What a Blast
BY LORI RACKL, Chicago Sun-Times
For a tiny country in Central
America, Costa Rica has an
embarrassing wealth of natural
wonders: lush rain forests,
cloud forests, dramatic beaches
and more species of birds --
over 850 -- than the U.S. and
Canada combined.
But wait . . . there's more. It
also lays claim to one of the
most active volcanoes on the
planet.
Arenal Volcano in northern Costa
Rica woke from a 400-plus-year
slumber in 1968 and hasn't dozed
off since. About two-thirds of
all visitors to Costa Rica make
their way to this temperamental
tourist magnet during their
stay. It rises nearly 5,000 feet
into a cone-shaped juggernaut
that's often belching up rocks,
drooling molten lava and putting
on a pretty exciting show.
I have vivid memories of Arenal
looming in the distance when I
first visited Costa Rica a dozen
years ago. I was on a
Pre-Breakup Vacation. This is
the vacation couples take when
the relationship is over before
the trip begins. You book a
romantic getaway when things are
hunky-dory, but by the time
you're checking in your bags at
O'Hare, your love has soured and
you're left with some
nonrefundable airline tickets
and hotel reservations. So you
and your soon-to-be-ex enter an
unspoken agreement to postpone
the breakup until after the
trip. As expected, my boyfriend
and I split up before our
vacation pictures came back from
the developer.
Twelve years and several
relationships later, I was
eagerly looking forward to
seeing Arenal again -- but up
close -- during a visit last
month to Costa Rica. This time,
I'd be traveling platonically
with my friend and fellow
journalist, Nicole. And I'd be
staying in much nicer digs at
Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal
Resort, a 114-room, five-star
property in the shadow of Arenal.
Popular with American
honeymooners, this rain forest
resort oozes romance. Had I
known about it 12 years ago,
maybe my ex wouldn't be my ex.
(Note to husband: just kidding,
honey)
Tabacon's tropical surroundings
make you feel like you're in a
Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel,
minus the cholera. Waxy green
leaves the size of kitchen
appliances sprout from flowering
trees, while howler monkeys make
a ruckus in the forest canopy. A
soundtrack of running water and
chirping birds plays nonstop. It
beats the most soothing of spa
music as you get massaged with
volcanic mud in one of the
resort's 11 secluded, outdoor
bungalows -- each of which can
accommodate couples.
For a ridiculous serving of
romance, you can book one of
Tabacon's "gala dinners" for
$150 a person. The evening
starts with you being led down a
tiki torch-lit path, as if
you're about to be voted off
some island. You arrive at a
private, candlelit bungalow,
where your personal chef and
waiter serve you aperitifs, wine
and a multi-course dinner in the
middle of the rain forest. It's
the kind of experience that
could drive couples therapists
out of business.
Another draw for the lovebirds
is the resort's sprawling series
of natural hot springs, where
the 90- to 115-degree water gets
heated courtesy of nearby Arenal.
Upwards of 700 people used to
pour into these popular thermal
springs in one day. Not so
romantic. The resort has since
drastically curtailed the sale
of day passes -- and hiked the
price to $55 for non-hotel
guests -- so overwhelming crowds
are no longer an issue. (Tabacon's
nightly rates start at $230 and
include access to the hot
springs.)
But I wasn't here for romance. I
was here for a front row seat to
Mother Nature's version of a
"Die Hard" movie. I wanted to
watch and hear this ominous
volcano spew and spit and
grumble. All from a safe
distance, of course. Seven years
ago, a young American girl and
her Costa Rican guide died when
Arenal unleashed an explosive
fury of hot ash.
As Nicole and I made the
three-hour drive to Tabacon from
the international airport in San
Jose, we caught a few glimpses
out the car window of a
cloud-capped Arenal. Little did
we know, that would be the best
view we'd get the whole trip.
Thanks to the region's
unpredictable weather, having a
crystal clear view of the
volcano is always a game of hit
or miss. But Arenal may as well
have been in the witness
protection program during our
four-day stay. A thick duvet of
clouds meant we could barely
make out the base of this
hulking monstrosity, let alone
the spectacular nightly lava
show that can sometimes be seen
from the Tabacon resort,
depending on which direction the
liquid fire is flowing.
January, February and March are
when you're most likely to catch
the best views and driest
weather. We visited during the
tail-end of the rainy season,
and rain it did. Almost
constantly. The region gets
between 150 to 180 inches of
rain a year -- roughly five
times as much as Chicago.
The weather spoiled our plans to
see Arenal, but it didn't stop
us from spotting colorful
toucans and playful monkeys. Or
swimming under a waterfall in
natural hot springs. Or dining
on rack of lamb in a rain
forest. Not bad consolation
prizes.
And if I really want to see
Arenal bad enough, I can always
dig up those old photos. |
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