With luggage and camera gear packed in the van by 8 in the morning my new friends and I on my photography tour are off to our first destination, promising to be an outstanding adventure. The excitement is high with everyone getting to know each other and talking cameras and pictures on this their first day.
Our destination is Arenal, an active Costa Rica volcano, but along the way there are some very interesting sights to see and photograph. We stop in Sarchi where decorated, brightly colored ox carts, famous in Costa rica, are made in a water powered factory which is 80 years old. After Sarchi we go to nearby mountainous Zarcero where there is an old wooden church and its amazing double row of beautiful topiaries. With the colours and patterns in Sarchi and the remarkable shapes of the topiaries in Zarcero there is no problem filling the memory cards of our cameras at these stops.
Along the way, the potholes in the roads are many. Our Tico driver, Luis, knows this and so drives extremely cautiously to avoid them. However, it seems like everyone else on two or four wheels pass us. Those passing us seem to believe that they are Formula One contenders and in Costa Rica there is even a bus driver who is known to have passengers find God while on his bus.
After our planned stops and lunch in La Fortuna we are now just a few miles from our lodge at Arenal. As we leave the main highway we find ourselves on a road that is one continuous pothole. It is January and the rainy season has just ended so most roads are in poor condition but what is unique about this road is that it was constructed from crushed lava rock.
In rounding a curve we come upon a clearing at a river and behold, there is Arenal Volcano! The majority of my group have never been face to face with an active volcano and this perfectly shaped volcano is an awesome sight.
The point of the cone is cloaked in puffy white clouds with a beautiful blue sky as a backdrop. We immediately stop and quickly leave the van attaching cameras to tripods. Some of us wade into the river for a better image while some shoot from the riverbanks getting a different perspective.
Of course being this close to an active volcano could be very dangerous but Arenal is quite predictable, a low risk. The lodge is only one and a half kilometers to the base of the volcano and two kilometers to the top of the cone and needless to say, any activity attracts your attention.
Getting settled in while we are unpacking mighty Arenal speaks! It roars as smoke and gas billow hundreds of feet into the sky and we hear the rocks tumbling down the slopes. The Mantled Howler monkeys are extremely vocal following the eruption, however, we do not know if this is in protest of the roar or if they are just responding to its call.
While enjoying our meal in the lodge dining room mighty Arenal speaks again! Although there are many photo opportunities in Costa Rica, who would have imagined that while eating dinner we would be gazing up at a volcano erupting in front of our eyes? And this on our very first day of the tour!
Most of us do not get much sleep for the first two nights. Instead, we find some comfortable chairs in the common area outside our rooms and attach cable releases to our cameras and put them on a tripod. From past experiences I decide to use an 80-200mm lens set at 80mm and an aperture of f8, the camera shutter set at "B" for time exposure.
With the activity of the small flare-ups at the cone and the lava flowing down the opposite side I think a time exposure of more than twenty minutes will produce an ugly yellow blob of light, so if there had been no eruptions after this length of time I will close the shutter and start another exposure. Using a cable release makes these exposures very easy and Arenal puts on quite a display while we are there.
Arenal volcano was the first adventure for my photography group in Costa Rica. Everyone is looking forward to the next eight days and the marvelous and exciting photo opportunities they will have. Pura Vida!
About the Author:
Canadian Frank Scott lives in sunny Costa Rica where he is a professional Costa Rica Photographer offering unique photography tours. Some of his work can be seen in Costa Rica Vacations, a very popular travel guide to this unique country.
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