Chronicles of La Pura Vida- 2

3 days ago (Edited)

It’s one thing to be in a remote forest full of primordial stirrings, but it’s quite another to be right beside where the earth engine churns out the raw material on which life grows.

Notice the barren left side vs the green right side of the volcano. Let's just say on July 29, 1968, the right side was a safer spot

Arriving late at Arenal Volcano, Blanche and I walked along a dark path towards our room. The rainforest stirred around us. I realized that we were literally in the middle of a forest full of dangerous creatures, right next to what sounded like a rumbling grumbling giant while strange haunting winds came and went like ghosts through the canopy.

Something remarkable happened as my superstitious survival instincts came online. I straightened up, broadened my chest, felt a primal surge of adrenaline. If some wild angry creature attacked us, it was obvious who was going to be the first target. Battle of the sexes, my eye. If a saber-tooth tiger jumped out of that jungle, I surmised, I would have to fight it and defend the maiden. The realization struck me like lightning. At that moment, I no longer felt like a civilized gentleman, but a brute ready for violence (and heaving bosoms).

But as it turned out, the only action occurred the morning after, when we heard a thud on the glass door. Peering through the curtains, we saw a little bird on the ground. It did not move but was breathing.

“I think it hit the window,” I said. "Maybe the reflection confused it."

“Poor thing,” said Blanche, opening the door to check it out. “What should we do?”

“Let’s wait and see. Maybe it’s just stunned and needs a moment.”

We let it be, and then after awhile, it shook itself off and disappeared into the twilight.

That day we had to change rooms for some reason and were placed in another one with a more dramatic view.

A nice relaxing view, as long as you forget where you are 💥💥💥

While one side of the volcano became barren after the blast of 1968, there were still some signs of greenery on the slopes. Below and around the volcano, there was a lush paradise of flora and fauna.

Lake Arenal

House resident

The resort used to be an old earthquake station that had now been converted to a remote eco-tourist attraction. There were still remnants of the old structures scattered throughout the area.

Did I mention that this volcano was recently active with destructive consequences?

We were meant to go up to the hot springs and perhaps go see some lava, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so we ended up hiking up to the cooled lava fields, created after the explosion of '68 when continuous hot lava flowed for decades down the volcano across a span of four kilometres.

There, I came across a flower, which the guide said grew only once a year.

Our plans were now all mixed up, so we decided to wander the grounds and go for a hike to a waterfall nearby, which was a very naive thing to do in a potentially dangerous place, but as they say, ignorance is bliss.

We were quickly reminded that we were not in Kansas anymore when the monkeys started howling loudly on the trees above us. The sound echoed across the forest, and soon even distant monkeys began howling at the sky.

That is not a monkey on the tree, but as I had no idea what kind of mischief these creatures were up to, I kept an eye on it

We reached the waterfall, and it was a sight to behold. It was small but powerful with torrential waters spilling over the edge onto a churning pool below. It was a magical moment of discovery.

After hearing more howling and wild jungle sounds, we decided to head back to the safety of the resort. As safe as one can be when in the company of a fiery giant. I saw a few rockslides down the volcano, which continued to grumble and thunder above the howling winds.