Arenal Volcano bread truck

Here is the other side of the same bread truck that I showed yesterday. This is a photo of Arenal volcano. It is an active volcano that erupts most of the time. This photo was taken on a very clear day.

Some of the people who rent one of our two condos in Tamarindo also stay for a couple of days in the Arenal area so they can see the volcano and enjoy the activities in that area, which is about 3 or 4 hours away by car.

I have shown some photos of Arenal on this website in the past, which you can see by clicking on the "Arenal" index link in the margin of this website.

We are showing photos of the architecture of Santa Fe, New Mexico on our Viva la Voyagetravel photo site this week.

Arenal lava flow at night

On clear nights, this is the view up the mountain of lava flowing down the side of Arenal volcano. I don't think any words from me can add to this sight.

Here is a link to the Google maps aerial satellite photo of Arenal volcano. If you enlarge the satellite photo, you will be able to see the red lava inside the crater.

Volcano monitoring is very important, as Arenal volcano erupts most of the time, but the lava flows stay within the boundaries of the two national parks that encompass the volcanic craters. If the eruption increases, however, nearby hotels, restaurants, farms, and towns could be threatened.

Volcano monitoring made the news this week. In the Republican speech as a rebuttal to President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal criticized the spending in the economic stimulus law, and he said that volcano monitoring equipment was an example of the wasteful spending. It seems odd for a Governor of Louisiana to be criticizing preparedness for natural disasters.

Volcanoes are serious business. When the USA installs the new volcano monitoring equipment in the volcanoes in the USA, maybe they can send the existing equipment down to Costa Rica if it is still useful.

By the way, since I mentioned foreign aid from the USA, this gives me an excuse to say that Costa Rica is grateful for the aid that it receives from some foreign sources, including monetary system support and aid for the victims of the earthquake a few months ago. Two decades ago, Costa Rica's commitment to peace caused it to lose most of the foreign aid that it could have received.

In the 1980's, the Reagan Administration offerred lots of money to Costa Rica in exchange for using Costa Rican territory to train contra rebels to attack the Sandinistas in neighboring Nicaragua. The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, instead went to Nicaragua and brokered a peaceful solution to the conflict. The USA lost interest in giving the large amounts of aid to Costa Rica, but Oscar Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Oscar Arias is again the President of Costa Rica today, and his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize is a source of national pride in such a small country.

Costa Rica's commitment to peace and the abolition of its military in 1949 is a man-made wonder in a country most known for natural wonders, such as Arenal volcano.

Arenal volcano summit

This is closer view of the summit of Arenal volcano. If you click to enlarge the photo, you can see the smoke from the flow of lava on the left side of the mountain. It is easier to see the flow of lava at night, as the red shows up better. I will show that scene in tomorrow's photo.

The top of Arenal volcano

This is a closer view of the top of Arenal volcano, on a clear day. It is an awesome sight. At the moment of this photo, the volcano is relatively calm, but the lava is still flowing, as you will be able to see in a photo taken after dark on the day that this photo was taken, which I will post the day after tomorrow.

The town of La Fortuna is now the center of the visitor activities for the many tourists who come to see the nearby Arenal volcano. It was given the name of La Fortuna because of its good fortune of the volcanic flow diverting around and saving the town during the big 1968 eruption.

Arenal volcano crater in the clouds

Here is a view of Arenal volcano with a few clouds. The weather and cloud cover can change frequently, from cloudy to clear and vice versa. You can see that the summit is above some of the clouds. Some of the clouds appear to be the vapor from the volcanic eruptions.

The volcanic activity occurs at several different places in the volcano, not merely at the top. There are several craters, and there are fumaroles that release volcanic activity about two-thirds of the way up the volcanic mountain.

The volcano is active most of the time, and at times the eruptions are especially intense. In 1993 one wall of the crater collapsed and there were four fiery avalanches of molten lava. In 1998 there were 23 rivers of lava flowing from one of the 5 main craters.

Arenal Volcano

Arenal is a quintessential volcano, with a tall (1,633 m.; 5,357 ft.), massive cone, that erupts nearly every day. Geologists considered Arenal to have been extinct, last active in the 14th Century, until 7:30 in the morning on July 29, 1968, when a huge explosion and eruption wiped out several towns and killed 87 people.

On many days, visitors can see the rock slides down down the side of the volcano, even from a distance as far away as the vantage point from where I took the second photo. Most days, there are clouds covering up the top of the volcano. The top photo shows Arenal on a clear day. The second photo shows a cloudy day.

At night, if it is clear, the eruptions of red lava are visible, sometimes looking like fireworks shooting into the air. During the next few days I will show some more photos of Arenal on clear days, including a night shot of lava flowing down the mountain.

Arenal Sky Tram

I have shown some photos of Arenal Lake during the past few days. Here is a view of the lake from one of the surrounding mountains.

How does one reach such a high vantage point? The easy way is shown in the second photo.

The second photo shows the path of the sky tram extending up the mountainside from the lake. Here is a link to the website of the sky tram. It is possible to walk down, or, for the adventurous, to take zip lines down. (I will show more photos of that later.)

Here is a view from a distance through the forest, and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see the perfectly shaped crater of Arenal Volcano. I will show more photos of the volcano in the coming days, including photos of the summit and a photo of the lava flowing at night.

With such a lush forest in this area, perhaps you can understand that my very good friend and high school debate partner from St. Louis, Missouri, USA, made a decision to give up his law practice and to start a ginger farm in the Arenal area of Costa Rica. He has built a guest lodge for people to stay in his tropical paradise.

Swiss barn

This is a closer view of the Swiss architecture of the barn on the grounds of the Los Heroes Hotel on the shores of Lake Arenal, which I also showed yesterday. The Swiss theme is carried out even in the Gothic lettering on the barn. Although one would expect the German language to be used in such Gothic lettering, they are words in Spanish giving thanks for such a beautiful land. Amen.

For a link to the website of the Swiss-themed Hotel Los Heroes, click here.

I enjoy people who have imported their architecture from their countries of origin when they have moved to other areas of the world, as long as it is tastefully done and fits within its setting, rather than being touristy kitsch, like a Las Vegas theme hotel.

I think the Swiss touches of this farmstead and hotel fit in just fine because of the green, mountain setting. It reminds me of the Lakes region of Patagonia in Argentina, particularly the town of Bariloche and the village of Villa la Angustura. Many of the hotels, lodges, and restaurants in that area are built in a Swiss or German style, similar to this farm and hotel in Costa Rica.

Perhaps immigrants feel more comfortable if they recreate the architecture of their home country even when they move far away. That is certainly the case with English people. I recently went to Australia and New Zealand for the first time, and the architecture there looks more classically British than England. In Australia, a store clerk, even referred to my wife and me, both Americans, as being "ex-empire." I had never heard that expression, and we certainly don't think of ourselves as being formerly British subjects.

On Victoria Island, British Columbia, Canada, they have a slogan that they are more British than the English. Maybe the more distant people are from their homeland, the more extreme they are in trying to recreate its architecture to remind them of home, as it will be less likely that they will return home to visit.

Carrying on the traditions of the homeland is present on the shores of Lake Arenal in other ways besides the Los Heroes Swiss hotel. An Englishman has carried on the gardening tradition of his homeland in creating the Jardin Botanical Arenal, a botanical garden containing 2,200 species of native plants that thrive in the ideal climate and rich volcanic soil of the Arenal area.

Swiss barn and Inn at Lake Arenal

If this looks like Switzerland, there is a good reason. A Swiss family settled on the shores of Lake Arenal and created a Swiss-themed farm, restaurant and small hotel. It is called the Los Heroes Hotel. I have not stayed there, but we have had a good lunch and it is a charming place.

The Swiss architectural theme is evident not only in the barn, shown above, but they have even built a small railroad and a small chapel, as shown in the second photo.

For a link to the website of the Hotel Los Heroes, which describes how they started by building a Swiss barn in 1989, and then added the restaurant, hotel, and even obtained the railroad parts from Switzerland, click here.

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, there is beautiful scenery and a variety of tourist activities in this area. The most spectacular scene in the area is the Arenal volcano, which I will show in a couple of days.

Kingfisher

This kingfisher was sitting on a tree stump along the shores of Lake Arenal, which I have shown the past two days. I took this photo from a boat, as we took a little boat excursion on Lake Arenal to enjoy the scenery and to view the variety of birds along the shore.

There are a variety of kingfishers in Costa Rica, and unfortunately, the kingisher in this photo is not show in my books on Costa Rica birds and wildlife. Kingfishers dive into the water to feed on fish. Some types of kinfgishers prefer smaller streams and others prefer open water, such as lakes and tidal estuaries.

Great Egret in Flight at Lake Arenal

This is a great egret in flight over Lake Arenal. They are 141 cm (40 in.) long. There are many species of birds at Lake Arenal.

There are 15 species of egrets and herons in Costa Rica. I believe that this is a great egret because of the combination of a yellow beak and black legs. By clicking on the "birds" tab in my index to topics on this website below (or using the links below) you can compare different types of egrets that I have posted. On July 2, 2008, I posted a photo of a snowy egret. On July 16, 2008 I posted a photo of a bare-throated tiger egret. On August 29, 2009, I posted a group of cattle egrets. On December 4, 2008, I posted another photo of a another snowy egret.

Lake Arenal

This is one small section of Lake Arenal, a large lake surrounded by lush, green hills, forests and pastures at an elevation of 530 m. (1,800 ft.). The lake is 124 square km., or 48 square miles, Costa Rica's largest inland body of water. At the eastern end of the lake is a rain forest leading to Arenal Volcano, a spectacular sight that I will show in a few days.

There are tourist activities in the area, including hanging bridges and a sky tram through the rain forest, horseback riding, windsurfing, botanical gardens, bird and wildlife cruises on the lake, fishing (particularly bass fishing), hiking, mountain biking, and more.

The lake was created in 1973 by an earthen dam that is 56 m. (184 ft.) high and 88 m. (288 ft.) high. It generates s significant part of the country's electricity, and 70% of Costa Rica's electricity is generated from hydro power. There are also wind turbines in the area to generate renewable energy.

Laguna de Arenal, as it is called in Spanish, is located in the eastern part of the Guanacaste province that includes Tamarindo and comprises northwest Costa Rica, which places it in the north central area of the country.