Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

Volcán Arenal

Without a doubt, today was one of those days we’ll remember for quite some time.  It was one of those days that exemplifies why we left our comfortable lives in the States and moved to Costa Rica.  We spent our Saturday exploring Arenal Volcano National Park, about 45 minutes from our house.  In short, Arenal is one of the 10 most active volcanos in the world and the most famous in Costa Rica.  It was thought to be just another mountain by the locals until July 29, 1968 when there were several huge explosions and enough lava flow to destroy three small towns and kill more than 80 people.  Fortunately Arenal was a bit more gentle for us today, only venting the occasional puffs of steam.  No large boulders were shot out of the top.  Maybe next time.  

We arrived before 9 am, which was something to celebrate for our family.  On paying our entry fee we mentioned to the ranger that we were considering the heliconia trail.  In a moment of candor, he told us that it wasn’t really that pretty and that we should take the other main trail.  So we did, and we were not disappointed.

Sully being Sully

The hike in its entirety was about 6 km with mostly gentle climbs punctuated by a few steep step ascents through the lava flows.  We’re still adjusting to the humidity and the excitement of discovering and learning the new plants and animals but enjoy the similarities to our hikes in the Pacific Northwest.  One of my favorite things about this move to Costa Rica for us is that each of us is experiencing our new reality in our own ways.  Sullivan (age 5) remains very playful and seems completely oblivious to all the change.  Everyone else is adjusting on their own terms.  We did enjoy our fair share of new animals today including white-throated magpie-jays, a camera-shy collared anteater as well as this sunbathing lizard.

Central American whiptail

Unidentified resting butterfly

As was expected, the vistas of the volcano itself were awe-inspiring.  Interesting, the first viewpoint was quite busy.  We met a large middle school group from Massachusetts, two young men from France, a German couple, a couple from Quebec and a group of Floridians.  Trying to speak French seems a lot tougher now that Spanish is currently occupying my cerebral bandwidth.  The second viewpoint was at another lava flow and was much more deserted.

Arenal dominates the skyline

Erica and her new home Lake Arenal in the distance

Our return route took us on the Ceiba trail, so named for the very large Ceiba trees.  These are some of the largest trees in the American tropics and in the Peruvian tradition, apparently, they are inhabited by deities.  It's easy to see why they inspire such thoughts.

Big roots, no?

Our crew couldn't keep themselves off the trees nor could we resist swinging on all of the vines.  Kids will be disappointed that the internet is too slow tonight to post their vine-swinging videos.

Madeleine the ceiba climber

Good times

Our Costa Rica wildlife guide card has proven to be as handy as it is popular.  We think this is a common dink frog we spotted on a leaf.  

Though we all thoroughly enjoyed the sights as well as the workout, nobody complained when we arrived back at the car.  We grabbed some ice cream, checked out some possible future adventures (hanging bridge walk, night jungle walk, butterfly garden) and headed towards some dinner.  On the way we encountered some hungry locals in the road looking for food.

A posse of pizotes

Unexpectedly super dinner was had at a small German restaurant (La Rana) very near our house.  We enjoyed speaking with the German owner in Spanish, as he said his English is not so good.  Home for a little dessert and some screen time for everyone to reconnect with the rest of the world.  We are fortunate to have had such a great day.