Arenal Volcano

Our last couple of days in Costa Rica were spent in the shadow of Arenal volcano in the northern part of the country. Although only about 150 kms from San Jose, due to the windy and busy roads, it took us over 4 hours to get to Arenal.

This part of the country is great for two things: natural hot springs and zip lining. Up until about 6 years ago, Arenal volcano was still ejecting hot gas and lava down its slopes. It was so active that it claimed lives and injured many over the years. In recent years, however, it has calmed down to the point where it emits merely a small plume of vapour/gas/smoke out of its top, as if it were puffing on a cigarette.

Even so, the sizeable underground activity brings forth rivers of hot volcanically heated springs which the local resorts do well to tap, literally. Our resort, Los Lagos, has a series of hot pools, all which vary in thermal intensity, with in which you can laze around sipping piña coladas. Alternatively, you can spend your time rushing down a number of surprisingly fast water slides. Hours of fun.

For those that enjoy an aerial view of the surrounding area along with the freedom of travelling through the jungle in a way even Tarzan would have enjoyed, zip-lining is the thing to do. Its great fun shooting through the jungle high above the floor, tethered only by a couple of caribenas.

Thanks Jared, Melissa and family for a fun week!

La Paz

La Paz Waterfall hosts not only a series of powerful and dramatic cascading waterfalls but also a privately owned wildlife sanctuary. Here you get a real taste of the wildlife that makes Costa Rica its home.

Pura Vida

Costa Rica, a nation of about 4 million people is our last stop on this trip. With the World Cup in progress, it seems that just about the whole nation is engrossed as Costa Rica moves into the second phase of the tournament. People everywhere are literally dressed in the nation's colours and many even go to work in the national team's uniform.

All this occurs against a back drop of lush green hills surrounding San Jose and the organised chaos of its roads. I would have to describe the roads as being somewhere in the middle of Sydney and Manila when it comes to the way people drive and the sheer number of cars on the road. Sydney drivers would seem polite in comparison, however, San Jose drivers are probably better equipped to deal with unexpected circumstances.

San Jose prides itself on being a very friendly country and one which protects a large part of its natural assets, demonstrated in part by the fact that over 30% of the country is designated as national parks.

Some highlights to follow...

It's a small world after all all...

When they say there's a Disney World in Orlando, they don't usually tell you that it would take you about a week to see all the different parks which make up Disney World.

We only had one day so we chose the EPCOT Centre. If you're looking for roller coasters you'd probably be better off going to one of the other parks but the EPCOT Centre offers something unique. About half of the park is devoted to cultures around the world where you find architecture, food, performances and costumes which brings a part of that world into one place.

Food watch: Giant turkey leg for $10. It's massive. Take the challenge next time you're in Disneyland.

Swamp People

Much of the Florida everglades is made up of swampy wetlands. Perhaps not what immediately comes to mind when you think of a national park. Here in Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park the natural value less in the teeming wildlife and it's rich diversity. 

We came across alligators which we could just about reach our and touch as well as a wide range of bird and insect life. Just try to avoid going in summer - its HOT and mosquitoes love tourists!

Lift Off

Apollo 13 spawned a new generation of space enthusiasts (including myself) and Cape Canaveral certainly has special significance being the site of just about every significant space launch in NASA's history.

Standing at 116 metres tall and weighing in at 3 million kgs, the Saturn V rocket, which launched all the Apollo missions, is a beast of engineering. Perhaps still the most powerful machine ever built.

The next foray into space is also on display with the Space Shuttle Atlantis. While not as big as the Saturn V rocket, it is still a giant vehicle and the way it is suspended allows you to get a great view of all angles above and below. Very impressive.

We hung around to watch a satellite launch which just happened to be scheduled for the day we were visiting but unfortunately it was scrubbed. Even so, it was interesting just to sit in the gallery, feeling the anticipation of the launch and then the ultimate disappointment of the crowd as the announcements came through the public address. Almost felt like we were at an Apollo launch!

Nature at Your Finger Tips

So far we have crossed the borders of California, Colorado, Michigan, Ontario (Canada), New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and today we will be crossing into Florida. As you travel further south, you do sense a change mainly from the styles of houses in the neighborhoods and of course the accents.

The main reasons for coming down here were to see a couple of the most visited national parks in the states: Shenandoah National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Both parks have controversial histories in that many native and non native people were displaced or of the park areas before the parks were created. The Cherokees still have a reservation near the parks. Smokey Mountains is the most visited Park with 10 million visitors every year. The Grand Canyon has the next most visitors with a mere 5 million annually.

Highlights:

Both parks present stunning views of surrounding valleys and 'smoky' mountains. We even saw a black bear and plenty of deer.

Clingmans Dome: the highest viewing platform in Great Smoky presents 360 degree views but you're made to work for it with a fairly steep half mile walk up to it.

Fire flies apparently only light up two weeks of the year in the smokies and we just happened to be here at the right time. Looking across a field at dusk we could see a continuous spattering of streaky sparks all around us. A truly special sight.

For the People

The other great feature of Washington is its museums, some of which are among the best in the world. Also, they are all free! Credit to the government and the smithsonian institute for making these culturally significant museums accessible to anyone and everyone.

The ones we managed to get to in our 2 days in Washington were the Air and Space Museum and the National Archive.

The Air and Space Museum is a comprehensive museum detailing man's journey is first flights into space travel. It helps you to appreciate that it only took one generation to get from the Wright brothers first manned powered flight all the way to landing on the moon with Apollo 11. Here you get to see the Wright brothers plane and the Apollo capsule which achieved those incredible feats.

The National Archive is significant in that it contains perhaps the three most important documents in US history: the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. You can see originals with signatures of ones like George Washington and the stylish John Hancock but some of the hand written text may be hard to see add they have faded dramatically over time. 

Monumental

Named after the United States' first president, Washington is a city dominated by monuments and statues devoted to revered statesmen as well as its servicemen in its long history of wars. The Washington monument was originally meant to have columns and a statue of George Washington but was never competed due to budgetary reasons. 

Many of these sites are referred to as temples which would seem appropriate as many of these people have achieved God-like status in American folklore.

The sheer enormity of some of these monuments lend weight to the legendary status of ones such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Empire State of Mind

Besides Bethel we managed to get to a couple of favourites.

Brooklyn Bridge is a great Bridge to spend an hour walking over. Just sun's up the city along with buildings like the Chrysler and Empire State.

Century 21 was having a sale! Enough said.

9/11 reflection pools. These pool s are the same size add the buildings footprints. Massive. The new Tower standing at 1776 feet dominates the Skyline from anywhere past midtown. 1776 also happens to be the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. Because if the unusual shape, if you look at it from right below, it appears to go on forever.

Empire state. We tried going up again but as was the case 5 years ago it was rainy and foggy. NYC weather 2, James and Love 0.

Subway. It's old, dirty and smelly but I still love it.