rainforest costa rica map
Indiana Jones and the Volcano
Experiencing a live volcano was on top of our agenda, when my friend Rob and I visited the exotic of Costa Rica. The plane landed in the capital city of San Jose, and after customs, we headed to the car rental to pick up a 4×4 and a map of Mt. Arenal the nearest active volcano.
After an arduous drive through torrential rain, which finally came to a quiet village supposedly at the feet of a fire-belching monster. I say supposedly because it was very foggy, they were not even sure there was a volcano. We could see a tree of a block away, much less a volcanic mountain looming 5,000 feet above us.
Neighbors say if you really listen carefully, you can listen the beast roar. I never heard a moan. Second foggy day and night of no sighting, which is suspected the local population had invented the story of a volcano erupting in order to attract tourists dollars. A volcano of convenience. No muss, no fuss. Only some imaginary noises from time to time that only the locals know of a volcano that no one sees because of rain and fog!
Near the end of our second day of waiting for the rain, they were eating a tasty dinner native red beans and rice at a colorful local dive when the coffee shop owner approached our table. Without hesitation or invitation, has been dropped. Miguel appeared exactly as I've always envisioned for Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda to seek fame. His face was dark and swarthy, with gentle expression, but inscrutable. Looking straight in the eye, said in halting English, "You know volcano, not just looking."
Being a veteran traveler, I learned to be nice in a foreign country and, in general, saying "yes" to almost everything that people told me about the place. Without realizing the full import the distinction between the words of Miguel had used, he answered in a friendly manner, "Yes, yes, of course, we would like to know the volcano."
Without another word, Miguel turned on one of our paper placemats, and pulling a broken piece of a pencil from his shirt pocket, he began to draw a crooked line. We watched in silence for the next twenty minutes turned the pen on paper stained with grease in the concentration of absorption. The emerged was a detailed map of twists and turns with landmarks indicated by small images, such as small trees, stone walls and small huts to represent a people.
Finished, Miguel put the pencil in his pocket, sighed and spoke directly to our souls with piercing green eyes. "This," he said, pounding his crude map winding trail, "take the volcano. To be with the volcano. "With your finger, gently beat Miguel chest over his heart, "to feel and know the spirit of the volcano." Then he laughed softly and cautioned us to be afraid, because definitely volcano erupt when we were there. "But volcano not harm you," he added hastily. With a wistful look in his face, Michael shared how he and his friends have a picnic at the edge of the volcano all his life and The Towering Inferno was never harmed. His words only slightly comforted me.
The sound of cold rain, we awoke at dawn. Still could not see or hear the volcano. Since the downpour discouraged us any tourist activity, we decided that it could get wet following Miguel map where you took. Perhaps the rain would stop once they were out of town. Fat chance!
We headed down the steep slope of the villagers then insisted on the volcano to the rugged jeep road ended abruptly in a steep cliff. I was very surprised rough map, drawn by Miguel actually corresponds to what we find in our path. His drawing shows the cliff and the small opening, which are located hidden among the rock wall and a weather-beaten wooden fence. We provisional table of our friend through the hole, a rocky path indirectly on many collapsed lava rock walls and past long-deserted orchards. The road ended abruptly in an imposing 300-foot wall volcanic lava flow solid jagged and sharp that he could not climb.
Miguel Fortunately for us, had anticipated this challenge. On the edge left of the lava flow, the map shows a camouflaged nature trail through the dense rainforest. Our confidence in both our friend and reinforced in the last diagram hours, sank in the dark virgin forest. The growth of the forest was so thick with vines and roots, the way so muddy and slippery, I felt that we had fallen in a comic scene right to Harrison Ford movie "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" In a funny moment, Rob and I got lost walking and holding each other, slid down the track fifty yards of landslide. Holding hanging vines, Tarzan-style, saved the situation and neck! Our guardian angels must have a lot of overtime!
Undaunted and filled with the thrill of adventure, Rob and I helped each one to keep standing, pulling us together and restart the climb. Clawing and scratching their way through the jungle, we finally reached the top of the lava flow. My first impression was as windy and cold up there had a tropical climate. The dense fog and torrential rain had persisted, obliterating the view of just over one foot in front of us. As we walked the path along the top of the volcanic rock, I remembered that Michael had told us of her idyllic here many picnics with friends. not very favorable weather for a picnic this morning!
Suddenly, a booming roar filled the air, followed by a very mighty roar that resounded throughout our body. We feel that the roll of the Earth in a rippling wave after another! Although Rob and I had never experienced before an eruption, instinctively knew that the volcano was showing its power. The earth continued to pull unnerving spasms. People boulders sped ahead size us the slope. flying rocks were thrown into the nearby trees, snapping the sheer force of projectiles cleanly into their trunks. We heard and felt nearby avalanches crashing their way down the mountain. I could only see a small part of the devastation caused by the blinding rain, but our bodies definitely registered massive reorganization of all of us.
A strong power terror shot through every cell of my body. Its message was explicit command, "Stop! Now! You have to go now to save his life. "
I cried Rob, "We're out of here is not safe!" To my amazement, he denied head from side to side indicating he did not want to go.
"I stay. This is too good," he shouted over the roar of the wind and rocks falling. He was nineteen. His sense of novelty and exploration was still stronger than his sense of danger and wisdom. I started to argue. I zero impression on the reckless daring, young man.
Then another explosion rocked our world. I watched in horror as the heat, ash and naked force of the explosion a huge 200-foot tree in a second, removing all its leaves and branches. If this volcano could do that to a tree, could do the same with us! Knew with certainty that he was supposed to leave in a hurry.
Jumping from the top of the lava mound right in the jungle, I bolted without another thought. I rushed to the Raiders of the Lost Ark "express mudslide, riding the flow of water and mud through the thick jungle in the mountainside, still trembling. In what appeared to be only a few seconds, I reached the bottom of the lava flow. The road was certainly faster and easier to climb down! For a brief moment, I was soaked to the bone, resting in a mud puddle, my ripped clothes covered with mud.
Recover some of my composure, I realized for first heat radiating from the glowing lava flow several feet to my left. I crawled in the direction of flow until it was inches away from the mass. For me surprise, the air felt like it had just opened an oven to 400 degrees. The surface was so hot, he instinctively jumped back a few meters. When we first Once early in the morning, very cold wind and rain had neutralized as the radiant heat from the lava, which did not even notice the temperature.
However, the heat was not the only aspect of the lava that the elements that had been hidden from us. I took a twig and approached the foot of the black mound that had sprung from the top of the mountain. Getting as close as I could to the sulphurous heat, I stuck the branch in the rain-drenched ground about two inches in front of the lava. In a minute, the hill of lava had reached the pole and buried!
Suddenly my whole body reeled with the involuntary shudder of recognition. For the last time Rob and I had been walking on a live, moving lava flow! And Rob was still there hanging around in the molten granite.
Another eruption, three times stronger than the first, filled the air. My ears throbbed from the deafening roar. My feet and body registered avalanche after avalanche of rocks crashing through the hull side of the volcano. Descending the rough path, I found myself head over heels in panic, decided to leave behind any falling rocks in my path. After half an hour of the fastest, long distance running I've ever run, our jeep arrived safely protected under a broad-armed tree. The collapse in the front seat, I fought for breath.
As the pulse and the mind quieted, I overcome the fear by safety of my friend is walking on the moving bed of liquid rock in the middle of periodic violent explosions. I began to feel deeply responsible. I had left a young man in my position at the top of a volcano erupting! A nightmare vision I bombed. I saw his parents, who had entrusted their son with me, seeing local authorities to dig through the rubble of the volcano looking body of young American lost. Feel so guilty and worried because I could not relax or rest, I decided I must leave the jeep and walk back to the volcano. I had to find Rob.
Just opened the door to an inner drive jeep insistent said to stay inside and listen for further instructions. Upon receipt of such a force under my indoor trainer, usually obey. Silencing me as possible under the circumstances, I tried to get in touch with my next move is more intuitive. He challenged me, what I did was wrong? I was selfish and self-absorbed to care for my own safety and leave behind a young boy?
Then I felt all the intense emotions aroused to ask these questions in search of the soul, I have received a very strong message directly from Spirit. My inner knowing told me emphatically, saying:
"You did the right thing. You follow your intuition. If you remember in particular, its inner coach told him it was dangerous for you to stay, and you need to leave immediately. He said nothing about his friend Rob. Nothing at all. You were right to follow your guide and go. In fact, I had fallen asleep, which may well have endangered the safety of your friends! Had you stayed, you would you been out of alignment with your intuition and therefore out of harmony and integrity with yourself. This discordant state has a strong tendency to interfere with the ability of another person to exploit and further their own knowledge. Had you stayed, you may have hampered the ability of Rob to listen and pay attention to your address internal. You were the most help, love and appropriate action following the letter and spirit of your intuition. You are following you own calling allowed internal his friend, the space to realize that you must trust your inner wisdom. "
Spirit message was a new and fascinating lesson in the orientation intuitive to me. In general, and for comfort in my difficult situation, he was grateful for this new perspective. Never realized the accuracy of intuition. Never understood the independence of the orientation of a person's inner council of another person in a shared situation.
At the exact moment that I realized import of what is inside my coach told me, Rob came stripes down the path towards the jeep. In the fury of the last violent eruption, Rob received his own vamoose internal signal. Guided by his own internal compass, he immediately took the express mudslides through the jungle to safety. I was relieved and grateful with the Spirit that my nightmare vision of Rob's death was averted. He thanked me silently through the timeless lessons I learned from our adventure.
Of Back on land, Rob and I were eager to leave the mountain rains and clouds. We got on the jeep and ran to the sunny west coast of Costa Rica. Down the mountain, the two lapsed in and out of silence grateful to be alive. Maybe the next day, the events of the morning seems like a great adventure, but, then right, the real danger that had survived only remains very palpable and raw. Our minds, emotions and physical body is remembering and repeating our narrow escape.
Suddenly, Rob and I experienced simultaneous intuitive hits to pull over and exit the jeep. Leaning on the vehicle, which turned as one toward the top of the mountain that had just descended. As if waiting for us to stop our hike down off the mountain and to look upward, the clouds parted to reveal the awesome Mt. Arenal Volcano first time since our arrival in Costa Rica for many days. The dense fog lifted. We saw exactly where he had been walking on the lava flow. We noted that the tree line ended and started the flow of lava. We had been standing only a hundred meters from the open mouth of the volcano when it entered erupting!
The restaurant owner Miguel had promised to be with, we feel and we know the spirit of the volcano. He said the mountain definitely erupt when we were there. And he'd promised the volcano would not harm us. The rain and crude map deceived us to go so close volcano, in fact, know the volcano, not just her.
It was the spirit of the volcano that sent Miguel to us? And became the sky pouring rain to hide the treacherous nature of our trip so do not panic? Rob and I agreed, the stranger things have happened. One thing was true. Had we been able to see where we have never walked as close as we did in the face of the boiler.
Now, seeing the majesty of the mountain. Arenal, which is always humbled and grateful for the experience of being able to feel safe power of the mountain and personality. As we were send our gratitude and admiration of the volcano, the mountain erupted again with an explosion twice as high as the volcano itself. Two miles of Pen ash skyward elegant dark blue. The event was very dramatic and very humble.
We knew the volcano was responding to our love and appreciation for His gift for us that day. Then the clouds closed in again and said goodbye to our powerful friend, leaving us forever changed and enriched by his friendship.
About the Author
Drawing from the wisdom of native and ancient spiritual traditions, Keith Varnum shares his 30 years of practical success as an author, personal coach, acupuncturist, filmmaker, radio host, restaurateur, vision quest guide and international seminar leader with “The Dream Workshops”. Keith helps people get the love, money, and health they want with his F-r-e-e Prosperity Ezine, F-r-e-e Abundance Tape and F-r-e-e Coaching at www.TheDream.com
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