Qualla: La Fortuna https://qualla.com/la-fortuna en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: La Fortuna https://qualla.com/la-fortuna La Fortuna: Introduction https://qualla.com/la-fortuna/ Before 1968, nobody called it La Fortuna. The small farming settlement on the eastern flank of Arenal Volcano went by El Borio, a name so unremarkable it barely registered on maps of northern Costa Rica. Then, on July 29, 1968, Arenal erupted with explosive force, burying three villages -- Tabacon, Pueblo Nuevo, and San Luis -- under pyroclastic flows and ash. El Borio, sheltered by the volcano's own mass, escaped untouched. The survivors renamed their town La Fortuna -- "the fortunate" -- and the name stuck, carrying with it the memory of neighbors who were not so lucky.

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/1/g/g/la-fortuna-wk/d1gg-la-fortuna-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full La Fortuna: Living Beneath Fire https://qualla.com/la-fortuna/ Arenal Volcano rises 1,633 meters above the surrounding lowlands, its near-perfect cone dominating the skyline from every street in town. For decades after the 1968 eruption, Arenal was one of the most consistently active volcanoes in Central America, producing lava flows that gl...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/1/g/g/la-fortuna-wk/d1gg-la-fortuna-living-beneath-fire.mp3 0:06 2 full La Fortuna: Water in Every Direction https://qualla.com/la-fortuna/ La Fortuna is defined as much by its water as by its volcano. Lake Arenal, an 85-square-kilometer reservoir enlarged to its current size in 1979 when the Costa Rican government completed the Presa Sangregado Dam for hydroelectric power, stretches along the volcano's southwestern ...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/1/g/g/la-fortuna-wk/d1gg-la-fortuna-water-in-every-direction.mp3 0:06 3 full La Fortuna: The Tout Capital https://qualla.com/la-fortuna/ La Fortuna's transformation from farming village to tourism hub has been swift and total. The main street is lined with tour agencies, souvenir shops selling photos of the erupting volcano, and restaurants bearing names like Lava Lounge and Lava Rocks. Locals joke that Fortuna is...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/1/g/g/la-fortuna-wk/d1gg-la-fortuna-the-tout-capital.mp3 0:06 4 full La Fortuna: Gateway to the Highlands https://qualla.com/la-fortuna/ La Fortuna sits at a geographic crossroads in northern Costa Rica, roughly three and a half hours by car from San Jose. Direct buses make the five-and-a-half-hour run from the capital, and domestic airlines connect the town to San Jose and Quepos. But the most storied route out o...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/1/g/g/la-fortuna-wk/d1gg-la-fortuna-gateway-to-the-highlands.mp3 0:06 5 full