Volcan Arenal and Catarata La Fortuna

21 March 2009

It looks like we are definitely to be in a touristic state for the remaining 1.5 weeks of our stay in CR. The signs: (a) we are staying in a moderately upscale hotel (Hotel Linda Vista del Norte) featuring excellent views of the volcano; (b) Arenal is on the main tourist path; and (c) it is spring break, so touristic activities are abuzz with tourist energy. I guess this is the Costa Rica that for many is its “best.”

Arenal is based on two main local features, a volcano that is still quite active and a large lake formed (at least in part) by a dam. A large tourist economy has grown around these features and we have become a part of it for a few days.

The area is stunningly pretty, verdant and filled with wildlife. The weather is cooperating -- warm but not hot, cloudy and a bit rainy in spots, but with sunny stretches too.

Today, we visited the Volcan Arenal national park in the morning and hiked up to the lava flow from the 1992 eruption. (The volcano still has lava flowing from it, albeit slowly. One rare, clear nights, one sees the red orange glow.) Arenal, situated just east of the continental divide and large enough to create its own weather, is often shrouded in clouds, as it partially was this morning. We could see the lower slopes and at intervals could hear rumbling followed by visible puffs of dust mapping out a fine trace on the mountain’s flank. The vegetation that we hiked through was varied, including some fantastic 20 foot-high grasses where the lava flowed most recently and more mature rain forest where the lava had not recently passed. This afternoon, the clouds mostly lifted and we got clearer views of the volcano.

After lunch in the nearby tico town of La Fortuna, we found our way to a nearby waterfall: Catarata La Fortuna. This one was about as spectacular as Catarata San Luis, but more developed and consequently less exciting as an adventure. Instead of a mile-long hike along a river course, here one can see the dramatic presentation of the waterfall from a viewpoint near the entrance. The hike takes one down a steep path about 100 vertical meters from above the waterfall to its base. Many others were visiting today.

The photos illustrate some dimensions of our day:
Top: View of Volcan Arenal shot from our hotel balcony this afternoon (the closest we got to a cloud-free view today)
Middle: A sloth (3-toed, we think) from the Catarata. (I've only seen a few sloths and none as clearly as this. The shot was taken from Ingrid's camera on 10x and then significantly cropped to get this view. Daniela and Ingrid have seen sloths at closer range than I and have a few better photos to show.)
Bottom: Visual fun at Catarata La Fortuna (makes me think of science fiction scenes)