Costa Rica - May 2007 - Volcano Area (part 1)

	*Jay & Nicole's Trip to Costa Rica - May 2007* *(click any small picture to get enlargement)*

Cruise (part 1) Cruise (part 2) Central Coast Area Northern Beaches Volcano (part 1) Volcano (part 2) previous this page *This page picks up near the end of Jay & Nicole's trip to Costa Rica..*

*We left the northern Pacific coast area after spending a few days on the beaches. We drove towards the volcanic area in the interior of the country.* The route took us through the bustling town of Liberia. An international airport opened up a few years ago and it helped the entire area to boom. It's much easier to fly to Liberia and drive 30 minutes to the beaches than to fly into San Jose and driving for multiple hours. *Countries need to make large investments, like airports, in order to spur economic activity.*

Our plan was to visit the Arenal volcano, which is currently active and spewing lava. The volcanic area is actually part of a string of volcanoes that run from Alaska all the way down to South America. The volcanic activity uplifted the land that now makes up Central American. Costa Rica has some of the most active and violent volcanoes ... and we wanted to see some of them! From Liberia we followed the Pan-American highway until the town of Canas. From there we took smaller roads, but they were paved and in good condition.

The interior of Costa Rica is hilly and largely un-inhabited. The land is mainly forested and can only be used for cattle grazing. The rainfall is consistent all year round, so trees and bushes stay green and grow continuously.

*After Tilaran we could see the lake; we took a break and began to review the detailed maps.* We had a 4-wheel drive vehicle and decided to take a shortcut underneath the lake. We aimed to get to a small ranch-like hotel at the bottom of the lake, where the red dots end. The first portion of the road (purple dots) was dirt, but in good condition.

*I was somewhat surprised when we got our first glimpse of the lake. I expected the lakeshore to be full of lodges and the lake to be crowded with speed boats.* *In reality, the lake was very quiet and serene.* *We were ahead of schedule, so we took many picture breaks.*


*The southern shore was tree-lined and quite steep.*	*I was still impressed at their use of small trees as fence posts.*	Oops, a bit of a puddle ... ... no problem for our rental car.


*We finally got an open view of our desination ... Arenal volcano ... isolated and very majestic!*


We then came upon a small bridge. On the map above, it's where the dots change from purple to red. Nicole verified the bridge was passable ... but only barely; something just didn't seem right!

*Looking backwards, we could tell that we had already traversed about half of the lake.* *Clouds began moving in from the west ... but we didn't really care since we were traveling east.*


*The road was not maintained very well, which was quite fun in the beginning. We fully used the 4-wheel drive aspect of the car as we bounded carelessly through the rain forest & across streams.***

*The total distance to our destination was not very far, but we could not drive fast and had to wiggle into the hillside every time there was a river to cross.* *The volcano was luring us closer though, like a strong magnet ...* *... or a devilish drug !*


*Nicole had the job of testing the rivers, since she could not drive the car .... good for me! A few rocks had to be moved in this case.*		*We saw buildings in the hills, but all the properties had fences.*

We came to the mouth of a particularly big river and had to drive high into the hill before the road crossed it. From this highland point we took a snack break ... luckily Jay had grabbed some cupcakes and bread from the breakfast buffet.

*The view of the volcano was getting much better as we progressed. With rain threatening, we had to take advantage of the current view.* *We began driving again to lessen the chances of getting stuck on these roads if it rained hard.*

*We went around a few bends ... and then my heart sunk ....*

*... as we had come to a really big river. We could see the road on the other side ... but can we cross?*

*I was nominated to check this river out ...* *... at first it was OK ... but the further I went, the deeper it got ... and the current was quite strong.* *It wouldn't be smart to cross and end up floating downstream.*

*As we looked across the river and into the hills, we could make out a big building that was probably our hotel.* *Afterwards we verified that it was the hotel we wanted ... but during this time of year the only way to gain access is from the other side of the lake ... dang!*		*We were so close, but could not go any further. It was really sad to think that we had to turn around and go all the way back.* *The rain clouds were building from behind us ... and we were running very low on gas; I hadn't noticed that the gas lamp had come on ... not good!*

We went back to the lake to see if there were any other routes ... but we couldn't find any. Since time had become critical, we could no longer take any breaks. I took a few last pictures of the volcano before we started back. Our carefree attitude had turned much more sullen :(

We back-tracked along the red-dotted route, driving as fast as we could. We knew what to expect and made good time ... slipping, sliding & sending mud flying everywhere ... a road rally! After re-crossing the small bridge, a local directed us to a quicker route to find gas ... along the blue-dotted highland route.


We beat the rain, but found that the gas stations in the small towns were already closed ... yikes! After driving on 'empty' for what seemed like an eternity, we finally found a gas station near the lake. We filled up and let out a sigh of relief. We then had to traverse over the top of the lake and head towards the hotels near the volcano. Only later did we realize that we also had a flat tire; whew!

We selected a hotel from the guidebook and got there well after dark. We checked in and found a place to have a nice, relaxing dinner. This didn't turn out to be the kind of day we had expected ... at all!

The next day we toured the hotel complex, which consisted of many stand-alone duplex buildings. In the pool and restaurant area we could access the internet and search for attractions in the area.


*Our room was in a building surrounded by greenery; the atmosphere was totally relaxing.*

*The garden areas of the resort were amazing. It must take an army of gardeners to maintain.* *It is probably easy to get the plants to grow, but the initial layout and the continual maintenance is what would take a lot of effort.*


*Hummingbirds even came by ...* *... and wanted their picture taken.*


*A line of thunderstorms pass close by; rain was on and off.*	*We tried to figure out where the volcano was supposed to be, but the clouds blocked the view; we couldn't even see the foothills!*

*Even though it was a rainy day, we decided to visit the nearby Arenal Hot Springs ... where we would be spending most of our time in the water anyway.* *The pool and tub areas looked nice, but were not that different from what we had at the hotel.*

This particular resort is rather special since it has multiple volcanic streams running through it. The rain that lands on the volcano is super-heated and flows downhill in the streams that pass through this property; the best thing is that the water doesn't smell like sulphur (rotten eggs)!
*We set up our 'camp' on some protected chairs near a waterfall. There were not many people visiting today.*


Over the past few decades the owners have cleaned up the streams and made terraces and pools; every portion of water is now accessible to visitors. When it is crowded, we can imagine that every little pool has a person sitting in the surprisingly hot, and clear, water.


*In between our dips into the hot water, we took walks along the many paths. We initially had to closely follow the map, but quickly learned the layout.*


*The vegetation and flowers were all quite colorful ... it was too bad that the sunlight was blocked by all the rain clouds.*


*The mangrove trees and their strange root system thrived in the low-lying areas.* *Imagine getting stuck in the middle of a grove of these trees. It would be nearly impossible to get out of ... unless you could swing around like Tarzan!*


*The red plastic-like flowers were our favorite and are common in Central and South America.*


The tall trees had roots hanging down, ivy growing up, and bromelias hanging onto each branch. As we finished our walk it began raining real hard. We sat in the water for a while longer, enjoyed a bottle of wine, and then dried off & headed back to the hotel for a quite evening studying tour books. To continue the story, go to the last page via the controls below:

Cruise (part 1) Cruise (part 2) Central Coast Area Northern Beaches Volcano (part 1) Volcano (part 2) this page last page