Because it is actively erupting now you cannot go in the park near the craters, but my driver took me and Stijn the high road from Irazú to near the top of Turrialba and then around through the farms to the bottom and back to Guayabo Lodge. The big thing to me was how many vegetable gardens or fields of vegetables were growing on the side of the volcano with the rich volcanic ash. I noticed especially a lot of onions, carrots, squash and leafy green vegetables – and I’m sure there’s many others.
Yes – that’s rather surprising! Especially this Irazú Volcano, the highest in Costa Rica and usually above the clouds as seen in one of the following photos or the feature photo at top. As the highest, it is the only volcano from which you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day, though not a clear day while I was there. 🙂
Irazú has two craters, one inactive and one occasionally mildly active, with sometimes both craters filling with water in the rainy season (not now) to form beautiful lakes. But the biggest surprise to me was the number and variety of flowers and other plants, even trees around both craters and “the beach,” a large, flat sandy, desert-like area above both craters with hills going above that, all with plants growing on them!
And as I will denote tomorrow in my post on the neighboring Turrialba Volcano, the land below an active volcano grows great vegetables with the soil enriched by the regular deposits of the rich volcanic ash! 🙂 When it erupts during the windy dry season (Dec-Mar) I get some of that rich ash on my garden and even as dust all over my furniture at less than a hundred air miles away! 🙂
Yeah, that’s the real common name for this butterfly, Blushing Phantom, (link to Wikipedia article with very little info), the Cithaerias pireta pireta (Mexico to Colombia, Ecuador) also known as the “Pink tipped Clearwing Satyr” and the “Rusted Clearwing Satyr.” It is my first one to see and also the only “clearwing” I’ve seen with an eye spot! It was in the jungles of the archaeological site Guayabo National Monument, Costa Rica, so maybe it’s a prehistoric butterfly! 🙂
With over 2000 species of spiders in Costa Rica, it is hard to identify many of them and my internet search did not help find an ID for this guy that I photographed at the Guayabo Lodge, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica. There are many kinds of Tarantulas and I’m reasonably sure he is in that family. He was a little smaller than the palm of my hand, so not a large Tarantula.
One of many black tarantulas in Costa Rica. Nearly as large as the palm of my hand.
¡Pura Vida!
And I’ll get to my bird photos eventually, just too many photos to process. 🙂 And of course I have a Spiders Gallery! 🙂
Three different bees that I have not tried to identify yet from my time at Guayabo Lodge, near Turrialba, Costa Rica through yesterday.
And for those who have written about my health, I went to Clinica Linea Vital for a checkup yesterday and an added visit to Santa Sophia Clinic for x-rays. Plus I got two shots and Rx’s for inflammation, swelling and something else she noted that will relieve my pains. So I do try to take care of myself, even if clumsy in my old age! 🙂
ON THE LODGE’S FARM . . .
Going for the sap of an evergreen tree on Guayabo Lodge Farm by their cow pasture.
Volcanoes Irazú and Turrialba are almost twin volcanoes with a road connecting the near tops of both in the rural vegetable farming mountains just northwest of the lodge. The rich volcanic soil is great for growing vegetables and many are shipped to other countries including the states.
Turrialba is active right now, so we saw it from outside that park, but I have photos below of both. My one disclaimer is that there is not as much to see at these two as the Poas Volcano north of where I live and I do have past posts and photo galleries on my two visits there, plus a gallery on my visit to Rincón de la Vieja northeast of Liberia which is more like a miniature Yellowstone with lots of bubbling mud pots, hot springs and fissures. And Tenorio is similar. But my favorite is Arenal Volcano National Park for birding! You only see the volcano from outside. They are all interesting! And Stijn was an excellent guide again today! He made photos of me on his phone which I don’t have to share yet. And later I may do a post on the many interesting flowers and a couple of insects I photographed at Irazú.
The principle crater at Irazú can still be active.
Below are separate galleries on Irazú & Turrialba with 5 shots from each . . .
Yeah, I know, the old expression is “down on the farm” but here I’m literally UP on a farm in the mountains north of Cartago, Costa Rica on the slopes of Turrialba Volcano. You do know that the best coffee is “mountain grown” and this farm grows coffee along with many vegetables and animals – and just happens to also have a small tourist hotel! 🙂
My room is the left upstairs window in that building seen here from the farm.
So on my arrival day I’m featuring a few photos about the farm location of my lodge/hotel, the Guayabo Lodge, the closest one to the archaeological site and National Monument Guayabo which I’m scheduled to visit tomorrow.
Not only am I sleeping on an active farm but also in a beautiful garden with flowers that mostly grow only in the mountains here. Maybe that will be tomorrow’s post since it will probably take a long time to process photos from the national monument tomorrow. 🙂
Here’s 7 favorite farm shots from my arrival day . . .
I recently discovered Community Carbon Trees Costa Ricawhich employs rural poor people to plant trees on non-productive farm land where there used to be a forest and many such barren spots are coming back as forest. Check out the above website available in both English and Español to see the great work they are doing and how you can both come here and volunteer or donate money to plant and maintain trees for renewed forests!
Trees reaching for the sun in Costa Rica!
My Photo Profits Now All Go to Plant Trees
You may not be aware that all the photos in my gallery (on SmugMug) are available for purchase as prints, wall art, and on other objects through SmugMug services (they do a great job!) PLUS my Bookstore on Blurb has my photo books available for sale. Because both sites use sub-contractors to print, they may seem a little pricy and thus I have kept my “profit” or “mark-up” down to just $1 on each item. Now I’ve decided to donate 100% of that to Community Carbon Trees (see link above) to plant trees on bare land that used to be forest. So now you know that if you buy a photo or photo book you are helping to plant trees and save our planet! Thank you! And if you don’t need a photo, why not go to their website and donate something to help plant trees? 🙂
Forest in San Gerardo de Dota
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
At the same breakfast stop for the Macaws shown yesterday, I got a photo of this very common Variegated Squirrel. Then, while on the trail at Tenorio Volcano National Park, a shot of an immature or juvenile Brown Vine Snake. We could have seen more wildlife in that park had it been our target instead of waterfalls. 🙂 But I stayed focused on my target of the day! 🙂
Variegated Squirrel, Canas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.Immature Brown Vine Snake, Tenorio Volcano National Park, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. And if you have trouble finding it , it runs from upper left corner to lower right corner. Yellowish Brown.
