Where the River Runs Hot

2023. Central Costa Rica. We park our car on the side of the road then walk two minutes down a muddy trail to reach the stream. Heated by the volcano farther upstream, it is pleasantly toasty. In the humid central American air all that ails us sweats it’s way out. If we had stress or worries those too would wash away. But we are on vacation, so stress and worry never boarded the flight from home.

The humid steam wraps our world in a gauzy, dream-like haze. Reclined in the warm currents we watch hummingbirds feeding above our heads, almost within arms reach. There are several different species, none of which we’ve seen before