Volcanoes by Charlie

I wanted to write about volcanoes because I am interested in them. We have been lucky to go to a lot of volcanoes.

Arenal Volcano

First volcano was VOLCÁN ARENAL: At this volcano, there are hot springs. Ahhhh relaxing! There is a lot of horse back riding and a view of Monteverde and a great sunset. I like Arenal because it has my favorite bird and a big lake. The volcano used to spit out lava at night. I saw my favorite bird there (I’ll tell you it later).

Me at the Laguna Botos at Poás

Second volcano was VOLCÁN POÁS: It is one of the biggest volcano craters in the world. I have been there with my family and with my school. The crater is HUGE and has a pool of acid in the center. LAGUNA BOTOS is the inactive pool of rain water. There I saw my favorite bird again.

In a mini slot canyon in Mombacho

Third volcano was VOLCÁN MOMBACHO: I think it is the biggest volcano I saw and the weirdest. First it is a dry forest and the higher you go, it becomes cloud forest and at the top it is scrublands. The crater is full of vegetation and trees. I saw monkeys and again my favorite bird.

Smoke coming out of the crater at Masaya

Exploring a bat cave at Masaya

Fourth volcano was VOLCÁN MASAYA AND VOLCÁN MINIDRÍ: This was the scariest volcano I saw because the boundaries were too close to the crater and smoke was coming right out of it. Sometimes there are red lava splotches in it. Parakeets like to live in the crater but I wouldn’t want to. I went into a cave full of bats with my family and maybe a snake was there. Sadly, not my favorite bird. Both Mombacho and Masaya are in Nicaragua.

Turrialba - looks cool, but I haven't been there!

Lastly, VOLCÁN TURRIALBA… I have never been there but it is the most active in Costa Rica. Its last eruption was in March 2015. One time at the supermarket there was a lot of ash everywhere after the eruption. The national park of Turrialba is an exact circle. Turrialba has my favorite bird….. It is a MONTEZUMA OROPENDOLA!!!!!!!!   By Charlie Gavin