Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

Hello my friends! Sadly, this is the last of my posts about my December trip to Costa Rica. :( Still, this series of photos should be pretty cool! I went hiking with my parents at Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja, or the Old Lady's Corner Volcano National Park. Some people call it the "witch's hideout." It's an amazing park because of all the geothermal features. The hike we went on took about two hours and it was really cool!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

These big, beautiful trees were everywhere. The hike was not a simple paved path- it was in the jungle, where hikers have to scramble over the different roots and rocks. The trees were so huge that they dwarfed 11-year-old me!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

There were lots of small rivers and streams running through the park. This one is the Rio Colorado, though it is not the same Colorado River that we have in the United States! It was too strong to cross on foot, so we used a (pretty scary) rope bridge!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

Here I am, excited to have crossed the river! The park was full of wonderful tropical animals. I saw lizards, butterflies, and even a coatimundi! Do you know what a coatimundi is? It's pretty awesome! Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of the coatimundi because it was so speedy!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

The highlight of the hike was this gorgeous waterfall. We stopped and rested there for about 15 minutes. It was pretty embarrassing, but I had a meltdown there. Not a bad one, but still, I was embarrassed! I was getting sick and I didn't think I could keep hiking. I begged my parents to stop and go back to our car, but they said they had confidence that I could finish the hike. After I drank some water and ate a Kind bar, I gathered my strength and moved on in the hike. Go me!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

See the waterfall behind me? It was so beautiful. I look happy in the photo, but I was so tired and headachey! Bah!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

Much of the rest of the trail was very rocky. It could be hard to find where the trail actually led! There were not many other kids at the park, but I did see some. They had big sticks to help them navigate the rocks. I didn't have one, because I liked to pretend that I was a mountain goat, leaping from rock to rock!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

Among the coolest features of the park were the thermal vents. See the steam behind me? The park is a volcano so there are steamy vents all over the place.  The steam really, really stunk. It was the sulfurous smell of rotten eggs! Eww! It was pretty stinky, but after a while, I got used to it, The funniest part was that when I got back to NYC a few days later, my red shirt still smelled like rotten eggs!

Parque Nacional Volcán Rincón de la Vieja

So that was my hike on my last full day in Costa Rica! I was pretty disappointed that I never saw a wild monkey (though I heard them nearly every morning) or sloth (they are very shy!). The Spanish word for sloth is oso perezoso. I made up a little song in my terrible Spanish about sloths and I still get it in my head a lot!

Costa Rica is a gorgeous country and I can't wait to go back. I can't believe I got to see the nesting sea turtles and the speedy coatimundi! I'm so happy that my aunt and new uncle got married in Costa Rica so that I could visit too! Thanks, Auntie Em!

Have you ever taken an international trip? Where did you go?

In this entry I'm wearing: tee from Royal Doll Boutique and shorts and shoes from American Girl.

9 comments

  1. I really like those trees. My mom has never taken me on a long hike or on an international trip. I googled coatimundi - he's very cute. I hope you get to go back to Costa Rica someday!

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    1. Hi Sammy! I hope I get to go back someday too! Costa Rica was really special.

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  2. This is so cool, Inky! I would give anything to hike in a jungle like you did. In school we are learning about volcanoes and hotspots, so it's super cool that you went in a volcanic national park. It stinks that the geothermal vents smelled bad! They're so cool! I'm also pretty jealous that you saw a coatimundi. All we have here in New York are squirrels. I hope you had fun though!
    -Emily

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    1. Hi Emily! Seeing a coatimundi was pretty awesome. It was so stinky at the park but it was amazing! I live in NYC too and we also have pigeons and raccoons and I even heard there are coyotes in Central Park!

      Inky

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  3. That waterfall is amazing! Those thermal vents sound cool too, even if they're a bit stinky.

    Lulu

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  4. Dear Inky,

    Even though I've never been to Costa Rica or seen a thermal vent, I know just what you mean about that rotten-egg smell! I once helped with rebuilding a house in a town where there had been a terrible storm, and all their water was full of sulfur. Taking a hot shower was a super-stinky experience! I love those big trees in your pictures. They must have touched the sky! I don't know what a coatimundi is, so I'm going to go Google it. Was it scary? Thanks for sharing your pictures with us!!!

    Love,
    Audra

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    1. Hi Audra!
      Oh no! I'm so sorry about the town that was hurt from the storm. Where my grandma lives there is a little bit of sulfur in the water, so it can be a little stinky in the shower until you are used to it.

      Coatimundis are not scary, don't worry! It was very nice but since it was wild I didn't go up and try to pet it.

      Love,
      Inky

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  5. Oh my gosh! ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS PICTURES! I love how you did Inky's hair!:)
    -Emma-

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