White Water Rafting

Last weekend my classmates and I went white water rafting down the fifth most beautiful river in Costa Rica. In case there was any doubt in your mind, yes, it was amazing. 

We all met up at 5:50 in the morning to arrive at the river around 8. As I am becoming accustomed to waking up at ungodly hours of the morning, and the Costa Rican time zone is an hour ahead of the Pacific time zone, I'm in for a long couple of weeks when I return home.

After a bus ride full of gorgeous scenery (which I unfortunately missed most of due to falling into a coma-like slumber), we made it to the river. We received our paddles and helmets, and were given a thorough safety course.

 

Then we were off! We paddled through the rapids, giving each other high fives with our paddles after making it through each patch of rapids and yelling "¡Pura Vida!" which is a local phrase basically meaning life is good. My guide found amusement in initiating splash-wars with the other rafts, so needless to say that brought on a whole new tier of complexity to the trip. 

We passed stunning waterfalls and greenery as we rafted down class-one to -four rapids. 

 

 I expressed interest to my guide that I wanted to see a monkey, but he said that there was next to no chance we would see one in the middle of the day. He said there were an abundance of monkeys and sloths early in the morning, but they dispersed after the sun came up. Soon after, however, my guide spotted a sloth in a tree! Unbelievably, soon after that, we spotted a monkey sitting amongst the rocks! It was definitely our lucky day. 

                                                       (Above: The sloth in a tree)

As it was reaching one o'clock and I hadn't eaten since five in the morning, I was beginning to see colors and shapes other than those of the river. Finally it was lunch time! We rafted onto a beach, and I was expecting cheap and soggy sandwiches, as we may have had in the States. However, in Costa Rican fashion, we feasted! Burritos with chicken, lettuce, bell pepper, guacamole, corn, rice, beans, and tomatoes, along with fruit which was cut up in a fashion that I am going to unsuccessfully try to imitate when I arrive back home. In addition to eating, we played in the water before lunch while the guides prepared the food, and after lunch while they cleaned up.

An unanticipated bonus of the trip was that I was able to learn a lot about a tribe that lives on the river. As I am working for a museum that sells indigenous products, it was great to see one of the tribes that I will later be learning about. I was told that the tribe rents out its land to travelers in exchange for food, rather than money. They have created ways to cross the river and reach the road by a zip-line-like contraption. They live a very interesting (and somewhat coveted by myself) life on the fifth most beautiful river in Costa Rica. I am excited to report back to my boss my sightings and newfound information.

(Above: some Indigenous houses)

I had high expectations for this trip, but the reality was even greater. Gorgeous scenery, great people, and exhilarating white water rafting all made for an incredible day.