A mere 23,000 years ago, the Primavera Caldera housed a big lake and was the site of frequent volcanic eruptions and pyrotechnical explosions. Today the lake has been replaced by woods, but the Primavera’s hot rivers remind us that there is plenty of thermal activity just below the surface.
Fumaroles are another mark of the underlying lava. These are hissing and sputtering holes through which hot gases and steam shoot into the air, often accompanied by the unmistakable smell of sulfur. One day, veteran explorer Mario Guerrero told me he had heard about some fumaroles in the Primavera Forest and I organized my first “Fumarole Hunt.”
Mario led a group of us to a balneario south of the forest called Volcanes, whose pools were filled with delightfully warm water from a small hot stream which we followed back to its source. “The fumaroles are up there,” said Mario, pointing to the nearly vertical wall of a high mountain above us.
Sweating and panting, we made it up the steep hillside, finally arriving at a huge black scar in the rock. What we saw looked like a fumarole alright, but there was no hot air coming out of the hole. “Híjole,” said Mario, “It was a live fumarole last time I came here, deveras.”
Well, we got plenty of exercise on that hike and enjoyed a great view, but as far as fumaroles go, it was a strikeout.
Fast forward a few years and I am now on my way to a section of the forest called Planillas with U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer Barbara Dye and Canadian geologist Chris Lloyd. The forestry officials have given us permission to hunt for fumaroles, but explained that at a certain point we would come up against a big iron gate. “Don’t worry,” they added, “this gate is in constant use by our fire fighters and you’ll find the key under a rock…which is lying within five meters of the gate.”
We find our way to the gate without much trouble and sure enough, there’s a thick chain and a great fat lock on it. We look down at the rocks in front of the gate and turn them over one by one. Not even a scorpion. It’s then we realized that five meters is a very long distance and our instructions don’t mention on which side of the gate to look. Suddenly there seem to be a million potential key-hiding rocks all around us and after half an hour, each of us has turned each of them over at least three times.
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