Costa Rica's Volcano
Remains Active In Lush
Land
By Bill Zlatos,
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sitting on the veranda
on an autumn morning, I
am stirred from reading
by a loud boom.
I glance up at Arenal,
the most active volcano
in Costa Rica. A gray
cloud of smoke and ash
rise from the crater
above the white plume
that perpetually belches
from the summit.
This is the first of
four minor eruptions I
witness in Costa Rica on
a trip to satisfy a
curiosity about
volcanoes that has taken
me around the world.
I have peered into the
bowels of Mt. Vesuvius
in Italy and roamed the
ruins of Pompeii and
Herculaneum, ancient
towns buried by the
volcano's eruption. I've
climbed volcanoes in New
Zealand and Hawaii. I've
even enjoyed the
spectacle of lava
seeping from a fissure
on Hawaii into the
Pacific Ocean, a geyser
of steam gushing above.
Now my curiosity takes
me to Costa Rica and its
most famous volcano.
Among the world's
volcanoes, Arenal is the
new kid on the block. It
was formed on July 29,
1968, when an explosion
tossed rocks and killed
87 persons in two towns
at the foot of the
volcano.
Over the next two days,
four craters sprouted,
of which two remain. The
volcano has the typical
cone shape that one
normally associates with
volcanoes. The top is
black and the base, a
lush green.
I stay with my friend,
Edda, at the Los Lagos
Hotel Spa and Resort.
Our front porch commands
a magnificent view of
Arenal and the back
porch, a panorama of the
verdant valley below.
The resort features a
series of pools,
including one heated by
the volcano, a butterfly
garden and a trail that
leads past a pen of lazy
crocodiles.
I am told that the best
viewing of Arenal's
activity varies. Lava
generally flows down the
lower side of the
crater. As the lava
solidifies and builds up
one side of the crater,
the other side offers a
better view until it,
too, grows higher.
This season, the Arenal
Observatory Lodge offers
the best and closest
view. We eat lunch there
mainly to see what we
cannot on the other side
of the mountain.
Gazing at the volcano,
we hear what sounds like
corn popping. Rocks
tumble out of the crater
and down the mountain,
leaving a trail of smoke
or dust.
To get a better view, we
go at night with our
hotel neighbors, Americo
and Mary, to a site near
the lodge. We drive on a
rocky road in a
four-wheel-drive vehicle
to a bridge over a dry
stream bed. There, a
crowd of volcano
watchers is gawking.
We leave the car and
marvel at Arenal, its
crater glowing red like
the tip of a cigarette
in a dark room. We see
no lava flows, but enjoy
the fiery boulders that
tumble down the slope.
Two days later, Edda and
I take an unpaved road
to Arenal National Park.
We pay the $6 entrance
fee and take the
Heliconias Trail, named
for the flora that grows
along the path.
The trail is 4-feet-wide
and made of black sand
that once was volcanic
ash. It crunches under
our feet.
Walls of reeds twice as
tall as a man line the
path. Bushes and trees
sometimes tangle
overhead into a canopy
that shades us from the
blistering sun.
The vegetation
eventually vanishes, and
we cross the moon-like
landscape of a 1992 lava
flow. We scramble up the
boulders until a sign
warns us to approach no
closer.
On our return, we hear a
sound like a loud cough.
I turn around to see
another dark cloud rise
from the volcano.
The Arenal area is a
veritable playground.
Tourists can go
horseback riding,
whitewater rafting or go
on hikes or canopy tours
where they can zip down
lines above the jungle.
I recommend the hike to
La Fortuna Waterfall,
about three miles from
the city of the same
name. The trek impresses
me with the greenery of
the scenery. Along with
New Zealand, Costa Rica
is the greenest country
I've ever visited, but I
have not yet been to
Ireland.
It's a steep, 20-minute
hike to the bottom of
the gorge, but the view
of the fall is
fantastic. The river
thunders from the rain
forest and plunges 200
feet in a ribbon of
white into the
aquamarine,
boulder-strewn pool
below.
Smaller falls drop into
the same pool. Because
the dangerous hydraulics
can drag and drown
swimmers, swimming is
prohibited here. But
some visitors venture
along the rim or go
downstream for a dip
with the fish in the
safer pools.
Another pleasant site is
the Arenal Hanging
Bridges. Situated about
two miles east of
Tabacon Grand Spa
Thermal Resort, the hike
on the hanging bridges
costs $22 a person. The
path winds nearly two
miles in 600 acres of
rain forest.
The trail crosses over
six suspension or
hanging bridges and
eight regular bridges.
The hanging bridges
extend as long as 326
feet and offers
spectacular vistas of
Arenal and the jungle.
We trek alone, but one
can go on a guided
nature hike. We meet a
naturalist who points
out a lizard that I
would have missed.
Hidden in a niche, the
lizard resembles a leaf.
When we turn our gaze,
he silently vanishes.
After a rain-soaked,
three-day visit in Jaco
on the Pacific, we head
back to San Jose, where
I sign up for a day trip
on the Pacquare River.
The river rises in the
Jalamanca Mountains and
flows into the Caribbean
Sea. I catch a glimpse
of the sea during the
bus ride to our put-in
site.
The Pacquare is the most
popular whitewater river
in Costa Rico. It offers
38 rapids over 18 miles.
Of these rapids, about
20 are Class III, and
five are Class IV.
We get a good ride
because the muddy brown
river is swollen from
rains. Boulders as big
as cars line the canyon.
Along the stretch, I see
five bridges of sorts --
cables attached to
platforms where people
in baskets can cross the
river.
The first Class IV is
called Upper Huncas, the
Indian word for
cemetery. Fortunately,
the name derives not
from our fate but from
the graves of natives
buried in the canyon.
About 3,000 members of
the Cabecar tribe dwell
here, the sole survivors
of the disease and
slaughter inflicted by
the Europeans.
All along the river, I
am amazed at all the
waterfalls -- some mere
trickles and others,
tall cascades. I admire
a 50-foot waterfall
under which some rafters
paddle. We cannot gawk
for long, however.
Another Class IV rapid,
the Lower Huncas,
awaits. It presents the
most dangerous challenge
on our trip.
The river drops two feet
near an undercut rock
and a rock with a
perilous hole behind it.
Our guide Manfred deftly
maneuvers right to avoid
the hole and then away
from some pillow rocks
that could flip us. We
then ride a wave train.
The river flows through
two canyons and a
lowland rain forest. In
the jungle, coconut,
palm trees and wild cane
flourish on the banks,
and flowers of red,
yellow and orange bloom.
Vultures, egrets and
kingfishers perch on
rocks or branches, and
butterflies flit about.
White facial and howler
monkeys can sometimes be
seen in trees, but not
today.
We reach our takeout
site, and soon I will
head home with memories
of volcanoes, waterfalls
and jungle.
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