Costa Rica - Rio Celeste

Only 2 hours by car from La Fortuna, we found ourselves in the next national park. Here, too, there is an active volcano in close proximity - the Tenorio.

Our driver parked his car - like all the other drivers - backwards and explained to us on inquiry that the cars always have to be parked in such a way that they can drive away quickly in case of a volcanic eruption to avoid losing time.

At the entrance of the park there was a large sign pointing out the danger of a volcanic eruption - as well as a list of other dangers: snakes, spiders (lots of snakes and spiders!!) and even a jaguar can be encountered here (unfortunately, we didn't have the luck..).

We hiked along the unrealistically radiant blue river for several hours until we reached its source - a waterfall. A magical place!

The locals tell the story that the river was formed when God washed out his blue paintbrush, with which he was painting the sky, in the river - a beautiful idea.

Actually, it works like this - the Rio Acido (Sour River) and the Rio Buenavista meet. Both rivers are relatively clear beforehand, but contain different minerals. The Sour River has sulfates and the Rio Buenavista carries aluminum-reinforced materials. When these two substances meet, a chemical reaction occurs, at that point you can see a white foamy line. Behind it, the entire Rio Celeste turns blue. (See picture - really impressive how well you can see it).

The path partly led over prepared paths and partly through deep mud - so we were incredibly happy when our driver stopped at a small river on the way back and we could just jump into the water with our shoes and pants on.. Swimming in the Rio Celeste itself is strictly forbidden for the sake of the river.