North to Arenal

Today, we went for a trip about 100 km north of San Ramon to the Arenal Volcano. Prior to 1968, the volcano was draped in dense vegetation and had only one crater with any activity. That all changed on July 29 when it erupted. Between the 29th and 31st, three new craters were formed from the activity that blew rocks upon two nearby towns causing the deaths of 87 persons. It is still active; its force is audible, and in the evening, the red glare emanating from its core is visible.
We climbed to the view point where we could see the steamy evidence of recent flows and the magnificence of Lake Arenal, a man made water body which was created to take advantage of the fact the the volcano area supplies 70% of all water in the Arenal basin.
Despite the fact that, at the beginning of the trail, we came upon a very important looking sign translated into several languages that warned we were entering a possible danger area, we two intrepid explorers,(along with a number of people from tour buses), risked life and limb to navigate the ever so dodgy volcanic rocks. We marveled at our bravery as well as the vistas.
On the drive back, a young Asian woman flagged us down and offered us $10 (US!) if we would drive her and her three friends back to the Tabacon Hotel where the two couples were staying. Apparently, the concierge told them it was a twenty minute walk to the Volcano. We had passed them on the way in about one and half hours earlier. They never made it to the volcano, their feet were blistering and they were exhausted. I suppose time is relative; twenty minutes to one person might translate into two hours to another. I tried in vain to get Scott's attention as I saw this as an easy $20-$25, but he, being the nice person he is, already invited them in free of charge.