Pacuare River

One of the first adventures we signed up for on our many month long honeymoon to Costa Rica was a trip on the Pacuare River, through Exploradores Outdoors. It was one of our favorite activities we did on our honeymoon in Costa Rica. I highly recommend taking a trip down the river. Here is our story:

It was early morning. There was almost a chill in the air. It was the first of many times we would pack our bags to be ready to head off on our next adventure. We were not quiet ready to leave the Caribbean, but we were ready for adrenaline. We left our first rental house, closing the gate behind us and saying good bye to a lovely time in Puerto Viejo. We were proud of ourselves for leaving the house early. We strolled with our over sized Patagonia duffel bags and a few extra carry on bags down the middle of the street. Our ‘Turisimo’ van was already waiting. They were early, too.

Once seated in the air conditioned van we took a look around eyeing up what we thought would be our new friends traveling down the river with us. Instead, we found out we were the lucky ones. The van had locals and tourists traveling to Tortuguero, San Jose, and a single day trip down the river. We were the only people signed up to do an overnight trip down the Pacure. We relaxed with a sense of excitement.

After what seemed like a full day we arrived at the companie’s headquarters for breakfast. I like to eat. I was hungry. The food wasn’t great. We quickly prepared ourselves for our overnight trip down the river. We felt confident in knowing what to expect on the river. What we didn’t know is who our guide was, how long we were going to wait at headquarters, and if at the last minute they were going to send us with another inexperienced.

A man who seemed like could be our guide showed us a sloth in the back yard. We took pictures and wondered around. Then, we waited.

Two more vans full of tourists pulled up, placed their bags in storage. I watched closely. They were placing it in the bin labeled ‘Day Trip’. We were still in the clear. We waited longer.

Finally, it was go time. We were shoved into a tourism van with many other excited and wide eyed tourists. That is when we learned that we really where on this trip by ourselves. And, boy was I thankful because I did not want to get stuck on a boat with some of those ‘Day Trippers’. I could feel them looking at us with curiosity and jealousy.

The van sped quickly up a winding road. Before we knew it we were at our next stop. We said goodbye to the ‘other’ tourists and jumped in a 4X4. We stopped in a little town for booze. Our guide, Roberto, sat in the back with us as we bounced around. We spoke a little Spanish, but mostly he spoke to us in English. Then we dropped down into the valley to the put-in. We wondered what the road was like in the rain and were thankful we had a beautiful day.

Once at the put-in we were only responsible for ourselves. We are use to working for our fun on river trips, but this time we were paying for someone else to do the heavy lifting. Dave was totally content on watching the unloading of the boat and prepping of the gear. I felt a little awkward as the two guides, Roberto, and the safety guide, who I couldn’t quite catch his name, were not as big as Dave if you added both of their masses together.

Feeling like we should be eating lunch before launching down stream we were given a brief idea of how to paddle together and where to sit in the raft, and were slowly heading down stream.

SLAP!

Roberto said there was a snake in the water. Dave laughed. I didn’t really think there were snakes in the water, but I’m gullible and kept a good eye on the water after that.

We kept looking around saying how pretty it was. We are use to rafting in the desert. This was the rain-forest. The water’s edges where hidden by lush green patches. I never knew there were so many different tones and shades of green!

Before we knew it we were at our stop for the night. The guides secured the raft while Dave and I looked around in amazement. Up the hill we could see that we were in for a treat for the night.

We hiked up the steep hillside to find a beautifully manicured resort. There was one large kitchen pavilion where the guides quickly got to work on lunch and making us feel at home.

We were showed our ‘room’ for the night. It was a little wooden hut big enough for two single beds pushed together. The sides were made of mesh allowing for all the sounds, smells and views of the rain-forest to blanket us as we slept.

Before we knew it, thankfully, lunch was ready. It was worth the wait. Delicious tacos. Being in a Latin speaking country I often thought that I could get good Mexican food in Costa Rica, but that is not the case. Mexican food is from Mexico, not Costa Rica. Costa Rican food is rice and beans. I enjoyed the Mexican food.

Dave and I were fueled to go on a hike. Unfortunately, I was not dressed properly for hiking through a river. Thankfully, Dave was nice enough to carry me on his back when the stream reached deep pool status. When the safety guide learned we had wondered off on our own he raced to catch up with us just in time to show us the way and laugh at me.

At the end of the short hike we stopped in awe at a beautiful waterfall. Pictures never do a justice, but the kind guide offered to take one of us before he bounced his bare feet from rock to rock with ease and grace on his way back down to the resort.

Back at the main pavilion we sat in silence taking in all the view had to offer. We watched a caterpillar crawl in front of us and a hummingbird rest on a colorful hedge. The final light of the sun escaped to let the light of the stars shine on us. We picked up a pack of UNO cards as the two hosts clanged pots and produced amazing smells from behind us.

Dinner was served. I felt like royalty. We enjoyed a massive plate of grilled chicken with a ‘salsa blanco’. I still couldn’t believe we had the whole place to ourselves.

After dinner I was excited to chat with the guides, but by now they were exhausted of hosting and retreated up to a guide’s hangout. After a few more rounds of UNO we finished our drinks and retreated to our own hangout.

I slept well that night.

I woke up to the fresh smell of the exotic plants that surrounded us. It was another beautiful day. I was sad that we were to leave this little slice of paradise. So I was grateful we had a slow morning enjoying the view.

Back on the water it was time to do more paddling. Not far downstream we stopped to enjoy another waterfall with a large pool for cliff jumping. Logistics allowed us to stay at the waterfall for over an hour.

Turns out we were waiting for the ‘Day Trip’ group to join us so we could do the rapid and lunch together. Five boats of tourists floated by staring and wondering what fun we had been up to. Along the way our guide joked with the other boats, scared them with his snake antics, and took the ‘road’ less traveled.

Again, I thought we had waited entirely too long for lunch when it was finally time to stop. The boats were all unloaded and about 30 people piled on to shore. A local Indian was waiting for us on shore. His family owned the property and he overlooked it to make sure we respected the area.

Like a pack of wolves people paced around the food pavilion as the guides prepared our meal. Tacos again. You can’t go wrong with tacos. Dave and I were the last in line and I was surprised that someone had the nerve to get seconds before I had reached the table to get a plate. As we waited in line nice couple from California asked us what we had been doing and how our travels had gone. I could have eaten 5 tacos, but there wasn’t enough food left for that so I was satisfied with shoving some strawberry gummies in my pocket for later.

With happy tummies we splashed the other boats and jumped in the water. I could feel the guides energy hyping up for the ‘big’ rapid. The whitewater sound approached. Roberto got nervous. We came into the drop at a weird angle. We paddled hard. I couldn’t paddle any harder. I looked up to see three boats full of scared faces looking back at us. I reached down as far as I could and leaned forward. The bottom of the boat flung towards the water pushing Roberto forward and cracking his shin on his own paddle.

We took a breath and realized we had made it. The other guides crowded and spoke in quick Spanish. The river closed into a short steep canyon. Echos of laughter hit the walls as people jumped in the water releasing the adrenaline.

The hard part was over. Dave and I were confused. We are use to BIG water. “That’s all?” we wondered. Our wondering ceased when we rounded the bend and saw the bridge marking the take out.

The river trip was over. Time to replace our life vests and paddles. Time to say goodbye to our guides. Time to cram into a van. Time to wait in traffic. Time to dream about our next adventure.

*There are a few companies that will take you down the Pacuare River. We enjoyed our time with Exploradores Outdoors. We stayed at the Pacuare River Lodge.