Arenal
Arenal Volcano, was one of the ten most active
volcanoes in the world until very recently.
On almost a daily basis, red-hot rocks crashed
down its steep slopes and volcanic grumbles
produced huge ash columns above the crater.
Arenal has maintained constant activity since
the time it re-awoke, after a span of nearly
400 years, with a huge eruption in 1968.
When Arenal Volcano violently erupted on
the morning of 29th July, 1968 it spewed ash, rocks and gas
for 3 consecutive days. When the smoke cleared,
the villages of Tabacon, Pueblo Nuevo, and
San Luis were buried under debris. 87 people
had lost their lives. Out of this catastrophic
tragedy, La Fortuna (The Fortune) was born
as the town centre and village for the Arenal
Volcano area. The charming town of La Fortuna
sits just 4 miles (6.4 km) away from the
Arenal Volcano.
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| View from our suite |
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| Smoke bellowing from the top |
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| Crossing Arenal Lake |
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| View from the lake |
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Rio Celeste
Leaving the hotel at 7:00 am and returning
at 4:00 pm we took a 90 minute drive to the
base of the Tenorio volcano for the start
of the hike. The first 2 hours of the demanding
hike took us through primary forest to Los
Tenideros, an amazing place where the Buena
Vista and Roble rivers combine, forming a
chemical reaction that makes the water a
sky blue sky colour. It’s one of the
most extraordinary phenomenon of nature.
Ten minutes from there are some hot springs
(about 2 metres square) where you can relax
and prepare for the hike back. We also visited
the waterfalls further down the river. The
entire hike took about 4 hours and we then
enjoyed a good lunch at the restaurant located
at the start of the hike. During the hike
we saw vents in the rock that expel gases
of extremely high temperatures. Wildlife
was very sparse with only a few whiplash
lizards being seen along the route.
Arenal Hanging Bridges
Arenal Hanging Bridges is one the beautiful
environmental friendly projects in Costa
Rica. Located in front of the Arenal Volcano,
the project includes 15 bridges from 5 to
100 metres long and up to 60m high, along
a 3 km rain forest circuit of trails built
with paving blocks to prevent slipping. The
trek takes you close to the lush vegetation
of the primary rainforest. The forest is
within the corridor followed by birds migrating
between North and South America.
