Great Day!
- up early and soon on the hike to the first Volcano - a dormant volcano last erupting 35,000 years ago. Now a days the center if this beast is filled with 225 ft deep lake that you can swim in.
Quite an amazing experience swimming in the center of a volcano. Again, like in Ometepe Nicaragua the top of the Volcano was covered in a cloud. We couldn't even see the lake until we climbed down into the crater and got with 50 ft or so. Apparently the clouds that were passing had also settled in to the crater filling it coming down right to the water level. We ended up meeting up with a handful of other small groups doing similar hikes but no one wanted to brave the cold and go for a dip. Figuring 'how often do you get this opportunity', Shawn and gave it a
whirl - frickin' cold! - that cold where its kind of hard to catch you breath completely. Shawn had a wild hair so I reluctantly at first followed his idea of trying to disappear into the cloud so they couldn't see us from the shore.
Kind of scary - but thought eh, just a little farther, and then was committed. (got to get this picture from Sarah or Anna if it exists). Once I had enough I flipped to the back paddle float and thought happy serene thoughts. And by the time we walked out I was thoroughly exhausted but really really great! What a refreshment - great massage, and feeling limber the continuation of the hike!
On around back of the Volcano and for a couple more hours of hiking, really just mesmerized by the diversity of plant life and in such strange creations.
(plenty more picture...this blog only lets me do one at a time - so takes forever)
Shawn and I really taking our time and making a concerted effort not to hike to fast where we end up having to stare always where I our feet where instead of what was all around us. We'd often find some new flower, or leaf, or berry, or tree, - anything really just oddities with strange patterns and colors and textures. Feeling like a little kid just constantly getting side tracked...
on to:
- Volcano Arenal - the main tourist destination and the reason La Fortuna became a major tourist town....however it stopped spitting lava over a year ago. Bad news the local tourism economy here. Everywhere in town is still advertising the lava, and some flat out lying and making up reasons why you can't see the lava - the main one is because of rain. Nonetheless, the history of the place, and fact that it could blow any minute I'm sure will keep em' coming. But phew what a view it must have been - some of the picture of all the lava coming down are spectacular - and to think it poured lava for decades!
- swam at Dante water falls - and washed the volcanic mud off our faces!
-stopped at a 'hot river' - eminating from a spring coming from Arenal Volcano - really neat.
-stopped on the way back to see red eyed tree frog.
Prices:
$40 per person - little bit of a rip maybe - considering we probably could have done it for $20 or under with out the guide. However the guide ended up being really helpful - showing lots of things we would have missed, and explaining we never would have known, and a lot of headaches planning out own rides. Not bad.
1800 Colones dinner - good deal for costa rica
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