July 17, 2003
Volcanoes and more Vocanoes
Ok, there were only actually two. But they were both active, and I think that counts for something. The first was Irazú, which is outside of San José and once destroyed Cartago, which was then the capitol. At this point we were still staying in Orosi, so we aranged a tour through the language school/hostel where were staying, and ended up going with a couple of nice Dutch biologists and their very tall and very blond 8 year old son.
Have I mentioned the Dutch yet? They are all over this country. We have literally met more Dutch people than from all other countries put together, including the US. I know more about Dutch regional politics than a traveler in Costa Rica should. Locals keep asking me if Im Dutch. Its becoming a problem. And this keyboard has no apparent apostrophe.
Anyway, we took the scenic drive up to the top of Irazú, and peered into the noxious sulferous crater. A avacodo green lake the size of Walden Pond peered back at us, looking deceptively close. On the way in we saw our wildlife for the day, an apperently very tame white-nosed cody, looking like a cross between a racoon and an anteater near the park entrance. The way back took us past local sites of varying interest, a hydroelectric dam, an 16th century church, a woodcarving shop.
After five lovely days in Orosi, it was time to take our improved Spanish skills and move on. Back to San Jose and a carbon copy of our last visit there, and then a busride up to Fortuna and volcano number two. At first it was all little hard to be convinced that there was a volcano there at all, let alone one that blew up during the seventies killing 87. The cloud cover was thick and low and stayed that way for 36 hours. We ponied up the $25 a piece for the guided tour, with the promise of monkeys, hot springs and volcano views. The nature hike was a success with spotting of both howler and spider monkeys, but when we got back to the lookout, so close it had huge impact craters, and the volcano was still nowhere in sight. We all went to drown our sorrows at the hot springs. The hot water, lovely surroundings and swim-up bar certainly helped. Then when someone saw lava, the last part of the equation was present. Without my glasses it looked like a glorious orange splotch in the distance, but with them on, it looked like the natural fireworks display it was supposed to.
Today another bus ride on our way to Monteverde and Santa Elena.