We hiked Arenal Volcano today, one of the top ten most active volcanoes in the world. 5,437 feet high, Arenal has daily eruption activity, usually accompanied by slow lava effusion and occasional pyroclastic flows (streams of hot gas, rocks and lava that can travel up to 80 mph!). While I did not see any light shows, a few teachers said they saw some orange flare ups during the night. We could hear the rumblings from the hotel, but we heard them much better during the hike. We could also see boulders rolling down the west side of the volcano and stirring up some lava dust. The hike up the mountain to view the volcano was very interesting as we passed areas of previous lava flows and other parts of old growth rain forest. Our guides were invaluable, identifying a poisonous snake ( yellow eyelash viper), plants, and the geography of the area. They even taught some teachers how to taste the termites growing in a tree trunk. NO, I didn’t taste them, but I’m told by those who did try them that they were minty or tasted like mint or cinnamon. As if that would make me change my mind to taste them!!
We saw a Jesus Christ lizard, so named because it can walk on water. Though this one was just sitting pretty on grass, we did see other lizards like this scurry across water on their hind legs when we were at Earth University.
We also saw a coati on the side of the road, on our way back to Hotel Kioro.
We had another interesting lecture by Professor Dunne (Environmental Consequences of Land Use) and took part in a canopy tour before dinner. The canopy tour was either a zip line or a tram ride through the rainforest, above the canopy. I chose the tram (I had no desire to dislocate my shoulders!) and am happy I did—we were able to film the trip, stop and identify flora and fauna, and enjoy the sounds of the rainforest. The tram riders also had an additional forest hike at the top of the mountain, in the cloud forest. It’s pretty neat seeing the creatures and plants that grow in some of Earth’s wettest places. Think about getting over 200 inches of rain per year!
You cheerfully climb an active volcano, passing poisonous snakes and dodging falling boulders, but you refuse to eat a termite????
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I couldn't have turned down the zip line. But termite: no, I'm with you on that one.