"Not all Who Wander are Lost": Ant and Gin vs The Volcanoes

During our travels in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica we observed a number of volcanoes (Volcans - en Espanol). Some we watched from a distance as they sent smoke and lava oozing from their peaks, and others we had opportunities to climb or hike. Nicaragua is home to three major volcanoes (Mombacho, Masaya, and San Cristobal), while Costa Rica is host to eight (Arenal, Tenorio, Poas, and Irazu being the most popular among visitors).

In Nicaragua, Volcan Masaya sits idling off in the distance from the colonial town of the same name. The volcano is still considered active although it hasn’t erupted since 1772. It consists of five separate craters and is said to be the most easily accessible of all volcanoes in the country. According to legend, pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the area would throw young women into the boiling lava at the bottom of the crater to appease Chaciutique, the goddess of fire; according to locals, skeletons have been found in the nearby lava tunnels.

Volcan Mombacho stands guard over Granada. The slopes of the volcano form Omotepe, an island of biodiversity in a mostly deforested land. The last recorded incidence of activity occurred in 1570 when one of its walls collapsed, draining the inner lagoon and washing away an indigenous village of 400 people.

Volcan Mombacho off in the distance sits in the middle of Isla Omotepe. This picture was taken from the abandoned castillo on Isla San Pablo

Volcan Masaya as seen from Coyotepe Fortress

In Costa Rica we visited Volcan Arenal, Volcan Poas, and Volcan Irazu.

In the small town of La Fortuna, Volcan Arenal is Costa Rica’s most famous volcano. It is constantly active and spews out lava relatively often (although, according to experts, activity can vary greatly from week to week).

View of Volcan Arenal from the central park in La Fortuna

Due to its high volatility, no one is allowed to climb Arenal, in fact over the course of recent time a few hikers have met their end by being too close to the flowing lava and frequent explosions. Arenal is considered one of the ten most dangerous volcanoes in the world, due mostly in part to its continuous activity and proximity to major residential areas.

A coatimundi searched the roadside for some lunch

A view of Volcan Arenal at night; A crater that sits off in the distance from Arenal

The start of the trail out to Volcan Arenal on our night time hike

One of the many beautiful flowers that surround Arenal

While visiting La Fortuna, we had the opportunity to spend our first night at the base of Arenal and our second night on a guided tour of the area. While we safely watched from a distance we were able to see lava shooting from the top and slowly flowing down the side, before hardening into dark rock. It was pretty amazing especially since Arenal was the first time either of us had witnessed actual lava flow. After our night time tour of Arenal we headed over to Baldi Termae Hot Springs. The springs are heated by the nearby volcano and consist of 12 pools of varying shapes, sizes, and temperatures. The coolest pool hovered around 70 degrees and the hottest of the pools was a scorching 109 degrees. The springs were a nice way to relax at the end of a very long and tiring day. We spent 3-4 hours hopping from pool to pool and felt very well rested as we returned back to town for the night.

Hanging out at the Baldi Hot Springs after a long day

While staying in La Fortuna we also had the opportunity to visit La Catarata de La Fortuna. La Catarata (waterfall) is a 600m hike down into a steep canyon. Once at the bottom you are rewarded with spectacular views of the waterfalls, a crystal clear swimming hole, and rushing rapids. The hike was a bit taxing on our knees heading back up, but was well worth it. Anthony braved the freezing waters first, and eventually Ginnie tiptoed in up to her waist. I guess you could say that the water was much colder than we’re used to, but not nearly as cold as New England in even the hottest of summer days.

La Catarata de Rio Fortuna; a shot of the waterfall on our hike down to the river; Ginnie striking a pose

Enjoying a swim in the somewhat chilly water, but still quite refreshing

After spending a few days in La Fortuna, we headed south to Alajuela. Alajuela sits about 12 miles northeast of San Jose and serves as a great jumping off point to many of the nearby attractions and national parks. While staying in the area we visited both Volcan Poas and Volcan Irazu.

Volcan Poas lies approximately 25 miles north of Alajuela by way of a long and winding, but very scenic road. The crater of Volcan Poas is 2704 meters high and measures about 1.3km wide and 300m deep. It looked very different from what one would traditionally recognize as a volcano since rather than being an immense conical shaped mountain, it is a deep crater perched atop the clouds at almost 10,000 feet. When we first arrived at Poas the weather quickly chilled our bones. The winds were howling, rain was blowing, and clouds hovered all around. We spent an hour or two hanging around, walking the trails, checking out the gift shop, and grabbing some snacks and hot cocoa, before deciding that we should give the crater one more chance. After all, the sun was trying in earnest to break through the clouds and the rain looked as if it was letting up a bit. We headed back to the lookout area and at first the entire crater area was completely covered in thick dark clouds; however, after about twenty minutes we were rewarded with a really cool view of Poas Volcano (albeit for only a few minutes, but well worth the wait). The excitement of the crater coming into view resulted in cries of "there it is" and applause from the several visitors standing by. The last major eruption of Poas (which created the present crater), took place in 1953, since then, the park has closed a couple of times, once because of a small eruption in 1989 and again in 1995 due to noxious gases.

This little guy was quite curious about our camera

A shot of Volcan Poas after the clouds began clearing up

Some of the local fauna along the hike to the Laguna in Poas

After waiting for almost two hours, we were pretty excited to see the crater (because, seriously, how many times can we be faced with clouds when we climb these things to see impressive sights?)

Some pretty flowers at Parque Nacional de Volcan Poas

The last stop on our volcano tour was Irazu. Volcan Irazu is the largest and highest (a towering 3432 meters) active volcano in Costa Rica. Irazu’s last major eruption occurred in 1963 when it sent plumes of smoke and ash all around, covering the nearby Central Valley of Costa Rica (it even reached as far as downtown San Jose).

Irazu sits amid a bare landscape of volcanic ash and craters. The main crater is 1050 meters across and 300 meters deep and is surrounded by several smaller craters of varying sizes. When we finally reached the summit of Irazu, we were rewarded with amazing panoramic views of the volcano, a lake, several nearby mountains, and beautiful cloud formations. It was well worth the trip and we would definitely recommend that anyone visiting central Costa Rica includes a stop on their itinerary. Not to mention we finally beat the clouds since we were above them, they couldn't cover our views for once!