Life in the Slow Lane (The Pearl): Jan. 30

"If you tiptoe into cold water, you're missing out on the rush of plunging in headfirst." —Simone Elkeles

As I said before, the road from the lodge to the national park is more like a river bottom. We wound up the mountain very slowly, rewarded with some amazing views of the countryside...not that Stan had a chance to take his eyes off the road to look around. The 3 1/2 miles took us over 30 minutes. You definitely need a four wheel drive vehicle in this area.

Rio Celeste is located inside the Tenorio Volcano National Park, legend has it that it got its exceptional color after God finished painting the sky and dipped his paintbrush in the river. The more scientific explanation is that volcanic minerals produce the striking color. The river is born at a place called Los Teñideros, where two streams merge, causing a chemical reaction that is visible to visitors as the water changes from clear to an intense shade of blue.

Because the park is at a high elevation, it hosts primary cloud forest as well as rainforest and is a critical habitat to various endangered species and home to an abundance of wildlife, such as white-faced monkeys, anteaters, tapirs, sloths, white-nosed coati (a raccoon-type animal) and a variety of exotic birds.

The hike started out on a well-maintained trail that led us through a scenic canopy of trees. We were told there are white-faced monkeys in the area but we didn’t see any. It could be that they don’t like to come out and play in the rain. The trail soon turned into a muddy slippery mess as we approached the waterfall. Even before we descended the steps to the bottom of the falls we could see the dazzling pool of turquoise blue water. It almost looked like something out of a fairytale. We were told that the color is even more intense when there is less rain.

Past the falls the trail continues to wind along the riverbank, taking us upstream. The further upriver we got...the steeper and muddier the trail became. We eventually reached Los Teñideros where the color is generated. It's the confluence of the Buena Vista and Roble rivers. We're beginning to get used to playing in the rain, it seems to come and go a lot each day.

Some of the roughest trails we've ever seen