica, Multi-colored homes, often with bright colorful murals painted along the front and sides, walls bubbling with color and happiness.
We saw a lot of these white faced Coatimundi on our drive out of Arenal along the side of the road. This one came to investigate a little closer at the ranger station which was a starting point for our nature hike in the local area.
Next stop Monteverde and the cloud forest of Costa Rica and the adventure of crossing the narrow bridge which our coach driver referred to as Oh My God bridge.