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If
you have never seen an active volcano, Arenal makes a spectacular
first. This near-perfect 1633m volcanic cone rises majestically
out of the lush pastures and forest at the eastern end of Lake
Arenal. The mesmerizing features, which draw visitors to its base
by day and night, are intermittent rumbling and explosions. Although,
night is the best time for observing it, when you can clearly
see a spectacular display of rocks spewing skyward and red-hot
molten lava enveloping the top of the cone. The volcano is also
frequently hidden in cloud cover, so you may have to stay more
than one day to get in a good volcano-viewing session.
Arenal
lay dormant until July 29 in 1968, when an earthquake shook the
area, and 12 hours later Arenal blew. Pueblo Nuevo to the west
bore the brunt of the shock waves, poisonous gases, and falling
rocks, 87 people perished in all, also large tracts of farmland
and forest were destroyed, and 700 hectares were blanketed in
molten lava before the colossus entered in a quiet phase of hot
gas and ash emissions. Fumaroles soon appeared in the newly formed
craters, and a lava flow started advancing towards the Tabacon
river valley at the rate of 10-30m a day. Today vegetation has
reappeared among the boulders and solidified lava.
Hiking is possible on the volcano's lower slopes, but definitely
not higher up, this is a continually active volcano, and is extremely
dangerous. Rocks, gas emissions or burns have killed climbers. |
