During a recent trip to Costa Rica, I was really looking forward to seeing some volcanoes. And with six active volcanoes and another 61 dormant or extinct ones, Costa Rica is a great place to do this. Actually, that should read, “And with supposedly six active volcanoes and another 61 dormant or extinct ones, Costa Rica is supposed to be a great place to do this.” While planning the itinerary for this trip, I included stops to three active volcanoes. I envisioned photos of serene crater lakes against a back drop of mountains and a blue sky, or perhaps red lava flowing down the side of a mountain against the backdrop of a starry sky…I couldn’t wait

The first stop was the Poás Volcano, an active stratovolcano in central Costa Rica. I was hoping to get a good view of the crater lake from the lookout inside Poás Volcano National Park. At the lookout there is a sign board indicating the different parts of the volcano which can be seen from the viewing area.

The sign board at Poás Volcano identifying the parts of the volcano and the beauty you are about to see.

But this was the actual view.

The view of the beautiful crater lake and the dome of the Poás Volcano in Costa Rica. What, you can’t see anything? Neither could I.

Wherever one looked, everything was white. Nothing was there. Well, at least if anything was there, it certainly could not be seen. It was an odd experience, really. Usually, when one can’t see anything, it’s because it’s pitch black. This was the exact opposite, yet with the same result.

The second stop was at Arenal Volcano, an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica. Before the trip, I had seen lots of fantastic (Photoshopped?) pictures of lava flowing down the side of the mountain. I had also read that the place at which I was staying, The Tobacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort, was a great place to view the volcano, especially at night, when it afforded you views of lava flowing down the sides. But when I got there, there was no lava, let alone a peak, to be seen. I asked one of the Ticos who worked there to point me in the direction of the Arenal Volcano so I would be ready at night with my camera. He pointed in a general direction, laughed and told me I would never see the volcano because of the clouds. Hmmm, I was starting to become suspicious. Another volcano that’s invisible? What are the odds on that?

The last Volcano stop was Rincón de la Vieja, an active andesitic complex volcano in north-western Costa Rica. Rincón de la Vieja translates to Old Lady’s Corner which refers to a local legend of a young woman whose lover was tossed into the volcano by her angry father. The trauma of that experience caused her to be a hermit who developed the power to cure and heal people. Sounds pretty cool, and really who would make stuff like that up? My spirits were buoyed by that and the fact that it was a relatively clear day with little to no cloud coverage over the mountain. This time there was no stopping me, if there was a volcano to be seen, I would surely see it.

I had planned to do the eight hour hike to the summit where I would apparently be able to see many different crater lakes in a moon like setting. But despite the clearness of the sky, it just wasn’t going to happen—the portion of the trail leading to the summit was closed due to “volcanic activity”.

The sign notifying “Trail Closed due to volcanic activity” though it might as well read “Trail closed due to lack of cloud cover” at Rincón de la Vieja.

“Volcanic Activity”….what does that even mean? The park wasn’t evacuated, it wasn’t raining ash, not even a hint of sulfur in the air. This was getting to the point of being ridiculous.

When I expressed my disappointment at the Ranger Station, the Park Ranger told me, “Don’t do anything stupid,” seemingly thinking I might disregard the warnings and head up to the summit anyway. But it got me thinking, was he concerned for my safety or was he afraid that I might discover the truth, that there are no volcanoes in Costa Rica, just mountains with clouds on top? I wasn’t really concerned about being injured with that Old Lady with healing powers hanging around up there somewhere, but I was worried about what would happen to me if I discovered the truth. I’ve seen enough conspiracy movies and X-Files episodes to see what happens to people who try to expose the lies used to cover the shameful truth. I want to believe the truth is out there.

To get to the truth, one needs to ask the right questions. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or if one is told there are volcanoes in Costa Rica but no one sees them, do they actually exist? How does one weigh personal observations and perceptions against the knowledge of (falsely?) learned reality? In a country where tourism brings in $2.1 billion yearly, are volcanoes not a huge selling feature to potential tourists? The perfect marketing strategy—tell everyone there are lots of volcanoes in Costa Rica, create national parks in their honour, put up sign boards explaining what you would see if you could actually see anything, create Photoshopped pictures of the volcanoes, flowing lava, and crater lakes, make sure each PVS (phantom volcano site) is located high enough up the mountain so they are perpetually covered in oragraphic clouds, and if it’s not high enough, artificially manufacturing clouds should do the trick, and if the cloud coverage ever does lift or the cloud manufacturing process breaks, simply close the park or trail due to “volcanic activity”. Appallingly shameful, ingeniously simple, awfully clever, brilliantly evil, and truthfully deceptive. Lava Gate—a money grabbing tourism conspiracy of epic proportions.

At least I got a good view of the mountain that forms the supposed Rincón de la Vieja Volcano.

Last Light on Rincón de la Vieja
Sure there’s a volcano up there. The perpetual orographic cloud over Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, Costa Rica, and the cirro-stratus cloud above lit by the setting sun.

Here’s a time lapse of the omnipresent oragraphic clouds forming, or being manufactured, over Rincón de la Vieja as the sun rises.

I will let Special Agent Fox Mulder have the last word—”I don’t need an apology for the lies. I don’t care about the fictions they create to cover their crimes. I want them accountable for what [is happening]. I want an apology for the truth.”

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