Arenal Volcano hiking tour

We just got back from the Arenal volcano tour. We walked up a private nature trail to the base of the volcano. It is 1700 meters high. We could only walk up the volcano about 300 meters, as per the law. Pablo was our guide and he showed us all the flora and fauna of the cloud forest. He found a hummingbird nest ..fantastic! A little later he spotted another hummingbird nest with 2 eggs in it. Unbelievable! And I got pictures. He recommended to me the book: MEDICINAL PLANTS OF COSTA RICA. I will look for it on Amazon when I get home. He spotted lots of orchids and butterflies and insects. BUT NOTE TO LOIS: NO SNAKES WERE SEEN IN THE MAKING OF THIS STORY.

I did see some lizards and a colony of leaf cutter ants. We spotted several birds, but they were too quick for me to get a picture. The Kopot or Ciembo trees were gigantic and magnificent. Several survived the 1968 volcano eruption. Pablo said that in 1968 no one knew Arenal Peak was a volcano. It rumbled and erupted in the summer of 1968 covering 2 villages on the west side. The town of Fortuna was spared. The volcano exploded from 3 columns on the west side and that side had lots of new green growth. Now I it is time for lunch and off the see the hot springs near the base of the volcano. Emr/ wed at 1207 hours.