Observations at Arenal in Costa Rica

I wanted to think I had arrived in an Eden, an unspoiled wilderness, untouched by the hand of man or by any other unworthy fate. Wasn't that what Costa Rica promised me in the firsthand accounts of all my friends' trips there? Of course they rattled on about the ziplining, the whitewater rafting, the surfing, and the biking, all things not interesting to me. But I was hearing something else in these stories: the forests, the waterfalls, the nature trails, and the extraordinary wildlife. Indeed I soon discovered my bucket list awaiting me in Arenal National Park. But my experience there also taught me that the reality of Costa Rica's natural history owed a lot to acts of God, and often to human drama.

The first hotel I booked on my Costa Rica trip was the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Unlike on my trip's four other legs, the demand was so high that I needed a reservation six months in advance. The hotel billed itself as the only one within Arenal Volcano National Park, lying below the south slope of its namesake volcano that last erupted in 2010.

Before Arenal Volcano's sudden eruption in 1968, after hundreds of years of dormancy, the area was not a protected environment at all but was devoted to agriculture. Cattle ranches and farmland checkered the landscape until hot ash, lava, and rocks from the volcano took eighty-seven human lives and thousands of heads of livestock while destroying three villages, countless acres of farms and pastures, a mountaintop-rain forest, and swaths of natural terrain.

Nevertheless business opportunities ensued when in 1972 the owners of what became Arenal Observatory Lodge (AOL) purchased a newly-abandoned cattle ranch. It was around this time also that a hydroelectric dam was being built to create nearby Lake Arenal. AOL's owners started raising cattle on the site again but also began farming eucalyptus trees and Honduran pines. Not long after, the new ranchers built a small lodge to accommodate Smithsonian Institution scientists who frequently camped in the area to monitor seismic activity.

Then in 1991, Costa Rica created Arenal Volcano National Park that encompassed the ranch but still allowed AOL to continue as a farm. Since then, the small lodge has expanded to its current form to cater to the steadily increasing number of tourists that visit the area not for agriculture but for the recovered and protected flora and fauna. Even though it hasn't erupted since 2010, Arenal Volcano is still active and continues to impress visitors with its symmetrical postcard-worthy shape.

Wildlife thrives in the area, and AOL's reputation as a place to view it drew me to the lodge. I initially thought the Observation in the property's name referred to the observation deck that provided fantastic birdwatching opportunities from the hotel's central complex. Scientists and an active volcano were the farthest thing from my mind before I arrived. But it all made sense as I looked beyond the feeding station where the lodge hoisted up watermelon halves at least twice daily to attract local birds. When clouds didn't obscure it, Arenal Volcano loomed directly in my line of sight.

It was supposedly a safe place to monitor Arenal as a forest-hidden river valley lay between the site and the volcano. In fact to reach the waterway, I hiked River Trail which began directly off the deck, below the feeding apparatus. But first I made sure a collared aracari perching overhead didn't drop a gift - a watermelon rind or something messier - before I descended the trail's incredibly steep grade to the Agua Caliente River. Sections of trail had washed out in many places creating a slippery obstacle course. I can attest that any lava or pyroclastic flow would have to be in tip top shape to make that hike.

Back on the deck, I wasn't disappointed by the birdwatching. The largest birds dominated the race for the hanging fruits when they were first hoisted aloft before six a.m. A person casually looking at the frenzy would be forgiven for thinking that there were only four, large bird species imbibing: great curassows, crested guans, Montezuma oropendolas, and gray headed chachalacas. But a closer examination promised sightings of a wide variety of smaller birds partaking, including emerald tanagers and black-cheeked woodpeckers. Amid the surrounding flora even more birds, like black-striped sparrows and green hermit hummingbirds, searched for seeds and nectar. A mounted placard on the deck showed thirty-three bird species commonly observed; I encountered the majority of them.

AOL offered a complimentary walking tour to guests which I eagerly joined on my first morning. The public grounds covered hundreds of hectares so I could use any help available to start exploring. Our small group crossed Spider Bridge over a deep, wooded ravine and took a path past the hotel pool and a building with additional hotel rooms. A second placard showed the thirty-six possible hummingbird species you might spot in the area. The landscape was tightly manicured with close-cropped grass, casting more of a Hawaiian resort feel than, for example, the primary forest habitat that River Trail cut through. But the choice of blooms in the garden seemed to please the hummingbirds I would later encounter there including the rufous-tailed and black-capped coquette.

We followed Hormiga Trail into denser, recently restored forest as we passed the Nest, a twenty-eight-meter tall observation tower. Stopping at a frog pond, our guide Christian helped us locate two different frog species: a red-eyed tree frog and a brilliant-forest frog. The trail's name was Spanish for ant, and it was further along this trail that Christian also introduced us to a family of birds known as antbirds. As I tried to photograph my first spotted antbird, our guide explained how many of these birds follow lines and swarms of ants to feed off any invertebrates flushed out by any insect intrusion. It was a rich area for birdwatching; I also shot a roadside hawk, a cinnamon becard, and a slaty-capped becard.

On my own later in the morning in secondary forest, I hiked Danta Waterfall trail that led to the waterfall on the Danta River. Along the way I encountered a rufous motmot, a new bird in a family that proved to be one of the most colorful I saw on my Costa Rica trip. I was on the southern edge of the property as indicated on the handy map that the lodge provided. There were still more trails to the east where the map also indicated a cattle grate. It was the only evidence I'd find that AOL was indeed still a part of a working ranch.

I returned closer to the lodge via the Yellow Trail which also looked like a primitive road. At least six coatis, many of them juveniles, playfully greeted me when I reached a more familiar trail from the morning, the Orange Trail. As I passed by the pool again, an anteater crossed my path. I entered that other lodge building and climbed to the top floor where there was a lounge with large windows for wildlife watching.

Lunch at the main lodge's restaurant was followed by my River Trail hike. I had veered off it on the strenuous return, following Los Monos Trail where I encountered several howler monkeys, including a mother and its child, high in the leafy canopy. I ended up at The Nest, the watchtower, which I climbed to get a panoramic view of the area. Treetops stretched in every direction, the only outstanding landmarks being that second lodge, Arenal Volcano - its peak still hidden in cloud cover - and Arenal Lake. Heavy winds made me question the strength of the structure before I was reassured by the array of support cables connecting the tower to the ground.

Flocks of noisy parrakeets flew by and vultures soared in the distance. Loud bark-like squawks emanated from the west. Seeing nothing, after fifteen minutes I gave up birdwatching in frustration. Reconnecting to the "Orange Trail," I walked in the direction of the squawks which turned out to be crested guans who were eating red berries from a wide, dense tree that grew to the side of the trail. (A guide would later tell me it was a type of fig tree.) At least three yellow-throated toucans joined in the feasting. I soon spotted several bay-headed tanagers decked out in their vibrant combination of red, green, and blue colors. In the thick brush below, I photographed a thick-billed seed finch. Beyond the tree in a grassy clearing was an agouti, a large native rodent. Perched above it high on an exposed tree branch was an orange-chinned parakeet. And up the sloping landscape sat that second lodge building with numerous guest room patios, balconies, and picture windows. I wondered if those guests paid extra for the wildlife show I was witnessing, certainly a more natural one than the one staged with melon halves.

My room was at the main lodge complex, past reception and looking out over the observation deck. An adjacent bar and restaurant was ready to serve guests as I watched from the deck as the sun set behind Arenal Lake. As I sipped a local beer, Imperial, I had no doubts that I had picked the perfect place to stay in the Arenal area. Remoteness, wildlife, and nature were just past the railing except for the hepatic tanagers hunting moths near my feet.

It would be difficult to leave in the morning when my count of bird species at Arenal would reach thirty-eight, the most in any single location on my Costa Rica trip. I had early plans to take in the hot springs-fed pools at Ecotermales a half an hour away near La Fortuna. Then I was headed to Monteverde and its cloud forest for two nights.

Identifying another migratory warbler and snapping one last shot of a violet-headed hummingbird, which I'd do that last morning, were the reasons I was in Costa Rica. I wondered if I was a hypocrite, coming close to an activity like ziplining by visiting the hot springs where I'd be indulging in some rest and relaxation rather than serious birdwatching. Of course I was hardly living in a field tent at AOL, a place where I could easily adjust my spacious room's ceiling fan, take a hot shower, and indulge in two-for-one drinks during Happy Hour.

But I was still witnessing something extraordinary there. I had found an Eden, blooming and thriving despite being in the path of a destructive volcano. Of course my paradise was also a product of mankind through some thoughtful development and business decisions, and then legal protection in the form of a national park. Nature, government, and AOL had all come together to craft for me my Goldilocks place. Pura vida.