Our favorite day in Costa Rica was spent whitewater rafting down the Pacuare River. The tour is a great combination of adrenaline and spectacular scenery. We weren’t planning on whitewater rafting this trip, but after reading glowing reviews and finding out that National Geographic ranked the Pacuare River as one of the Top 10 rafting locations in the world, we just had to do it. We picked a special day for this adventure, October 16th. We thought it was a great idea to celebrate our lucky number 13 wedding anniversary in a unique and somewhat dangerous way.
After an early pick-up and long drive to the river, we were greeted at the tour headquarters with a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, sausage, rice, and beans. While eating breakfast, we heard a loud thump on the van just outside the shelter. What was that?!?!
Our tour guide told us that iguanas inflate their lungs to act like airbags, so they can crash land out of trees. The Costa Rican wildlife never ceases to amaze.
After breakfast, we jumped back in the van and headed up the mountain to our river entry point. We were all a bit nervous with most of our group having very little or no experience whitewater rafting, but we were totally rocking our outfits and full of excitement.
The guides were all extremely helpful and funny which made for a great environment for newbie rafters. We started on easy level I/II rapids practicing the commands that we were taught. One of the best parts about the Pacuare River is that the rapids never seem to end. The 18mi run includes 52 rapids, which very few rivers in the world can offer.
As the rapids started to build to level III, we heard the command, “Get down,” which means to squat in the middle of the boat to avoid being thrown out.
One of the other guides, who you can see in the boat behind us in the pic above, was the one who gave us the safety briefing and was quite entertaining. His group started calling him Costa Rican Jesus because of his long, flowing locks.
Our guide, Andres, was the best though. Not that going through crazy rapids isn’t fun all by itself, but he added an extra element to the trip. He would start yelling silly things as we were bouncing up and down in the raft. “Oh my goodness, what is happening!?!? What are you guys doing?!?”
“Get up, why aren’t you paddling!?!?” With water spraying everywhere and being tossed around, we all struggled to get back to our seats after the “Get Down!” command. But, we finally made it and were back paddling again.
After some intense rapids, we got a little bit of time to just float and enjoy the scenery. The river goes through two breathtaking gorges that are flanked by steep, green walls. Waterfalls were flowing down everywhere, including the 150-foot Huacas waterfall.
Oh, wait! More rapids…how big is that drop in front of us?!?!
Okay…back to enjoy the scenery again in the gorge. Floating down a river through the tropical rainforest was such a magical way to see it.
Along with the beautiful waterfalls and greenery, we spotted numerous birds and colorful butterflies including a swarm of bright yellow ones. We even saw one small bird trying to swallow an entire gigantic fish! Oh crap, we have to keep paddling to avoid hitting rocks so can’t get too distracted. But, speaking of a bird eating its fish, after about 2 hours rafting down the river, the guides pulled us over at a lovely spot in the middle of the jungle for us to enjoy lunch.
We were really impressed with the food spread, especially given that this all had to be floated down the river with us. We got wraps with all kinds of fresh vegetables, cheeses, and cold cuts to stuff in it along with some juicy pineapple and chips. We even got dessert…their famous River Cheesecake (guava jelly with cream cheese on a cookie).
Back on the river, we were immediately thrown into rapids again. Up next is my favorite series of pictures that I couldn’t believe the photographer captured. You can see our expressions change, especially Jimmy’s as he sees me get thrown into the air and almost on his lap. Luckily, you can see we all stayed in the boat and recovered while still laughing.
The final stage of the river didn’t have the craziest rapids, but we went into the second gorge for some even more spectacular scenery. Of course, our underwater camera got all fogged up and didn’t do it justice, but here you can see a bit what it looked like.
The water was so calm here that we actually got to jump in and float around. Costa Rica is hot and humid, so a refreshing dip was much welcomed.
The rapids were so much fun, but the showstopper really was the scenery. This rafting excursion was such a cool way to see and experience Costa Rica and was definitely a highlight for us.
We had an absolutely perfect day thanks to Explorades Outdoors Rafting. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide, better scenery, better food, or better rapids. A++!!!
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