Cerro Chato climb leaves me blue

Okay, I only have time for a short entry, and brevity has never been my strong point, lol. Amy and I climbed a Volcano yesterday! We went to the Arenal Observatory Lodge (which is kind of like a state park, only fancier) and hiked up Cerro Chato, the dormant Volcano right next to Arenal. This hike involved a staggering 1-2 mile ascent that made up for what it lacked in length in steepness. A good deal of the time the trail was so steep that we had to use the trees around us to help pull us up it; the steps we took were big and plentiful enough to shame any Stairmaster workout, and I have not been quite so aware of the muscles in my thighs or my butt for a long while. Halfway up the already muddy trail, the sky opened up and dumped large quantities of warm, tropical rain on us (shocking for the rainforest, I know), making the trail even more slippery but that much more exciting and beautiful. After climbing the Volcano, Amy and I found the lagoon that lies in the Crater at the top. It was beautiful and very mysterious because it was so foggy at the top that you couldn't see more than 50 feet of the lagoon, and we had no idea how big it actually was. It was a difficult but very rewarding hike. I would also like to add that by the end, it had rained so much that I had blue streaks of hair dye running down my face and neck, and I had to diligently scrub later in order to avoid looking like a tye-dyed t-shirt. Sexy beast? I think so. ;) Sadly, that's all for today, but more later.

Cerro Chato climb leaves me blue

La Fortuna, Costa Rica