Laguna de Hule is a lake in the middle of the forest north of Volcan Poás in Costa Rica.  You can drive to the ‘mirador’, viewpoint, and enjoy a meal at the ‘soda’.  ‘Sodas’ are local, usually open-air, restaurants serving traditional Costa Rican food.  From there, there’s a nice view of Laguna de Hule.

Laguna de Hule

Hummingbird

One can also hike down to the lake on a dirt road which can be muddy during the rainy season.  This turns into a rocky path at times through thick jungle and trees reaching up to the sky, sometimes obscuring the sun from reaching the forest floor.  It seems like water is constantly dripping from the tree branches above.  Along the way, there’s a stream of water which is a welcome sight.

I found the landscape around the lake to be mesmerizing.  I had never seen so many shades of green in person; it is quite a sight.  The water seemed inviting, and I had planned to take a dip in the lake.  However, thoughts of brain-eating amoeba crossed my mind.  Plus, there isn’t an actual solid shore shore along the lake to enter the water.  Most of it is soft mud or otherwise covered in lily pads.

We continued to explore through muddy paths and game trails.  Sometimes we would sink knee-deep into the mud.  At one point, I lost my shoe in the mud and had to dig through the dirty water and soil to look for it.  Hiking back to the car barefoot for about a mile did not seem appealing.

Me and my co-workers Ricardo and Jen

The ever-present mist after the rain

Sunset

This was a short but very pleasant and enjoyable hike on an otherwise lazy day.  At the end, we were rewarded by a colorful sunset.