Costa Rica 2019 Day 15 - Pacuare River Rafting

The Exploradores Outdoors shuttle picked me up at 6:50am, and we drove to the Siquirres location that I was previously at a few days ago.  The shuttle was shared with folks from Holland, and Canada.

At the breakfast point, all the rafting folks left their luggage in the lockers, bringing only their water and sunscreen.  It was now a different bus with other folks that arrived, and about a 30 minute drive to the river.  Met a couple sisters from the USA who were in their mid-70s, still traveling around the world, adventuring, and rafting!  I was inspired and so motivated.

Each raft holds 4-6 people, so I was in a group with the sisters, a woman from Costa Rica, and a guy from Brazil.  Our guide was Jepe.  I was getting really nervous...thought I would definitely fall out, or not be strong enough, or get dizzy from motion sickness...But, as we geared up, I tried to forget about those worries and just be more present.

Sitting in the last row of the raft, I'm not sure if you are more or less prone to fall out?  I also didn't have someone right next to me who I am supposed to help save if they fall out..

As we started, I could feel my nervousness come back again...I had my left foot secured under an inflatable part of the raft, but I was still scared of falling out!  In reality, I just kept falling inwards and sprawled onto the raft.  I must've looked hilarious, flopping around trying to get a grip and sit back up to paddle again.

Our guide was good and knew how to read the water well.  He was a jokester, and a little too much for me.  Maybe I was being a debbie downer...we had to practice rescuing / being rescued, which meant we take turns going into the water to be "saved".  I knew my turn would eventually come, and I would have gladly slid into the water.  But Jepe just shoved me in, and I prefer to not risk my contacts sliding out of place and having to take it out completely and be blind for the rest of the rafting trip.  I get that he was having fun, but my eyes did get uncomfortable and my contact got messed up a little, luckily it ended up back to normal soon.  I understand that if I fell in while rafting, obviously my face would be underwater anyways.  But I was still a bit irritated that he shoved me.

Anyways, the river and canyons are BEAUTIFUL.  A number of waterfalls were seen as well.  Giant, tall walls of lush trees and rocks.  It was so green and beautiful.  The river had a lot of calm areas, and the water was warm.  Water levels were very low though since it was dry season.  There was a rock with some colored lines on it, indicating when the water levels would be too dangerous for rafting.  The river was even below the lowest possible line level, and continuing to get lower as the dry season goes on for another month.

Howler monkeys, hummingbirds, Kingfishers, and beautiful butterflies were seen.  This was also the first time I learned about the indigenous people of Costa Rica.  There are about 1,500 in that area, and we saw a basket and pulley system across the river.  The local community sometimes helps deliver medical goods or supplies to the tribes.

Hitting the rapids were SO fun and I was full of adrenaline every time we approached.  It was bumpy and I overall felt secure because of my foot being under the inflatable part of the raft, so I got used to it and less nervous!

Its all so tiring though!  I must've not had proper form for some of it too.  My hands were aching and getting a blister, and my arm and shoulder were getting sore.  Also, we would be on the water for four hours.  I probably could have enjoyed a three hour trip more, but its alright.

We reached a beautiful calm area where everyone could get out and swim. We were in a narrow canyon and it was just gorgeous.  I wish I had my GoPro or phone for pictures, but realized it was going to be cumbersome to hold onto them and worry about photos.  So, made the decision to be more present!

I wanted to swim / float (since I can't really swim) and again, Jepe pushed me out.  As he was doing it I told him "Don't do that, don't push me!" but he did not listen.  Luckily I was able to grab a hold of the rope as I fell and managed to not get my eyes and contacts messed up.  I was really irritated.  If your customer is not comfortable with something and they tell you so, even if you think its fun and no big deal, even if the water is calm, you need to listen to them.

About 3/4 of the way, we stopped at a place overlooking the river and ate a freshly prepared lunch made by the employees.  Tortillas, with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, red peppers, some pickled mixture, meat, cheese, salsa.  Little desserts with a cream cheese and guava jelly, and freshly cut pineapple.  Plus iced tea.  It hit the spot and was needed as I was losing energy.

After finishing on the water, we end up near the Exploradores Outdoors location, walking about five minutes.  Unfortunately someone took my full bottle of sunscreen that I brought with me and forgot to grab when I left the raft.  Bummer.

We were given maybe 45 minutes to shower, change, and purchase photos if you like.  I didn't get a chance to see the photos and then was out of time.  $25 for 100 photos of your rafting group.

The rafting package came with transportation to Alajuela.  It was only myself and a couple on the shuttle bus.  Leaving around 4:45pm, I assumed we would get to the hotel (where I would then walk to the Airbnb) around 6pm.  I was way off in my estimate.  It was much further and we hit a ton of traffic due to accidents and construction.

Driving by was a nice preview of the city life, seeing the Heredia area.  We passed by a lot more Chinese business owners.  I wonder if there is an official Chinatown here.

Finally got to the Courtyard Marriot a little before 8pm.  My Airbnb host was very kind and offered to pick me up.  Her house would have been a five minute uphill walk.  I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got there.  I devoured the leftover pizza from the night before, and went to bed right after that.  Have to wake up before 4:30am tomorrow for my flight back home.

It's crazy how fast time goes by.  I was in the country for 14.5 days and looking back, its a blur.  The first half of my trip was very busy, seeing so many beautiful waterfalls, trails, volcanoes, wildlife, and driving all over the place.  The second half was much more laid back with a Caribbean feel, with more beach-laying and leisurely activities.  Even though I was exhausted during the first half, I wouldn't have changed how things turned out.  I liked the variety, and being able to see all these amazing sights that I've ooh'ed and ahh'ed about when seeing pictures of the places.

I enjoyed the sunshine, wildlife, beaches, and food.  What a memorable and long overdue trip. Thanks Costa Rica for an unforgettable and lovely stay!