January 25, 2016 - Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio

Our friends, Steve and Mary, took us to Parque Nacional Volcan Tenorio today. It was a long drive timewise – about 1-1/2 hours to get there, but not that far in distance. We were on very narrow, bumpy, gravel roads and left their house in the rain. As we got closer to the park, the rain had mostly stopped.

Steve and Mary have Costa Rican residency and when we went to pay the entrance fee, their cost was only $2 per person! A nice benefit of being an expat in Costa Rica.

There is a concrete trail to begin the trek to the waterfalls, but it quickly ends and becomes a muddy path. We could have rented rubber boots for $4 per person, but we opted to just go for it! A few times we went off-trail through the brush to avoid being sucked into the mud and not being able to get out!

The last part of the trail to the falls in a long section of steps. The railings are made to look like wood. Nice touch.

We were treated to the beautiful falls as we descended the last section.

The “Cataract of the Celeste River” is the waterfall which is about 20 meters high. Normally, the water is a really beautiful blue color, but because of the rain, there was too much sediment in the water. The river, the Río Celeste, becomes blue at a point where two clear-water tributaries merge, at a point called El Teñidor. There are numerous scientific theories as to where the Río Celeste gets its color. Most recently they have discovered that rocks at the bottom of the river have a mineral coating that includes silicon, oxygen, and aluminum. It is the size of these minerals, as well as the reflection of the sunlight, that gives the water its incredible hue. We didn’t get to see the blue, but Steve and Mary have seen it several times.

After our hike we stopped at a local “soda” for lunch before heading back to their house for the evening. It is still raining tonight, but we hope it will stop so we can visit the Arenal Volcano and have a stop at one of the hot springs.