The Pacuare River

The next part of my Costa Rican adventure was a two day river rafting trip, with a one day interlude to either hike or relax.

We departed our hotel before dawn.  This made for a quiet ride.  Most people were half asleep and partly coffee deprived.

When we got to the operations centre of the rafting company, we were given a delicious breakfast.  We locked up our big luggage, and drove to the put in point.  We were joined by another group of travelers.  They were rather loud and obnoxious, so we ignored them.

I have been rafting a few times and every time I wonder why I don’t make it happen more often.  I love it!  I love the days on water.  They are only second to days on the bike (and only marginally ahead of days on skis).  Rafting is amazing.

Our guide was knowledgeable about the river, the vegetation, and the wildlife.

We stopped for lunch, and then made our way to the lodge.  The only way to the lodge was by raft.  I don’t know if you will be able to tell from the pictures, but the whole thing was constructed on the slopes.  Also, there was no wifi and no cell service.  Everyone got a chance to unplug.

The next day there was an optional four-hour hike.  I decided to lay in a hammock and read a book.  I am sure that I made the right choice.

The next day we headed down river into some class four rapids.  Despite all that excitement, the biggest thrill of the day happened when one of the people on my boat spotted something.  With a quick glance our guide identified it as a sloth.  People have been pointing out balls of hair way up in trees since I got here.  This was the first up close sighting.

The sloth was resting on a rock.  The guide guesses that perhaps the sloth had swum across the river and was now resting.

The rest of the rapids were great and that part of the trip ended too soon for me.  I may have to make plans for another rafting trip.