Rafting on Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica

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The minibus picked us up at the hotel at 7:00 am. About an hour and a half later we arrived at the river put-in. After gearing up with life vests, helmets, and a paddle, we assembled around our raft for a pre-trip training session on sitting and paddling properly. When the guide asked who wanted to be in the front, I eagerly volunteered myself and my friend Jesus. The two front paddlers would be the captains, and would set the rhythm for the paddle strokes for the rest of the group. The rapids were wonderful, about 15 or 20 class 2 and 3 rapids, and about 7 class 4 rapids. The 2s and 3s were just plain fun, and we bobbed over them with relative ease. One of the harder aspects of riding the rapids was that you had to paddle through the rapid, so even though your gut instinct was to grab onto the perimeter rope for dear life, you had both hands on the oar. Not only that, but we were sitting precariously on the edge of the raft leaning over slightly towards the water. The only thing that held us in was one foot which slipped under a rubber foothold built into the floor of the raft. Luckily, no one was thrown out, although we all got tossed around a bit inside and landed on each other more than once. The class four rapids were a little trickier and a little scary. The drill that we had practiced was to paddle hard going into it, then right before the biggest wave the guide would yell, "Get down!" at which point everyone would crouch down in the bottom of the raft while we were tossed around like a toy boat in a bathtub. But getting through them was a real rush, feeling the power of the river as it splashed up over your head. Twice we came to a calm stretch where we jumped into the water and floated effortlessly alongside the raft. The water was cold but felt good after working up a sweat paddling. After about an hour down the river it started to rain, and continued for about another hour and a half until the end of the trip. It started as a gentle shower, then turned into a heavy rain, complete with lightning and crashing thunder which echoed down the canyon. The rain, other than the lightning, was nice, and added a special touch to the trip. I felt as though I was a part of the rainforest, like the towering canopy, the scattered banana trees on the hillsides, the ferns near the river, and large heart-shaped leaved climbing vines with roots that reached high from the top of the tree all the way to the ground. The scenery was spectacular, steep canyon walls completely covered with thick jungle vegetation. It seemed there was some type of waterfall of sidestream around every bend in the river. Then we came to the big one, probably 100 feet high, dead ahead right before a bend. The guide steered the raft right over towards it, scaring everyone a little, and the edge of the falls hit Jesus on the head and shoulder. The raft bumped off the cliff and continued slowly past the falling water, so close we could touch it with our hands. The rain made the canyon forests misty, and thin clouds and steam drifted through the river valley reminiscent of "Land of the Lost". We floated under a hanging bridge and later on we saw several places with a cable spanning the canyon, where the locals would cross in a hanging one- or two-person wooden car on a pulley. Finally, we arrived at the river take-out, and being cold and wet for the past hour and a half, I was ready to change into dry clothes. After putting up their equipment, everyone gathered under a huge palapa shelter and waited for a buffet-style lunch which was sort of a hodge-podge of flour tortillas, ham, chips, raw veggies, and one of my favorites, hearts of palm. Everyone had a hearty appetite and we gladly wolfed down whatever was set before us, talking and laughing about the trip as the rain continued around us, feeding the Pacuare River which just shared part of its energy and secrets with a group of foreigners.

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