Fire in the sky

I very reluctantly left Liberia in the north of Costa Rica - not because it was anything much to look at but because it had been pouring with rain since I arrived.

I bit the bullet and headed out into the rain just after midday. I wanted to get to Volcan Arenal, Central America's most active volcano and the third most active in the world. I figured that Fortuna nearby would make a good base to see something of the volcano, and it didn't seem too far on my map. Of course the conditions and the twisting, narrow road through the rainforest meant that it took a lot longer than planned to travel maybe 100 kilometers.

I got lost coming out of Tilaran, turned the wrong way down Lake Arenal, and was fortunate to come across an impassable bridge otherwise it would have been a long way back to the right road. A guy was standing by the downed bridge trying to sell maps of the area for detours but I told him I had a map, it just didn't work properly. I found the right road out of Tilaran finally, and after another hour or so in worstening rain I found a hotel just before Fortuna that had a great view of the volcano. It took me several minutes before I realised that the cloud around the peak was actually steam from the caldera. With a left boot full of water and soaked from the waist down I was glad to get off the bike and into a jacuzzi. It's surprising what you can cope with as long as you have the little luxuries in life ;)

Next day I managed to catch a small eruption whilst I was eating breakfast, a gout of yellowy brown smoke poured into the sky for a few seconds. I'd booked myself onto a hike out through the cloudforest reserve to hopefully see some volcanic activity so the eruption was a good sign. The tour didn't depart until 3.45pm which seemed odd to me, given it would be pitch dark by 5.30. But there was a reasoning behind this. I sat all day, fidgeting, trying to read or do something, like a kid on Christmas morning desperate to find out if that box with the gaudy wrapping paper really was a Nintendo Wii.

Promisingly the rain had held off a little after about 10am and although I was mentally prepared for a total soaking I was disappointed when it started to throw it down with attitude around 2.30pm. I put on as much wet weather gear as I had, and waited in hotel reception fully half an hour before I needed to be there. It was all I could do not to jump up and down, really ;) A minibus arrived and I was surprised to see maybe nine other tourists on board, in addition to our guide. They were mostly Americans, but there were a couple of Quebecois Canadians and two latin Americans. Everyone spoke English, including the guide, and it felt pretty odd to be surrounded by conversation I could understand (well, except the Canadians as they spoke an odd French most of the time).

The bus took us to the cloudforest and we hiked for maybe an hour, in the pouring rain, looking for wildlife. The guide had warned us not to be disappointed if we didn't see any lava later on, as only 35% of tourists get to see the volcano with no cloud cover. I felt lucky... so far the volcano was constantly visible despite the heavy rain. We saw Spider monkeys fighting in the trees, and a lone Toucan, resplendent yellow clashing with jet black, his huge beak moving back and forth as he called from a tree. We'd been hearing a deep woofing sound which the guide said was a Howler monkey, so it was a real shock to see one as it was so small. Those things must have a mouth the size of the Dartford tunnel to make that racket.

After passing through some forest that was so dense it was difficult to see without a light, we made our way back to the minibus and sat for a short while drinking fruit juice. By the time we were back on the road it was almost dark. The guide explained we would take a road through the reserve to the west side of Arenal, where we should be able to see lava flowing. Apparently the lava is too cool to be visible during daylight, but at night you can see the glow. We talked for maybe twenty minutes or so about the volcano, and I was completely fascinated. I'd wondered at the wisdom of towns and hotels at the foot of an active volcano, and it turned out that in 1968 there had been a big explosion that had wiped out half the area. Fortuna was so named because it had survived the blast...

I found out that the whole zone was catagorised according to risk, R1 being suicidally close, R2, R3. My hotel was apparently in the R2 zone, and whilst this provided some relief a 400kph explosive eruption would wipe us out faster than you could say Pompeii. If it goes bang, no point running ;)

We passed a large impact crater from an old ejected rock maybe 100 metres across. It was difficult to pick it out in the dark. Volcan Arenal had been obscured by tall stands of sugar cane for the last fifteen minutes, but when I caught sight through a gap there was a glowing red pyroplastic flow down the western limb. I was awestruck. We finally stopped next to a bridge over a river which could be heard rather than seen. Getting out, it was really easy to see the lava as it ran, surprising quickly, down the volcano. The rain was forgotten as I stood there, amazed. Occasionally, large glowing boulders would tumble down at speed. I spent too long messing about balancing my camera on the bridge handrail in the rain, trying to get a picture in the dark, but I think it was worth it in the end. Fireflies flashed blue/white in the surrounding forest, like woodland fairies. The river rushed noisily through under the bridge, and the rain dripped down my face. It was slightly unreal, an unexpected highlight of the trip for me. Even the super-enthusiastic Americans on the tour had gone quiet, the scene just kind of had that effect.

On the way back to the hotel in the minibus I kicked myself for not taking the video camera, but I think the rain would have been the end of it!

I'm hoping to head towards the Caribbean today. It's pouring with rain outside and I'm looking forlornly at my still wet boots and trying to think happy thoughts. I can't remember the last time it didn't rain during the day. Somewhere in the world it isn't flooded... just not here.

Frase.