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You are here: Home / Archives for volcano

The World’s Only Drive-In Volcano

February 17, 2012 By Danny

In my life I’ve been close to a surprisingly large number of active volcanoes. The first was in Guatemala followed by Volcanoes National Park in Hawai’i. Went and saw the one in Guatemala again and then a few others in Central America before continuing onto Volcanoes all through South America and then a handful more in Africa. All those Volcanoes and one thing I’ve never done is drive into a volcano, but that’s exactly what you can do if you visit the Sulfur Springs of St. Lucia.

It is expected that this volcano will erupt sometime within the next 100 years which in terms of volcanoes is literally any second now. In the meantime you’re welcome to drive on in and once you’re finished there are some hot-springs to rinse your body in and then some mud pits as well. Clearly there is a lot more to holidays in St Lucia than just the beach. I have to laugh at this picture though, as if smoking will somehow ruin the wonderful ‘rotten egg’ smell of all that sulfur.

St Lucia Holidays

IF YOU GO: Don’t be afraid to take your time and enjoy this island as well as others. You’ll mostly like find flights to the islands from South Florida (FLL and MIA) but don’t be afraid to head to the docks and find a windjammer to island hop with.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Flickr user Mary-Lynn via a creative commons license.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: island, st lucia, volcano

New Land in Hawaii

February 10, 2012 By Danny

One of the highlights of our trip to Hawaii was visiting Volcanos National Park.  The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanos in the middle of the pacific and those volcanos continue to add land to the islands as we speak.  Usually, they are quite tame but sometimes their lava flows can and do change direction.  Rarely is this an emergency as visitors usually have several hours to move away from the slow moving lava, but nonetheless it can impact the scenery a good bit.

When we visited the volcanos we were impressed by the trail over the lava rock.  We took this photo at the start of the trail just beyond the end of the road.  It should be clear why the road has come to an end!  We were able to hike out on the lava rock for several kilometers and could actually see it running several feet below where we were standing.  We have pictures of molten lava as well but this photo is pretty compelling to us.  Later we sat and watched as the lava created new Hawaiian land, it was memorizing!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

IF YOU GO:  The Hawaiian Islands are a great place to get away from it all.  Almost all flights to the islands land in Honolulu so check out some Oahu Hotels and then feel free to island hop to your heart’s content.  No trip to Honolulu is complete without a visit to Waikiki and Pearl Harbor!

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know some of your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo series.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: hawaii, national park, nature, signs, volcano

Photo: Dawn on a Volcano

September 26, 2011 By Jillian

Dawn from the top of a volcano is a unique experience. We hiked to the top of Santa Maria, a volcano in Guatemala during a full moon, staying at the blustery top long enough for the sun to rise. For us the hike in the dark was the amazing part, at least until the sun crept across the sky. Although Santa Maria is semi-dormant, nearby cones were blowing plenty of ash and steam into the air, making it feel as though we were on the top of the world.

Volcanoes are responsible for some of the most interesting landscapes around the world – alien like landscapes created by dried lava flows, colorful beaches, islands and mountain ranges. It’s interesting to see where the world’s most active volcanic regions are or have been. Certainly Central America ranks up there, but so do places you may not expect, like the Canary Islands or Yellowstone.

IF YOU GO: Guatemala City is a short flight from the U.S. and you can take a bus to Xela- the city closest to Santa Maria in about four hours. If you’re going for volcanoes, check out Pacaya near Antigua, which has active flows most of the year. Some of the best volcanic landscapes can be found across the Atlantic in the Canary Islands though, so if you’re thinking about doing a volcanic RTW tour, look for flights to Lanzarote, where a volcanic explosion in the 18th century covered much of the land.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: sunrise, volcano

Hola Costa Rica

June 24, 2009 By Danny

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With Nicaragua behind us we practically sprinted into Costa Rica…full of excitement for all the eco-adventures that awaited us. We’d planned to take multi-day whitewater kayak trips and spend the better part of a week learning to wind and kitesurf. We allocated just over two weeks for the fun of Costa Rica, hoping against hope that we’d have enough time to do it all.

Our first target upon arrival were the cloud forests of Monteverde in Santa Elena to take a canopy tour. While the name “Canopy Tour” might conjure images of a breezy nature walk through a forest, this could not be further from the truth. A canopy tour is actually a series of zip lines (metal cables strung through the forest that when harnessed in send you flying through to the other end of the line), some of which are as long as 700 meters and cross high above a ravine.  This is a thrill ride to the first degree and something we had to do before allowing ourselves the more simple pleasures of Monteverde such as a guided night hike (to see the wild animals of the night…including bats and tarantulas) and a hike through the world renowned Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

While in Monteverde we got a bad taste in our mouth. This country has changed since I was here last. In our opinion it has been overrun by tourism. In many parts of the country, little seems to be left of native culture. Expensive restaurants have replaced family run sodas. It seems the largest difference between the people of Costa Rica and Miami is that here people actually speak English. Don’t get me wrong, the landscape is incredible and the biodiversity unmatched, but through promoting tourism at the expense of all other pursuits I believe the government here has thrown away some of the country’s magic. Indeed, much of the pura vida culture I’d experienced 6 years ago has been replaced with condos, timeshares, and greedy tour guides. We arrived excited at the opportunities that awaited us but now that we are here many of those opportunities seem to have lost their luster. Costa Rica is by far a on the beaten track tourist destination, a great place for a relaxing vacation, but not a good place for independent adventure seeking travelers, especially those on a budget.

Arenal VolcanoHaving said all that, we realized we needed to readjust our plans. Rather than paying for expensive ($17 pp just to walk through a park, unguided, for a few hours) tours and visits we moved on from Monteverde with the a few new friends we’d made and headed over dirt roads and big lakes to the city of La Fortuna, home of the mighty Volcan Arenal. Regular readers of this blog are well aware that we’ve had our share of volcano encounters and as powerful as Arenal is we’ve already seen volcanos, hiked their peaks, and felt the heat of their lava. While in Xela we also enjoyed hot springs and were a bit dismayed when we discovered the $60 pp option here in Fortuna; a little bit of looking paid off and before long we found the “local” watering hole for 1/10th (that’s $6) of the price. We relaxed, played cards, soaked in the spas, swam in the pools, ate food that was bad for us, and drank a few beers while we were at it too.

We left La Fortuna much much happier than when we arrived. It seems we will be unable to kayak any rivers here in Costa Rica…mostly because we’ve yet to find an outfitter that has any kayaks for a reasonable price. Surf lessons-be it regular, wind, or kite-all cost here as much as they do in the USA so that is also out of the cards. We have a few more tricks up our sleeves to get the most we can out of Costa Rica and then we’ll be heading to Panama to get that whitewater kayaking in and maybe see some sort of “big ditch” (I hear they call it a canal.)

Filed Under: Central America, Costa Rica Tagged With: adventures, backpacking, canopy tour, hot springs, monteverde, volcan arenal, volcano

Isla de Ometepe

June 22, 2009 By Jillian

After Leon we spent a few days in Granada, relaxing and taking in the city. From there it was a quick jump to Isla Ometepe. The largest freshwater lake in Central America, Ometepe is a budding outdoor adventure paradise. Visited but not overrun by tourists, Ometepe maintains is “wild” feel. Dominating the landscape Volcan Conception and Volcan Maderas provide hiking, animal, birdwatching, and even swimming. Combine that with the lake shore, lake kayaking and even a wild monkey island, and well, you see why we had to spend a few days there.

Heading to Isla Ometepe via ferry we disembarked in Moyogalpa and quickly scrambled onto a chicken bus towards the village of Merida. Two and a half hours later we found ourselves at Hacienda Merida, an Eco-friendly, sustainable development focused inn along the west side of the lake. Checking in we were greeted by Simeon, a guide from the local tourism cooperative who cajoled us into hiking Volcan Maderas the next day. Unable to pass up an opportunity to climb another volcano, we singed up for the climb. Cautioning us not to drink and to get a good nights sleep Simeon left us until the next morning. Needless to say after all day traveling by overcrowded chicken bus and the slowest ferry imaginable, we needed beer and headed down to the local commedor for dinner and some brew.

Thinking we might actually beat the roosters to call in dawn, we left the Hacienda around 6:30am prepared for an 8-10 hour hike to the summit and back. Since the volcanoes basically are the island, there isn’t much flat terrain and we spent the first hour gradually climbing through agricultural fields. Heading into the canopy the trail became exponentially harder and we often found ourselves climbing up muddy tree limbs precariously balanced on their roots. Huffing and puffing like couch potatoes going up the stairs, we were challenged by the hike, heat, and humidity. Literally dripping with sweat, we continued to breathlessly ascend the volcano. I’m not sure if it was the rapid speed of the guide, he told us he climbs the volcano at least three times a week with tourists, the heat and humidity or the previous nights beer, but I felt incredibly out of shape for the first time in a long time. Before traveling both of us exercised daily and participated in adventure races and extreme sports. Three months of rice and beans has clearly had an affect on our bodies.

Easing up a bit as we got to the summit, the trail continued past the summit towards a Laguna. All of our huffing, puffing and sweating were rewarded by beautiful views of the Laguna from the summit. Resting a moment, we broke out some snack and chatted with the guide before heading back down the volcano. Nothing good lasts for long, especially in rainy season and before long the afternoon sky opened up on us and we found ourselves hiking down in a river of mud. One thing we’ve learned being in Central America during rainy season is that post afternoon shower the jungle is alive with all sorts of creatures. Almost back to the agricultural fields we spotted Capuchin monkeys interested in playing or at least looking at us. Calling to them with a series of kissy noises and what sounded like Donald Duck calls, Simeon got a few of the curious ones to come closer to us and we watched them leap through the trees above our heads.

Continuing down the mountain I made a few friends of my own, unfortunately they were not the cute furry kind. No my friends, I formed a bond with the Chichicaste plant, infamous for the painful blisters that form after you come in contact with it. Needless to say I found the plant by accident. I may not be allergic to poison ivy, oak or sumac but I am certainly not immune to the charms of the Chichicaste plant. Hauling myself down the volcano, Simeon proceeded to point out every single poisonous plant on the way back down and warning me about each one. Finally, soaked, exhausted and each of us hurting in our own way, we collapsed in a pill of mud in front of our room unable to move for at least ten minutes.

Healed from my encounter with the Chichicaste, but still exhausted we decided to take the next day easy. Closer to Volcano Conception, the pools of Ojo de Agua (eye of the water) were an incredible place to rest our weary bones. The two pools of varying depths, naturally filled with river water, were downright cold and refreshing after the jungle. Things being what they are though, we miscalculated the money we brought with us and found ourselves without enough cash to take the bus back to Merida. Doing what any good independent traveler would do, we hitched a ride in the back of a utility truck to the nearest town and walked the 8 km back to Merida.   Turns out our lack of money didn’t matter. Not a single bus passed us the entire way back to Merida -we would have been waiting over two hours for the bus anyway.

Crawling into bed to once again torrential downpour, we slept like logs. Heading back to Moyogalpa the next morning our bus abruptly stopped about 10km from the town. Herding us out of the bus like cattle, the driver pointed to the road ahead and told us we’d have to walk to the connecting bus. The torrential downpours we keep talking about? Well they had triggered a massive landslide overnight that covered everything in it’s path with mud, volcanic rock and debris. Eventually we made it to Moyogalpa,  and in a panicked rush, caught the ferry and made it back to the mainland.

Filed Under: Central America, Hike, Nicaragua Tagged With: hiking, transport, volcano

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