Rafting the River Pacuare

We got up, ate a big healthy breakfast, and drove to the rafting meeting place. The way it worked was this: we left the cars at the main headquarters, then we got on a 30-passenger bus and they drove to a hotel in town to pick up the rest of today's party, three families from England. So in total we had 26 people, not including the guides.

Next, we bused for about an hour to the entry point on the river. We applied sunscreen, brought only things that could go in the raft's dry bucket, and got our instructions.

We had to learn the commands, such as forward, backward, down, and up. We were taught how to paddle, and what to do if we fell out of the raft. Nothing too complicated, but given that I've only rafted once before, it was good to get all the details. Cristina and I had rafted once before, Alex a few times, and Bella and Sofia none.

I brought the head strap for the GoPro, but some of the helmets already had GoPro mounts. But I hadn't brought a mount, just the strap. Eduardo, the first aid kayak guy, showed me how to attach my head strap to the helmet in a way so I wouldn't lose the camera. So I was set.

According to Michael, our guide, Pacuare River is #5 for the best rafting rivers in the world (beat out by two rivers in Africa, the Colorado River, and a river in Chile). This ranking, I believe, was from National Geographic. And it's one of the best rivers that can be done in one day. We would be rafting 27 km over 4 hours, with a break in the middle for lunch.

The river had rapids from Class I to Class IV. We were in capable hands with Michael, who had a great sense of humor. He was from Turrialba and had been a rafting guide for 16 years. At one point, he told me to record with the GoPro because he was going to do a backflip off the raft, in the rapids. And he did. I recorded it. He's crazy.

There weren't that many Class IV rapids. Just enough to keep it legit, but not enough to make the trip too dangerous. There were plenty of times to stop paddling and enjoy the scenery. Alex kinda scoffed at Class III, but he's just mister tough guy who's rafted a bunch.

We stopped at a rocky beach for lunch. The guides turned one of the rafts upside down to make  makeshift table and prepared a lunch: burrito bar and fruit. It was amazing.

The second half of the trip felt shorter. No one ever fell out of the boat. Unintentionally, that is. We went through a narrow canyon that had no rapids but very deep water and it was the perfect time to jump in and enjoy the cool river.

Another highlight was all three kids getting to "ride the bull." Alex was first. Basically, when instructed by Michael, he sat on the front tip of the boat, held the rope with one hand and held the other hand up in the air as we went down rapids. Bella did it second, and then Sofia.

Afterwards, we got into dry clothes and bused back to the hotel to drop off the Brits, then back to the headquarters where we were parked.

We went home and showered, then grabbed dinner from an Argentine steakhouse in La Suiza. I got something off the menu that I had no idea what it was, and I didn't even ask because I wanted to be surprised. It was called chifrijo in the menu, a Costa Rican specialty. I asked the waiter what was better between that and another option, and he did not hesitate to recommend the chifrijo. And it was delicious. So travel advice: once in a while, order something off the menu that you have no idea what it is and be surprised.

By the way, it was a bowl of rice, beans (but not black beans, I think they were pinto), onions, pico de gallo, and little fried nuggets of pork, topped with slices of avocado with a side of homemade tortilla chips. The traditional recipe calls for chicharrones (fried pork skins) but this was definitely more like fried pork. The word chifrijo is a portmanteau of chicharrones and frijoles.

Chifrijo