Third Time's the Charm

It is the rainy season here in Costa Rica. One day probably sees as much rain as Arizona does in a decade. It was raining and the clouds were low on Saturday morning as Jim, Kathy and I caught our tour bus. They had flown in the night before for work, but wanted to get in a day trip over the weekend.

We were going to visit Volcan Arenal one of the most famous in the world. It is only 2,900 years old, a babe in geological terms. It has been erupting continuously for the last fifty years and looks just like your childhood science fair project--or so I've been told. I've visited it twice before but have only seen clouds. I didn't expect to see it this time either considering the weather, but there was another attraction on the agenda. Tabacon is a legendary resort at the foot of Arenal. Staying there is expensive by any standard, but a more affordable option is to visit its biggest attraction--the hot springs. They've built up a river bed and use natural heat from the volcano to create a river with the comfort and warmth of a spa.

We had been driving for a couple of hours, the bus was tilting along the steep roads when we caught a wide view. Our enthusiastic tour guide interrupted his impromptu musical number and said that the volcano could be seen at 10 o'clock. It was only a shadow on the horizon but the cone shape was clearly there. There was no sun and occasional rain, but fortunately the cloud ceiling was high enough.

After another half hour we glimpsed it again and this time we were close enough to see a puff of smoke from an explosion. The near, eastern side is green like any ordinary hill in Costa Rica. There is a patch of white near the top which is the fuselage from a recent plane crash. They say intense magnetism plays havoc with instruments. No one recovers a wreck near the top of a smoldering volcano.

We stopped for lunch after La Fortuna, the closest city to its base. We could see part of the west face which is black from constant lava flow. Small patches of white smoke burst out all over it. It felt alien.

The afternoon brought us to Tabacon. You could feel the heat and the steam filled the rain forest. It was beautiful. A spa is great, but sitting under a waterfall at 105 degrees is a dream. The afternoon slipped away. It's funny but the whole tour group seemed to agree that the best attraction was not the river itself but the normal, unheated pool. It felt refreshing. From the pool you could just make out the top of the volcano. We saw more puffs of smoke, but with a little time the extraordinary can become ordinary.

The real show began after sunset when our tour guide caught my attention and called me to the edge of the pool. I could just make out the silhouette of Arenal. There was a single red light at the top as on a radio tower. The light moved slowly down like the tower was crumbling, but then it split and split again leaving a trail of red. With the help of nightfall we could see the leading edge of the lava. When everyone was quiet I could just make out a sound like distant fireworks, the sound of rocks larger than cars colliding and exploding.

We had a great dinner at the resort, then drove to a point that gave us a better look at the volcano. We stood there for a long time watching and listening. Some members of the group made futile attempts to take long-exposure photos. The last thing I noticed before we left was not on the mountain. It was right along the road. Apparently they have lightning bugs in Costa Rica too.