Volcanic Eruption

First week and I've already seen a Volcano explode, this is surreal. Costa Rica is stunning, this past weekend was my first opportunity to leave San Jose on an exchange student excursion. We spent a night in a place called Volcan Arenal and then a night in the town Monteverde. Traffic getting out of San Jose on Friday afternoon was a bit rough, but Stephanie's singing made it go by in a jiffy (photo credit to her). The bus trek to Arenal took about 5 hours. Weather wise, I had no idea what to expect, another group of students scheduled to go to Monteverde through a private company had their trip cancelled due to forecasts of asskickin' rain. I had forgotten my jacket back at the house so I hoped that wouldn't be the case. Luckily the weather was amazing for us in the moments that we needed it to be (except the death drive from Arenal to Monteverde, but I'll weigh in on that one later).

That evening we went to a hot spring with the whole group of 30 something kids. This wasn't just any old hot spring, this was the Ritz Carlton of hot springs. If I ever have to write a 'Dating in Costa Rica' guide for God knows why, this place goes in the 'Impassioned Lover' chapter. It was this tropical oasis, full of seductive alcoves and steamy waterfalls... and a daredevilishly engineered waterslide! So for anyone looking for a good time, check out 'Baldi Hot Springs'.

That evening was nothing short of magical. Most of the people had gone to bed and I had just come from getting an incredible massage. About 5 or 6 of us were still awake, popping a few cervezas and just hanging around. Suddenly, at around midnight the ground started to shake and an enormous explosion resonated into the town. I looked up and a fountain of lava was spewing from the volcano. The fiery red glowed brilliantly against the black night sky. Within 40 seconds the mountain darkened and returned to normal.

Saturday morning we went to a waterfall in La Fortuna (the town by the volcano). I really wish you all could have been there to see it for yourself, it was so cool! To get to the bottom, we had to descend a thousand-some-odd steps into a nearly vertical abyss of tropical shrubbery. I felt like I was following Indiana Jones to a secret Aztec temple. The end of the path led to a pool beneath the waterfall. After a nice swim and some lay-out practice with the disc, we made the great hike to the top. My quads thank me.

The drive from Volcan Arenal to Monteverde was INSANE. It was raining like mad and the road was barf-inducing. We couldn’t take the big bus we came in because there was no way that thing could’ve made it. Instead we took three smaller vans to a boat which took us across a lake to three more vans and then caravanned up the winding mountain. And let me tell you! They sure do like to drive their Soccer Mom Vans like Jeeps here in Costa Rica. Thank goodness we made it…alive. After checking into the hotel, a few friends and I went out to the bars and went dancing with the local Ticos.

The following day we got to go Zip Lining in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. I highly recommend it to thrill seekers, nothing quite like flying through a tropical canopy! Check out the video below to go virtual zip lining with me. Pardon my squealiness, I was rather excited. All in all, a fantastic weekend in Costa Rica.





Pura Vida Amigos!