After fauna´s usual coati spectacle we go on in the direction of Nuevo Arenal, than we take a left on a gravel road and get to the entrance of national parks Arenal. There is a parking spot with bathrooms on the left side right behind the entrance. Nice to know. Although it is better to go to the next parking spot. It is no coincidence that most of the cars park with their fronts at the exit. We still find ourselves in a hazard zone. Walking is on own risk.
Directly in front of the parking lot the way to a stream of lava from the year 1992 begins. But we walk to a viewing point before. What we don’t know: to this one you can still drive by car too. What we experience after the approximately 1 kilometer long gait for it, are some White-throated magpie-jay, that had made themselves comfortable around a big info hut. The domestic people call them Elsterkrähe because they like all that shines in any kind of way. In addition a flock o parrots fly above us away. But so fast, that we can hardly follow them and soon lose them out of our sight.
The Arenal was regarded for long as expired and was once called Sugar bread, Vulcan basket, Costa Rica’s Vulcan or Vulcan of the cold river. He got the name Arenal because by the time its lava falls apart to sand crystals (Arena) which are from far away visible and deposit at the foot of the peak and the river side.
On the 29.july 1968, 7:20 am, it was over with being expired and at the side a new crater emerged and the Vulcan threw smoke and stones outside. The Arenal destroyed two villages and 87 people died. Until the next day the Arenal formed three new craters on 1170m, on 1460m an on the top of the Vulcan (today 1633m).
On the way from the viewpoint to the parking place we have got a wonderful sight on to the Lake Arenal. However less nice prospects does the weather promise. Because it is raining again despite the blue sky, that is most of the time. Good thing it is just a few drops and it is quite warm, so that we needn’t take our jackets out.
