Cerro Chato

This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve discovered. Cerro Chato is a 3000 year old dormant volcano and it’s crater is no longer full of hot lava- it’s a swimming pool! Amazing. All I wanted to do once I discovered this, was jump in that volcano – normal reaction. So, I executed a plan.

If you’ve been following my trip, you might know I was pretty sick just a few days ago. Take it easy isn’t something I do well, so I promptly signed up for the hardest possible hike to the top of Cerro Chato to achieve my goal of jumping in this dormant volcano. This was no ordinary hike, more like the equivalent of climbing a full base camp of Mt Kilimanjaro, which I did just 6 months ago.

By 2pm, my legs were shaking and fatiguex- I’d climbed up a rocky volcano, wadded through mud, rock climbed, and practically climbed a tree too. It was misty and raining when we finally reached the crater pool and it was certainly not warm! I might have overdone it a bit, but nature is so incredible that the experience was worth it.

Truthfully, I wanted to go home (wherever that is) and give up halfway through, but I’m glad I hung in there. The day ended in a hot river (natural hot springs) at night after hiking all day- which felt amazing. Sometimes I have moments where I think- what am I doing/ how did I get here? This was one of those. I sat in this hot river with a group of strangers by candlight (in my underwear- awkward), let a guy rub mud all over my face, and held onto some rocks so I didn’t get carried away by the current. A Memorable experience if you ever find yourself in La Fortuna, Costa Rica!