rafting with soc
PURA VIDA.
Our trip to Costa Rica was all about learning the meaning of Pura Vida. This was a trip centered around kayaking, rafting, family, friends, fun and clean living. Our host and guide David owns a small family business called the Sarapiqui Outdoor Center in the town of La Virgen on the Sarapiqui River. He offers a variety of kayaking and rafting tours and instruction for all levels. From his outdoor kitchen, we enjoyed simple, tasty and healthy local fare. We even learned how to make sugar cane juice! His staff is friendly and professional. His mother is especially sweet and welcoming.
He put us up in the town of San Miguel, about 10 minutes upriver, at a quaint, rustic tico hotel/cabins spread across the hillside with a beautiful view of the valley below. We had many delicious meals at Los Gallitos and David even arranged for a lovely, local yoga instructor to lead us in a few yoga sessions.
While the boys kayaked the Sarapiqui river and its various branches, my husband and I enjoyed both white water and a safari tour in a paddle raft, and a visit to a bird sanctuary.
One of the highlights of our trip was an overnight adventure on the Pacuare River. We stayed at a beautiful, rustic lodging requiring about a 15-minute hike from the river, up through the rainforest into the canopy. David and Andre treated us like royalty, cooking and serving us delicious meals. On the river between kayaking and rafting exhilarating class 3 and 4 rapids, we passed numerous waterfalls, splendid rainforest vegetation, steep rocky narrows and spotted a variety of beautiful birds.
After the Pacuare River, we drove down to the Carribean Sea and relaxed at a very nice resort called Almonds and Coral. We had comfortable cabins set in the trees with a boardwalk to the beautiful beach and surf. We went to sleep to the cacophony of frogs and insects and woke up to the deep growls of the howler monkeys.
On the trip back to the Central Valley, my boys and Andre kayaked the river Succio. Besides running the waterfall at Pozo Azul, this may have been their favorite stretch of river. At the put-in, 2 rivers combine, one almost orange full of minerals from a volcano, and the other clear from a mountain valley. The two rivers run side by side until they swirl together as one.
Other memorable tours were of a coffee farm, a stop at La Paz waterfalls, and a big favorite, The Chocolate Tour.
David picked us up and dropped us off at the airport and took care of all logistics in between. We met many wonderful people along the way and always felt safe and well cared for in a friendly, casual, low-stress atmosphere. I must say that the rainforest is indeed wet and rainy, but we were rarely cold and without the rains, we would not have had the magnificent and abundant rivers to run.
Written by: Julie
