After the Arenal 1968 trail, our next stop was just a few short minutes down the road – Arenal Volcano National Park.

We thought that hiking another trail to another volcano viewpoint might be a little bit redundant, but we weren’t willing to miss out on a beautiful national park when we had the opportunity to visit it. And the clouds were finally starting to clear, so it seemed like we might have another chance at a view of the entire volcano, this time not shrouded in clouds and mist.

Setting off down this short trail, Steve remarked, “I feel like I’m in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!” I knew exactly what he meant. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see an elephant-sized ant come wandering down the trail.

Eventually we made it out of the dappled sunshine of the trailhead and into a shadier forest.

Most of the trail elevation gain was via a couple of green-painted metal staircases that blended in with the canopy.

Before we knew it, we reached a clearing and got our first really good volcanic view of the day. The skies had cleared and Arenal was out in all its imposing glory.

We spent a long time looking out over the volcano and taking in all the details – like this heart-shapped fissure.

It was fascinating to watch the clouds roll across the landscape and see the interplay of light and shadow on the volcano.

This was a really fascinating day. In addition to all the flora and fauna of the trails, it was just fascinating to see the volcano and talk about it. I felt a little guilty about enjoying myself so much – it felt a bit jarring to be out on the trail, soaking up sunshine and enjoying movement and fresh air and this compelling landscape when I knew that this volcano was deadly and was the source of a horrific tragedy within my parents’ lifetime. Interesting to reflect on how hiking can be personally enriching but we are walking through landscapes that have much larger context.

The trail back was fascinating too. It was always cool to see the famous walking palms (socratea exorrhiza). The trees “walk” from sunlight to shade by growing their roots in the direction they want to travel and then allowing old roots to lift out of the ground and die – wild. Did we call them Ents? You know we did.

We also saw a massive kapok tree, which we especially loved because Peanut starred as a caiman in a play called “Save the Great Kapok Tree!” in her kindergarten class.

Back at the trailhead! What a special place and a beautiful, fascinating hike.

Next week: when in Arenal, you swim in Catarata Rio Fortuna.