Arenal Volcano

Blow me, but my knee seems almost completely better even after a five hour cramped up in a bus from San Jose to La Fortuna.  The bus ride was through several towns and some stunning passes.  Clear views gave way to sudden fog as we hit the clouds on the eastern side of the Central Cordillera.  View after view of valleys, towns, coffee and palm plantations were all very beautiful, but it wasn't until we hit the floor at the base of the mountains by San Pedro. that I caught my first real breathtaking moment - a view of Volcan Arenal.

Looking just like a volcano as you expect as a kid the andesitic cone rises up steeply from the plateau below.  I'd love to see it spewing some lava, which it does more often than not - at least since the volcano sprang to life in 1968 (a bit like me).  But (again, a little like me) it has been going through a quiet period and hasn't erupted lava for the last eight months.  It is still gassing constantly (umm, a bit like me again before the antibiotics!), and the lava can start again at any time... hold on what's that I can hear?

On the positive side even when Arenal is erupting there is a less than 50% chance of finding the volcano viewable because of clouds.  The views I had as we came in and then as I got to my room were worth the journey in itself.  I truly think I have the best view from my hotel room (Room 10, Hotel Jireh) that I have ever had.

For those interested the eruptions have mostly been of the Stromboli type.  Go on, look on Wikipedia.

Plans: well a walk up to a fab waterfall (70m drop), a walk to the 1968 lava flow, then a soak in the hot springs, and a walk around a small nearby nature reserve.  Hope the view can repeat itself again tomorrow and the day after, even for just a short time.