La Fortuna

 Costa Rica

Marietta College Biology and Environmental Science Department Field Trip 2005/2007

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The town of La Fortuna is dominated by the Volcán Arenal.  The volcano, which is very active, is a constant presence on the horizon and it even adds a low rumble now and then as it erupts.  The church above, San Bosco, reflects the town of La Fortuna's original name - the town was renamed after a major eruption went the other way and avoided the town (we won't go into what happened to the town of Arenal).

The image above, taken from a faded 3-D map on the wall of the Hotel San Bosco (below) shows the relationship of several stops on our trips.  #1 shows the location of La Selva, a field station in the tropical lowland rainforest.  #2 is Santa Elena and Monteverde, the location of the cloud forests high in the mountains.  Fortuna is #3.  Note all the protected areas between La Fortuna and Santa Elena.  A good portion of this is the protected area around various active volcanoes; much of the rest is the Monteverde Reserve and the Childrens' Eternal Rainforest.  You can also see Lake Arenal on the western side of the volcano; the lake is man-made and backs up water which would normally flow down the eastern slope to the Caribbean.  This allows the water to be diverted to the drier Guanacaste Province to the west; electricity is generated at the same time.  High winds in the area also make windfarms possible and make the lake a popular site for windsurfers.  The rebuilt town of Arenal lies to the north of the lake, well away from the volcano. 

The parking lot was an advanced, eco-friendly design of open concrete blocks set in the ground.  These support vehicles yet allow rainwater to permeate instead of running off into sewers.  To the right, breakfast poolside with pancakes, fruit, huevos, fruit juice and...wait for it.... beans and rice.  Below, the rooms, complete with their own avian fauna.

One of the best features of the hotel was an upper level observation deck where you could sit and watch the volcano - all night if you wanted to.  Above and Below: Dave Brown looking out at Arenal.  Right:  Dr. Brown meets the "mango man" (although this one was a whole lot more sanitary than the mango man in Cahuita!).

The main street; again, Arenal dominates the city.

An eruption penetrates the clouds above Arenal.  Some of the eruptions were quite loud and resembled thunder.  The volcano seemed to be more active, eruption-wise, in 2005 as opposed to 2007.

The area around La Fortuna is home to some very diverse agriculture - there is less of the banana/pineapple monocultures up here.  Above, coffee "trees" (they are bush-sized) grow on the slopes interspersed with other trees and crops.  Right:  A large commercial nursery operation; note the greenhouses and the fields covered with netting (for shade).  I'm sure the greenhouses are more for controlling certain conditions as opposed to keeping the plants warm!

 

Left:  Papaya trees growing on the outskirts of La Fortuna.

 

Yuca is an important staple crop in Costa Rica.  The roots (tubers?) are very starchy and used in cooking much the way North Americans use potatoes. Above left is a typical field (with Volcán Arenal in the background).  Above right is a closer view of the plants, which were about 1.5-2 meters tall.  Below you can see the yuca field behind a field of another, unidentified, shorter crop.

 

On a hike near La Fortuna we saw this Keel Billed Toucan (Froot-Loops Toucan).

I hope to get better pictures next time - this one was up-sun and hard to pick out of the branches - still, it was an impressive bird, and another life-lister for me.

The town square in La Fortuna is beautifully landscaped with colorful plants throughout.  It's a good place to sit, wait for a bus, or just watch people come through.  The church forms the one end of the square, and a bandstand is at the other.  We were lucky enough to catch a bit of a concert in 2005.  The concert was complete with some sort of "rodeo drill team" as seen below.

Another view of the town square.

A model of the volcano in the square in front of the church.

The town square.

The "Bank of Dave", La Fortuna branch.

The hotel grounds were also nicely landscaped, with many flowering plants.  There was a fair diversity of bird life right there on the grounds as well.  Near the breakfast area the hotel had suspended an oropendola nest (right); we saw other examples of these unique woven nests on hikes around Arenal (above right).