Central America,  Independent travel,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  Walking,  Wildlife

La Fortuna: Lava Flows And Laughter

January 3, 2022 /

With mountains and volcanoes meaning a lack of decent roads, transport options from Monteverde to the Arenal region are limited, with the road option being long and laborious. Most travellers therefore take the route known locally as “jeep boat jeep”, although these days due to its popularity the “jeep” bits are by minibus.

En route to Lake Arenal

A 90-minute ride along unmade roads which are really nothing more than farm tracks brings us to a muddy slope at the edge of Lake Arenal, where large white egrets hunt for fish and swallows swoop overhead. There is a regular stream of minibuses depositing travellers here, bringing enough people to fill several of the little boats, meaning a queue, and a wait, until our turn comes to board.

  • Lake Arenal
  • Lake Arenal
  • Lake Arenal

Chugging across the large lake is made special by the sights of the gigantic volcanoes around us: there are no less than 10 in this Central region, most of them dwarfed by the imposing Arenal. A second minibus brings us into the bustling and humid La Fortuna, a larger town than we anticipated and with a lovely green space right in the centre which is instantly clear to be the heartbeat of the town, so full is it of activity.

First sight of the Volcano

Arenal volcano towers over La Fortuna, its near perfect pyramid shape forming a photogenic backdrop to the uphill main road through the town. The smaller volcano of Cerro Chatto is also visible, but it is Arenal which gives the town its character and identity. In fact it does more than that, having given La Fortuna its raison d’etre when the 1968 eruption destroyed three villages, sadly with 87 lives lost, after which the remaining population gravitated from the villages to the town, swelling its size.

Arenal from the centre of La Fortuna

That event in 1968 was the start of an eruptive cycle which lasted until 2010, since when Arenal has lain dormant – although at a towering 5,437 feet perhaps “lain” is the wrong word. Walking the trails around its lower slopes is exhilarating if a little tricky underfoot, as we catch glimpses of the stunning volcano through trees, mixed with clearer sightings from useful viewpoints.

Towards the end of the trails we circle Lake Los Patos which was created by the 1968 eruption, where we spot the somewhat bizarre boat-billed heron along the way.

Lake Los Patos
  • Boat-billed Herons
  • Egret
  • White Throated Magpie-Jay

La Fortuna teems with tour operators for the huge variety of activities on offer here, though we learn quickly that prices are steep and many of the activities can be reached independently. Our intention was to hire a car here to do just that, only to find that hire cars are scarce (it’s high season after all) and the only ones available are an eye watering 200 US dollars PER DAY. We politely decline.

Views of our neighbourhood …….

The attraction of the volcano, the beautiful scenery and the multiple activities have turned La Fortuna into what is now Costa Rica’s most visited destination, and right now at the turn of the year, the evidence is plain: it’s pretty busy here with a large number of visitors from the USA.

Talking of the turn of the year, New Years Eve brings even more vivacity to the town centre and its lovely central green space, as the locals and visitors join together to ring in what everyone hopes will be better times. It all creates a rather lovely atmosphere which reverberates with the incessant sexy rhythms of latino music.

New Year’s Eve

Arenal may be dormant but volcanic activity certainly isn’t. Lava bubbles and rolls beneath the ground and the surrounding area is full of hot springs and warm rivers – some now incorporated into spa resorts and others with free public access. You can’t hide a river, after all. So it’s with a sense of fun that we shun the overpriced spa resorts and head out on foot to join the locals swimming and splashing in “El Salto” (the hole) just out of town.

Families and teenagers mingle with a handful of tourists like us, revelling in the sparkling waters and diving from rocks into the natural pool. It’s a great setting for a piece of old fashioned fun: the Rio Fortuna is mountain fresh rather than heated by volcano, adding to the sense of fun.

Although Arenal is boss and looms large over the town, the very top of the volcano is rarely visible, a result of gases released from volcanic vents mixing with the air and forming a constant swirling cloud around its summit. With clouds of precipitation also a regular feature of tropical climate, it’s a question of how much of the volcano will be hidden at any one time rather than whether you’ll catch a glimpse of its peak.

Yet unsurprisingly all the tour brochures and promotional material feature a pristine sky and a clearly visible summit. Michaela makes this point to Johnny Herrera at his bar one day:

“So Johnny”, she says over a glass of Imperial, “when do I get to see Arenal like this?”

“Hmmm”, muses Johnny, “how long you in La Fortuna?”

“Eight days altogether, we have five days left”.

“I think maybe you need to be in La Fortuna for two weeks”.

“And if we stay, we will definitely see the summit clearly?”

“No”, he says through mischievous smile, “but you will spend more money in my bar”.

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