Rincón de la Vieja

Day 37 (August 4, 2018) – Liberia, Costa Rica

After spending the week at the beach in Tamarindo, we took a bus back to Liberia for the weekend to visit Rincón de la Vieja National Park. This was after much indecision on our part… did we really want to give up a relaxing beach day to go exhaust ourselves hiking around a volcano? We made a wise choice to skip the beach and it was well worth the extra effort.

Rincón de la Vieja is one of a handful of actives volcanoes in Costa Rica and is conveniently located only 20-30 minutes away from Liberia. We stayed at another hostel in Liberia, Congos Hostel. It was a small place with only a few rooms and worked out well for the couple days we were there. They also had the cutest dalmatian ever and a couple of extremely friendly cats who provided plenty of entertainment. Liberia itself wasn’t a very happening place, but we probably didn’t give it the time it deserved because all we did there was run errands and find dinner.  

One of our many furry friends at Congos Hostel in Liberia. 

On Saturday morning we got up early and took a shared van to Rincón de la Vieja National Park. Arriving a little before 8 AM, we were one of the first groups into the park. The park has a number of hiking trails that take you to waterfalls and various areas of geothermal activity along the slopes of the volcano. Unfortunately, the hike to the summit crater of the volcano was closed due to recent activity, but we hiked out and back to the one of the waterfalls, Catarata La Cangreja, and around the main trail loop, Sendero Circular Las Pailas, that takes you on a tour of the local geothermal activity.

Hiking past crystal clear streams.

Our hike around Rincón de la Vieja was actually a moment of great pride for me. When we were getting advice on where to hike that day we were told that our chosen path was an estimated 6 hours of hiking for the day. And this is hiking through the hot and sticky tropical forest, up and down hills, and along trails that are congested with tree roots, mud, and boulders. Had this been the beginning of our trip I don’t think I would have made it the entire way. However, since starting this trip we’ve been walking and hiking everywhere and I'm in better shape now than in as long as I can remember. That still might not be saying much, but at the end of the day we had taken 25,000 steps and walked nearly 12 miles. Never once did I need to stop to catch my breath, even while scrambling uphill over boulders with a backpack on. The best part was that, even when we were done, I could have kept going. I’m sure Travis didn’t think much of this hike but, unlike him, I’m not exactly built for physical activity.

We hiked along trails like this for 4 hours, round trip to the waterfall, plus the 2 hours we spent on the loop trail. Of course, there were more level parts of the trail, but I wouldn't call the hike easy.

Out of the jungle.

The hike itself was very interesting as it started out in tropical forest, then transitioned to a much drier environment populated with plants that would have looked more at home in the desert, and then passed again into tropical forest where we eventually reached the waterfall. We were the first people on the trail that day. We had to use a stick to clear out the spider webs criss-crossing the trail ahead of us, but being first meant that we got a lot of good animal sightings. There were countless birds and butterflies and lots of agoutis running around. Agoutis are medium-sized brown mammals that we have affectionately nicknamed a “Jilly” because we're pretty sure if our dog turned into an enormous guinea pig she'd look just like an agouti, complete with their skittish personality. 

An agouti. Perhaps Jilly was one in her past life.

Our own private waterfall thanks to an early start.

Compared to the waterfall trail, the Sendero Circular Las Pailas route felt like a leisurely stroll. This is by far a more touristed trail that is mostly paved and very well maintained. Many people were getting guided tours but, like we usually do, we went out on our own. I’ve never seen so many butterflies in my life. Our favorite was a butterfly called the Blue Morpho. We saw them everywhere. About the size of your hand, they dart about erratically with brilliant blue wings. The blue color is so intense I swear they would glow blue in the dark. We tried in vain to get a photo of one, but their huge wings allow them to move about so quickly it was almost impossible. The only time they stop moving is when they land on a leaf or flower, when they immediately close their blue wings and expose their less interesting black underside.

A few of the many flying insects we encountered.

Our best shot, thanks to Travis, of the elusive Blue Morpho.

I was less excited about the giant spiders. My hand was actually a good 6 inches away. I would never get as close as the photo suggests.

The rest of the park felt a bit like we were walking through Yellowstone. There are hot springs, boiling pots of mud, and sulfurous fumaroles every few minutes along the walking path. The diversity of environments we saw in a single day was stunning. Well worth giving up a day at the beach.   

Boiling hot spring.

Video of a bubbling mud pot.