We got out of the car, changed into some hiking clothes and set off on the extreme hike up the well paved road. The vegetation was deep green in color, the color that I have learned to associate with jungle and I absolutely love me some jungle! At the top of the small hill we came upon a viewing platform with about 10 others there max. Ivannia had warned us that it is rare to even see the volcano because cloud covering likes to hover right around the top of mountains, and so I had pictured Volcan Poas as a typical cone volcano that we would look on from a distance.
The site of Volcan Poas took my breath away. Rather than staring up at huge a volcanic cone, you looked directly down into the mouth of the volcano since at some point in the past the angry tectonics below had caused the entire cap to blow off! You could see the white, smoky steam emanating from the angry depths of the crater. Even though it would have been pretty easy to scramble down closer to the mouth, I was content with staying high above and not breathing in any deadly fumes.
After staring in awe at the volcanic mouth and taking obligatory pictures, the three of us set off on a "hike" through the jungle on a very well paved path. Along the hike we got to see the Volcanic Lagoon, a rather brave tiny bird, and a tasty looking mushroom that I debated sampling for lunch.
Leaving Volcan Poas, we set off down the road towards Fortuna. We stopped along the way at a small soda (what Costa Rican restaurants are called) where I had a couple bites of the chicken (I'm usually a vegetarian for those of you that don't know) that came along with the delicious beans, rice, and salad. Using my little Costa Rica map and directions from our 2 travel books we wound up and down the crazy mountainous roads through the jungle and over some rather fun, 1 way bridges.
We learned the ways of the road and before we knew it their appeared to be a large volcanic cone in the distance in front of us and we had arrived at Fortuna, a small town that sits at the base of Volcan Arenal - Costa Rica's most active volcano.
Arriving in town, we wandered around and found a hostel to stay at for a couple of nights. We spent the rest of the night wandering around town, drinking many Imperials, relaxing, and listening to the frequent rumbling eruptions of Arenal in the distance.
After staring in awe at the volcanic mouth and taking obligatory pictures, the three of us set off on a "hike" through the jungle on a very well paved path. Along the hike we got to see the Volcanic Lagoon, a rather brave tiny bird, and a tasty looking mushroom that I debated sampling for lunch.
Leaving Volcan Poas, we set off down the road towards Fortuna. We stopped along the way at a small soda (what Costa Rican restaurants are called) where I had a couple bites of the chicken (I'm usually a vegetarian for those of you that don't know) that came along with the delicious beans, rice, and salad. Using my little Costa Rica map and directions from our 2 travel books we wound up and down the crazy mountainous roads through the jungle and over some rather fun, 1 way bridges.
We learned the ways of the road and before we knew it their appeared to be a large volcanic cone in the distance in front of us and we had arrived at Fortuna, a small town that sits at the base of Volcan Arenal - Costa Rica's most active volcano.
Arriving in town, we wandered around and found a hostel to stay at for a couple of nights. We spent the rest of the night wandering around town, drinking many Imperials, relaxing, and listening to the frequent rumbling eruptions of Arenal in the distance.
No comments:
Post a Comment