The first thing I need to declare is that I’m a wimp. Even though I traverse the Americas as a travel writer, I’m not the type of person that you normally see enjoying the most exotic and breathtaking forms of adventure travel. So when I was invited to participate in a whitewater rafting trip in Costa Rica, I was interested but a little nervous. But I gratefully accepted the opportunity to partake in one of the many adventure travel experiences that has helped to make this Central American nation such a famous vacation destination.
We used a company called Exploradores Outdoors, which offers packages that include hotel pickup and drop off in San Jose or on the Caribbean coast, so you can do the whitewater rafting experience as a fun side trip while en route between the capital and the coast (which is what we did; it’s a nice way to break up the trip).
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Our tour started with a hearty breakfast at their headquarters, which is called the Exploration Center. After eating, we got our equipment and boarded a van with Andre, who would be our guide for the excursion. During our ride to the banks of the Pacuare River, he explained some of the basic, mostly one-word commands that he’d be using on the raft:
Forward: Paddle forward.
Back: paddle in reverse (frequently used for only one side of the raft, as in “left back”).
Stop: Stop paddling.
Get down: Squat in the middle of the raft. “That means that something is coming up ahead,” he said ominously. I interpreted that to mean that we would assume aircraft crash positions and expect the worst, but I eventually learned it didn’t matter.
Simple enough. But my naturally wimpy nature and fear started to kick in when Andre started with the emergency guidelines. I’ve heard countless emergency instructions while flying, and I feel no fear whatsoever. But since this was my first whitewater rafting experience, I guess it got to me. Andre’s instructions addressed the following situations:
1. What to do if you fall in the water and are near the boat (the adjacent passenger will grab your life vest and pull you in).
2. What to do if you fall in the water but are far from the raft (wait for the boat or a rescue kayak to come get you)
3. What to do if you fall in the water and are under the boat (use your hands to crawl in one direction, and only one direction, until you get out from under the boat).
4. How to assume “whitewater float” position I fyou can’t get to the raft and no one can get to you. (Lie feet first, face up, in the water and go down the rapids until a rescuer can get to you).\
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Thanks to these very detailed safety instructions, I was terrified by the time we pulled down to the banks of the Pacuare River, a 108-kilometer river that is one of the nations most popular rafting spots. But it was too late to back out now. The presence of my peers — and the lack of any options for escaping without making myself look like an idiot — helped me to face my fears. We were outfitted with a helmet, life vest, sun block and bug spray and instructed to get on board for our four-hour, 18-mile journey. We sat on the rubbery edges of the seven-person raft, our feet shoved underneath the inflated center bumpers to keep us stable.
Good news: Whitewater rafting was amazingly fun. I loved the experience. I’d been worried that we’d be paddling furiously for four straight hours, but we paddled only intermittently, enjoying lush scenery, dramatic canyons, lovely waterfalls as the current carried us. We passed rustic lodges that are used for overnight rafters.
The trip was punctuated by bubbling rapids that sometimes soaked us. It semed like it would be easy to fall over the side of the raft, but none of us did. Once, during a stretch of level 4 rapids, with two “get down” commands, I did very skillfully smack myself in the face with my oar, bite my lip and hurl my oar out of the boat (a replacement was in the raft so I could get back to paddling quickly). Other than my brief lack of coordination, I made the trip with flying colors.
We stopped for a tasty outdoor lunch, prepared by our guides: tortillas with beans, meat, just-made guacamole, chips and fresh fruit. We saw a couple snakes and a tiny, beautiful — but apparently poisonous — red frog. After lunch, we got back on the rafts and paddled further, with time for swimming in a peaceful stretch of water. When we finally ended up back at the Exploration Center, we were tired but happy — and we were able to buy a CD with photos taken from the banks of the river, to prove that I’d done the trip.
Overall, it was bouncing excitement, physical exercise with postcard-perfect natural scenery and tranquility, followed by a deep sense of accomplishment.
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The experience also gave me a chance to put together a few of my own 7 tips for whitewater rafting in Costa Rica. Here they are:
7 Tips For Whitewater Rafting in Costa Rica
1. Wear clothes that can get wet.
2. Don’t bring anything that’s not waterproof — or that you wouldn’t mind losing overboard.
3. Wear water-friendly shoes. I wore sneakers and they got completely soaked, which was fine — but you may want to wear more appropriate shoes.
4. If you bring a camera, make sure it’s waterproof and secure. Several people used Go Pro when I went, and I wished I had one too.
5. Don’t bother with a hat. You’ll be wearing a helmet.
6. Be clear regarding levels. Inexperienced or fearful rafters should stick with lower levels — I did levels 1 through 4 and survived.
7. Use lots of water-resistant sunblock, everywhere you can think of (my knees got sunburned).
The $99 price includes pickup and onward transport to and from the rafting location and San Jose, Arenal or the Caribbean coast, with whitewater difficulty ranging from class III to IV, on a four-hour trip down an 18-mile stretch of the Pacuare River, with 38 rapids. Minimum age is 12. Breakfast at the open-air Exploration Center, lunch along the side of the river, and gear is included. Participants can also use lockers, showers, changing rooms at the site.
INFO & RESERVATIONS: www.exploradoresoutdoors.com
WHERE I STAYED: We did our whitewater rafting experience en route between the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica and the Caribbean beach town called Puerto Viejo. We stayed at Aloft San Jose hotel in the capital (read my review of the Aloft San Jose here), and Hotel Banana Azul in Puerto Viejo (read my Banana Azul review).
COSTA RICA TRAVEL INFO: Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (Costa Rica Tourism Institute)