Blogs from Arenal, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 8

We parked in the parking lot then descended past the gates of the fancy hotel. When we arrived at the river, we cornered a couple lizards onto a rock near the waters edge and as we advanced closer, they lept, sprinting across the water's steaming surface. An amazing feat of speed and agility, each step taken before the last could sink. We lower into the warm water and position ourselves behind the waterfall. Surrounded by the sound of water pounding against its self and the soothing sensation of floating in liquid warmth, the falling water creates a translucent moving wall in front, allowing only diffused light to penetrate into the watery cave. The current creates an eddy, but I still have to dig my feet into the sandy bottom to keep my position. I move into ... read more

This weekend is our three day weekend and we don't have to report back to class until Tuesday morning. Ten of us got a tour company to get us a reservation in Arenal which is north on the map, but it is impossible to drive that way because of the Tilaran Mountain Range. So we took a van through some small hills for 1 1/2 hours, then a boat across Lake Arenal for one hour and then a half hour van ride to our hotel. Five of us opted for a nicer accommodation and 5 others opted for a hostel in the town of La Fortuna. Just getting here was kind of an adventure. At first my group in the nicer hotel were kind of perturbed that we were so far from town, until the clouds ... read more

Although I knew that Hurricane Season officially started on June 1st, I did not think it would begin with such punctuality and force. As soon as it hits June, these rains and storms unleash their annual pounding of central america without hesitation. We noticed on the weather channel that Hurricane Alma recently started up in Nicaragua and we would be flying over the region the next day. Yowza! Fortunately, the worst part of this weather system pushed out of our direct flight path and we had no problems. We landed in San Jose Costa Rica and quickly made our way to Volcan Arenal. This volcano has come highly recommended from a number of sources. It is apparently the most active of all volcanoes in the Americas. One neat way to enjoy this Lava Party is to ... read more

Von Tortuguero ging es ins Landesinnere zum Vulkan Arenal. Nach der abenteurllichen Fahrt mit dem Bananenboot, ging es weiter mit dem Bus zum Arenal. Schon von Weitem konnten wir die Umrisse des Kegel erkennen. Als wir dann in La Fortuna ankamen war er leider schon in dicke Wolken gehuellt. Unser Hotel lag weit ausserhalb vom Ort, schwer erreichbar, dafuer mit Blick zur aktiven Seite des Vulkans. Zum Fruehstueck hielt er sich noch etwas bedeckt. Wir machten uns zu Fuss auf den Weg zum Nationalparkeingang. Es war weiter als wir dachten - 10 km in eine Richtung. Aber wir konnten einen ersten herrlichen Blick auf den aufklarenden Vulkan werfen. Ab und zu hoerte man ein dumpfes Grollen, wie leichter Donner. Und bei genauem Hinschauen sah man Gesteinsbrocken den Vulkanruecken herunterrollen. Der schwerste Ausbruch war im Jahre 1968. ... read more

Hello. We arrived safe and sound in Costa Rica San Jose, what feels like ages ago now, but in actual fact was only Yesterday. It did however take us 3 plane rides to get here so no wonder it feels like a long time. As promised I got some fantastci shots going over from Vancouver Island to the main land, hope you enjoy, I have no idea what islands they are but the mountains are the canada costal range, not the Rockies. So, first impressions of Costa Rica were of San Jose at 11pm at night as we got a taxi from the sirport to our hostel - guesthouse, which wasnt too bad really. The place is spralling, lots of buildings for miles and miles but they all look to be one or two stories max, ... read more