Arenal Volcano Costa Rica

Time for a little mini recovery from the expedition, canyoneering, and caving so a summit attempt on Arenal was the purpose of leaving the hot springs today.  Unfortunately there was no real way to get to the summit and the elevation gain, the volcanic scree, and the active conditions at the top influenced our decision to stay in the lower lands and hike around the trail.



Army of red Ants carrying leaves on the Arenal Volcano Trail

 The day itself was unusually clear and dry so the steaming summit of Arenal can be seen all day long which was nice.  The trail through the jungle was nice as we saw ants hauling large leaves on their back and watched all kinds of exotic birds fly around.  I could hear a mysterious sounding bird which sounded like on of the birds of paradise but I wasn't able to actually see it.


Arenal Volcano Hiking Trail Costa Rica

The trail started to ascend up a large pile of volcanic rock and eventually came to a plateau where the volcano can be seen as well as the lake in the valley.  It was a sunny and bright day so it felt great to be dry :)


Arenal Volcano Costa Rica

 Arenal Volcano has had some eruptions that resulted with causalities and millions of dollars worth of damage to hotel and other properties around its area.  There is documentation of lava flowing from the summit as well as rock slides and pyroclastic flow occurring.  The volcano has some very interesting properties with one being that it looks like an actual volcano ready to go!!  The flora on the rocks includes a thick black moss that felt like fairway grass from a golf course on a lot of the lava rocks.  It was a great experience hiking across this terrain and to enjoy the beauty of the region.

Tall Elephant Grass (Slice you up if you ran through it) Arenal Volcano Trail Costa Rica