Dusk Over Lake Arenal from Arenal Observatory Lodge

Arenal Observatory Lodge sits on the southern flank of Arenal Volcano, overlooking Lake Arenal in Costa Rica's Alajuela province. The lodge began in 1987 as a research station built to house volcanologists monitoring Arenal's eruptions, which continued almost continuously from 1968 until 2010. Lake Arenal itself is artificial, formed in 1979 when a dam was built for hydroelectric power and now supplying a significant share of the country's electricity. The property later converted from a scientific outpost into a hotel, with trails leading through the surrounding rainforest toward the volcano's lower lava fields.

Photo taken in February 2019.