Our final stop on our combination tour with Canoa Aventura was the Trail of 1968. Named after the huge eruption of Arenal Volcano in 1968, this trail runs along the hardened lava flows and offers amazing views of the volcano itself. The trail is only 1.2 kilometers but does include some steep uphill sections.
From the parking lot, we got another postcard perfect view of the volcano.
After taking in the views, one of our guides told us the history of the volcano and gave a wonderful explanation of the eruption of 1968. It was fascinating to learn that Arenal Volcano had been dormant for so long that none of the people living at its base even knew it was a volcano. After over 400 hundred years with no volcanic activity, the jungle had completely taken over the volcano, its dense vegetation covering up the crater and making it look like a regular mountain. As a result, its eruption on the morning of July 29, 1968 caught everyone by surprise. The intense build up inside the volcano resulted in explosions that formed 3 new craters along the side of the volcano from which lava and ash spewed. The eruptions lasted for days, burying 3 villages in lava, destroying crops and livestock, throwing rocks up to a kilometer away, and killing 87 people.
Our guide’s talk was so good that we had two tag-alongs try to join our group. One moved along quickly but the other fell in line at the end of the group and stayed to listen to the whole lecture.
After we finished learning all about the eruption, we headed to the trail and the straggling cow went his own way. He must have known how steep the hike was!
After following the dirt path across a grassy field, the trail started going up. As we got higher, the dirt turned into rocks and hardened lava. The trail was steep and the footing could be tricky at times but the view from the top was incredible.
The views were amazing, not just of the volcano but of Lake Arenal and the surrounding countryside. We sat for a while, resting, rehydrating and taking in the majesty of the area.
We made our way back down and onto the bus. The day had been fantastic but our guides had one last surprise in store for us. As we drove out of the parking lot, one of the guides spotted something in the trees. The driver stopped the bus and the guide hopped out with his scope and immediately focused in on a sloth in the tree above the road. It was amazing!
The sloth really put on a show for us. He yawned, scratched his butt, and hung down from the branches before settling into his new spot. Much like the guides told us how lucky we were to get a full, clear view of the volcano, they told us how lucky we were to see a sloth not only awake but moving around. It really was incredible.
I was so impressed with our guide’s spotting skills! It seemed amazing that he had seen this sloth way up high in the trees as the bus drove out. But then I noticed this…
So apparently this guy was a permanent resident and the guides knew where to look. But I was still impressed! They did still find him (I know he’s a sloth but he does change spots occasionally) and they also didn’t hesitate to stop the bus and let us out so we could gaze in wonder at him for 10 minutes. They had already spent a really long day with us and could have easily just continued driving and we would have been none the wiser. But they wanted to share this incredible experience with us and I was so glad that they did. It is something we will all remember forever. A fitting end to a fantastic day!
