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San Isidro de El General


San Isidro de El General is the largest town in this region and is located just off the Interamerican Highway in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountains. Although there isn't much to do right in town, it is a charming little place as well as the the jumping-off point for trips to Chirripó National Park. This is also a good break point if we're coming from or going to Dominical.

Irazu

Irazú Volcano crater is an impressive half mile cube dug out of the earth, surrounded by desolate gray sand, which looks like the surface of the moon. President Kennedy's visit in 1963, coincided with a major eruption, and in 1994 the north wall of the volcano was destroyed by another eruption that sent detritus down as far as the Rio Sucio, within sight of the San José - Limón Highway. The views are stupendous on a clear day and the main reason for the trip.
In the afternoon the mountain top is buried in fog and mist or drizzle, but the ride up in the mist can be magical, for the mountain side is half displaced in time. There are new jeeps and tractors, but the herds of cattle are small, the fields are quilt-work, hand-carts and oxcarts are to be seen under the fretworked porches of the well-kept frame houses. The land is fertile, the pace is slow, the air is clean. It is a very attractive mixture of old and new. Irazú is a strange mountain, well worth the ride up.

Poas

Volcán Poás (2,708 m) sits in the center or Parque National Volacán Poás, where the still-smoking volcano and bubbling turquoise sulphur pool are set within a beautiful forest. The crater is almost 1.5 km across - the second largest in the world. The park is rich with abundant bird life given the altitude and barren nature of the terrain and home to the only true dwarf cloud forest in Costa Rica.

Arenal

Skirting the slopes of the 1,633 m Volcán Arenal, the road travels north around the base of the man made Lago Arenal and hydroelectric dam. The highly active volcano is beautiful, a classic Stromboli-type cone shape characterized by explosions sending out hot gray clouds of sulphurous gases, which can descent the slopes at alarming speeds. The lava streams have moved from the West side to the north-east following activity in recent years. Although the side facing Fortuna is green, the side facing the lake is gray and barren, and the lava flows are clearly visible. There are three active craters and several fumaroles, with activity particularly impressive at night, as the red hot lava crashes, smashes, and tumbles down the hillside accompanied by rumbles and intermittent roars (rather like someone moving furniture upstairs). The activity is fueled by a magma chamber that vulcanologists believe is just 5 Km below the surface.
Arenal has been continuously active since July 1968, when an eruption killed 78 people and more or less destroyed three villages including Tabacón which is situated above the balneario. the most recent continuous major activity was in May of 1998, but in August 2000 a small group traveled beyond the permitted area, were engulfed by a pyroclastic avalanche and the guide later died of third degree burns.

Fortuna

The small town of Fortuna is an ideal place for exploring the Arenal region with the ominous silhouette of the highly active Volcán Arenal looming above the town. Once a quiet little town that shuddered in the shadow of the volcano's power, Fortuna has grown to accommodate the regular influx of visitors keen to see the active volcano. While the numbers have grown, the quiet feel has not quite disappeared.

Alajuela

The provincial capital of Alajuela has a very slightly milder climate than San José making it a popular weekend excursion for Josefinos. Famous for its flowers and market days. The town centers on the Parque Central with the 19th-century domed church on the eastern side. The unusual church of La Agonía five blocks further east is an interesting mix of styles.

Dominical

On the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica is one of the country's most beautiful uncut gems, Dominical. From its turquoise green water to its fiery red and gold sunsets, the natural beauty of the area is second to none. The town sits on the Pacific ocean bordered to the north by the Rio Baru, on the east by three thousand foot high mountains and to the south by dark, coffee brown, beaches and coves. One of the most striking features of Dominical can be found while swimming in the water, the town simply disappears. All you see are the tall beach palms and mangroves surrounded by verdant green hills reaching up into the mountains.

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