This morning, after eating a tantalizing breakfast under the courtyard canopy of Hotel Aranjuez, my friend Dennis' brother Javier picked me up to go check out Volcano Irazu.
Irazu is a complex startovolcano with multiple craters, of one which holds a gem coloured lake. The last eruption was in 1963 which showered the area in ash. Unsuprisingly, the entire base of the volcano is fertile farmland.
We picked up his girlfriend Daniella and we headed up the agricultural spread base of the mountain. It took about 1.5 hours to drive there, and it was gorgeous all of the way up.
I almost peed my pants with excitement because it was my first time up close to a volcano. When I got there, it smelled like volcano (sulfur). Unfortunately though, it was really foggy and I couldn't see the lake in crater. Even though I didn't get to see the crater lake, the fog cleared up from time to time and I saw the layers of ash along the crater, as well as the steep drop to what would be the centre.
Looking into the crater on a foggy day
I'm pretty sure Javier and Daniella thought I was a huge geek because I was running around like an excited kid explaining the different types of rocks, the ash, how volcanos form etc.
Daniella and Javier with the view
Me and the view. (Javier and Daniella are both professional photographers. I need to learn how to make my camera do this! :) )
There were plants called "Poor Man's Umbrella" which had monstrous green leaves that turned white when they died. There were also pretty red and yellow flowers that looked like fire. Cute white faced racoons roamed the park and desperate for food, just like Toronto racoons.
I shall dub these fire flowers
On the way back down we stopped at a restaurant called Linda Vista, which had a pretty view of the city below when the clouds opened up. The best part of everything was hanging out with two Costa Ricans as they showed me such a cool part of their country.
P.S. This is what the volcano looks like when it's not rainy (thanks Wikipedia) :)
