Top Of The World, Ma!!!

Well, not exactly the top of the world, just closer to the top of the volcano. Still the image of James Cagney burning at the end of White Heat did cross my mind.

I guess this view of the volcano from the hotel wasn't good enough, we had to get closer.

Peek-A-Boo


The journey started out ominously enough when we came across this eyelash viper (Phylum - Chordata, Class - Reptilia, Order - Squamata, Suborder - Ophidia, Family - Crotalidae). Bar Man tries to educate.

Eyelash Viper


He was lurking in a stone wall not far from the path we would take. If he wasn't enough of a warning, there were more to come.

Looks Promising


I Get The Point


Enough Already


This was starting to remind me of some bars I have visited.

We did finally get underway and began our somewhat arduous climb.

Rocky Mountain High, Kind Of


And who do you suppose that was bringing up the rear?

Who Else


As you can see, it wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Well, yes it was, but not a park park. You know what I mean.

Walk In The Park


On the other hand, after clambering over piles of rocks the view was spectacular, more rocks.

Rock On


If I hadn't made the climb I would have missed seeing the wildlife though.

Wildlife At The Top


But, I am being a bit cynical. The view was really nice. You got a good look at Lake Arenal, which we would be crossing the next day on our way to Monteverde and a cloud forest.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman's sister joined us on the trip and here we are posing for pictures at the top. That is Lake Arenal in the background, but you probably guessed that already.

Postcard Perfect


Turning the other way we did get a nice look at the volcano though.

Arenal Volcano


It was well worth the climb because the view was so much better than the one from my hotel room.

View From My Room


It really was a fun climb. You could hear the rocks booming as they were being blown out of the top. This thing erupts all of the time and has been since 7:20 A.M. on July 29, 1968 when the west side blew off and destroyed two villages, Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacon, killing 78 people in the process.

One night we went to the side facing away from the hotel and saw a bit of the lava that periodically spews out of the three openings. Not too long ago the lava flowed down the side facing the hotel. That would have been a spectacular view on a clear night. The lava flows down in different spots at different times, not unlike the way melted wax flows down different sides of a candle as it burns.

Tomorrow we head to Monteverde, founded by Quakers in 1950. Stay tuned and I will tell you why they settled there.

Under The Volcano

Well, we will have more about the volcano tomorrow, but today we did head to it. The volcano's name is Arenal and it is still very active, spewing lava and shooting out rocks all day every day.

On the way to Arenal from San Jose we did observe some "wildlife" along the way. Our first spotting was of a white-nosed coati, a relative of the raccoon. The males tend to travel alone and hang out by the road looking for handouts or, in this case, the possibility of a honey-flake in a discarded bag of them.

White-Tailed Coati


Lunch


A bit further on we saw a whole herd of Iguanas basking in the sun. I guess you could say the Iguanas was a bit sluggish today (this is a joke only New Yorkers will get and has to do with the traffic on the Gowanus Expressway).

Sluggish Iquanas


These weren't really too wild either. They hung out on a little triangle of land across from a restaurant and gift shop where they were kept well fed.

Chowing Down


And, of course, the most prevalent wildlife of all, TOURISTS. They can be spotted along the road everywhere.

Roadside Tourists


You have to be sharp-eyed to spot them sometimes as they forage for their favorite food, coffee beans. Little do they know that these cannot be eaten straight from the tree.

Coffee Beans (pre-Starbucks)


Much like the United States has to deal with Mexicans crossing the border to pick crops so we won't starve to death because nobody in the United States would actually work in the fields for twelve hours a day, Nicaraguans cross the border into Costa Rica to pick coffee beans. They get two dollars a basket and a top picker can can pick about twenty baskets a day. Get the whole family working and it isn't bad pay for this neck of the woods.

After the bus ride I checked into our hotel and relaxed in the Jacuzzi with a beer.

Bar Man Relaxing


You can just see the volcano through the window. But, as promised, more on that tomorrow. After my beer I had to take a whiz and, uncharacteristically, I actually got out of the Jacuzzi to do it. You will never guess what I found waiting for me when I returned.

The Seductive Mysterious Chinese Woman


Life just doesn't get any better than this.

Costa Rica, No Ifs or Ands, but Butts

Nothing like getting up at 3:00 A.M. to catch a plane. The fact that I was going on vacation helped quite a bit though. We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica at a reasonably early hour so I had a chance to explore the city a bit. Can't say I was overly impressed though. It was a bit like Guadalajara in that it is largely a commercial center. Not too many people actually live there and after about 8:00 P.M. it is pretty empty. During the day it is bustling though.

As you can imagine, I did find a place for a beer.

Bar With Unknown Name


The street entrance, which you see above, attracted my attention so in I went. Absolutely everyone in the place (all five people) were drinking Imperial Beer, the Costa Rican Budweiser. I, of course, joined right in.

The back entrance to the bar was inside a large market where you could buy everything from an octopus to a refrigerator magnate. There were also a lot of little stands where you could get a bite to eat.

Early the next day after a pleasant evening in our hotel we hit the road for our big adventure. And we didn't have long before it started.

The Adventure Begins


The tire was quickly fixed though and soon we were on our way and taking in the view.

The View


Well, that about sums up the trip.

Not really. It was a great trip and tomorrow I shall post more about my travels. And you can never guess who showed up. Well, you probably can.

The Magical Mystery Bus and Chinese Woman


Stay tuned as the adventure continues.