Visiting the Costa Rica Volcano That Saluted JFK: Irazu
Irazu Volcano, overlooking Cartago, Costa Rica, is forever linked to John F.
Kennedy.
On the same day in 1963 the President visited Costa Rica, Irazu erupted.
Ironically, the landscape around this monster is often described as being lunar-like so I like to think of the eruption as a tribute to the man who sent us there.
There are four craters on Irazu and it remains seismically active, though it hasn't erupted since President Kennedy's visit.
Irazu Volcano is just a short drive from San Jose.
There's a well-maintained, paved highway from Cartago.
You'll travel through small farming communities and cattle ranches with outstanding vistas as you climb to its summit some 11,260 feet above sea level.
Should you not have a car on your vacation to Costa Rica, there are daily tours from many San Jose hotels and, for less money, public buses that will take you there from either San Jose or Cartago.
Bus service from San Jose is daily at 8:00 a.
m.
(ask your hotel where to get the bus) and arrives at the volcano about 10:00 a.
m.
Irazu is one of only two active volcanoes in Costa Rica where a vehicle is allowed to take you to the summit (the other is mighty Poas just outside San Jose).
Travel Tip: Irazu is a must-see on a perfectly clear day because it's the only place on the planet where you can stand at the summit of an active volcano and see both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from the same place! Besides your camera, don't forget to dress for the volcano.
It's likely to be very windy and really chilly.
After all, its summit is more than two miles above sea level.
You'll definitely need a sweater or jacket here.
If you have a car, or take a guided tour, don't neglect Cartago as you head down the volcano.
This is Costa Rica's oldest city, founded in 1653, and home to two famous Costa Rica attractions: the ruins of a Catholic church destroyed in 1910 by one of five major earthquakes since the city's founding and the world-famous La Negrita statue, Costa Rica's patron saint, housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Angels church.
La Negrita (the Black Madonna) has been revered since it first appeared in 1635.
Pope Pius IX declared in 1862 that anyone visiting the shrine would have his or her sins forgiven and in 1983, Pope John Paul II came across the ocean to pray at La Negrita.
And, every year on August 2, millions of the faithful pilgrimage to Cartago to worship in the church and touch the Black Madonna.
Kennedy.
On the same day in 1963 the President visited Costa Rica, Irazu erupted.
Ironically, the landscape around this monster is often described as being lunar-like so I like to think of the eruption as a tribute to the man who sent us there.
There are four craters on Irazu and it remains seismically active, though it hasn't erupted since President Kennedy's visit.
Irazu Volcano is just a short drive from San Jose.
There's a well-maintained, paved highway from Cartago.
You'll travel through small farming communities and cattle ranches with outstanding vistas as you climb to its summit some 11,260 feet above sea level.
Should you not have a car on your vacation to Costa Rica, there are daily tours from many San Jose hotels and, for less money, public buses that will take you there from either San Jose or Cartago.
Bus service from San Jose is daily at 8:00 a.
m.
(ask your hotel where to get the bus) and arrives at the volcano about 10:00 a.
m.
Irazu is one of only two active volcanoes in Costa Rica where a vehicle is allowed to take you to the summit (the other is mighty Poas just outside San Jose).
Travel Tip: Irazu is a must-see on a perfectly clear day because it's the only place on the planet where you can stand at the summit of an active volcano and see both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from the same place! Besides your camera, don't forget to dress for the volcano.
It's likely to be very windy and really chilly.
After all, its summit is more than two miles above sea level.
You'll definitely need a sweater or jacket here.
If you have a car, or take a guided tour, don't neglect Cartago as you head down the volcano.
This is Costa Rica's oldest city, founded in 1653, and home to two famous Costa Rica attractions: the ruins of a Catholic church destroyed in 1910 by one of five major earthquakes since the city's founding and the world-famous La Negrita statue, Costa Rica's patron saint, housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Angels church.
La Negrita (the Black Madonna) has been revered since it first appeared in 1635.
Pope Pius IX declared in 1862 that anyone visiting the shrine would have his or her sins forgiven and in 1983, Pope John Paul II came across the ocean to pray at La Negrita.
And, every year on August 2, millions of the faithful pilgrimage to Cartago to worship in the church and touch the Black Madonna.
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