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As I write, there is a large and active volcano outside our wall of windows. It has rumbled and spouted steam/smoke a few times today. We are hoping to see some lava flows on it tonight.




We began the day under cloudy skies, with only the lower third of the volcano visible below the clouds. We enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant with panoramic views of the lake and the volcano.

Sarah really wanted to swim in the infinity pool, and since she hadn’t been in the water since Wednesday we let the kids play for an hour there. Sarah actually picked this hotel when we were planning our trip, and she had been looking forward to the pool for months. The hot tub/cold pool was a big hit.

We got dressed and drove to a place called Hanging Bridges. There are 8 of them suspended over beautiful mountain scenery and offering great views. We had fun walking across gorges and riverbeds and climbing through tunnels. There was the requisite giant spider.

We finished there and went to lunch in Fortuna. The clouds began to lift and we got our first view of the full volcano.

A short time later, a boom and a puff of smoke let us know a small eruption had occurred.

The view remained clear as we returned to our hotel. There we found towel sculptures the maid had left us.

We all went swimming and enjoyed a drink at the “wet bar” with the volcano in the background.

Amy found a lot of unusual and beautiful flowers during a walk around the grounds.

For dinner we drove to a place we had heard of called Pizza Johns. A hippie from California has a little restaurant in a village of 60 people at the end of our horrible dirt road. He makes pizza and homemade ice cream, and thrives on talking to all the odd assortments of people who arrive there. He was fascinating, but the kids mostly liked writing their names on the walls.

His pizza oven was carted there from Fortuna over 10 miles of bad road. The food was very good and a welcome respite from rice and bean fare.

Tomorrow will be our last full vacation day so we have lots of plans. Hot springs, butterfly garden, hiking on lava fields, and a big steakhouse dinner are all on the schedule. Details tomorrow!

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