Rafting Day

We survived the river!! Actually it was an amazing day full of adventure. We couldn't take too many pictures, and none digital because of the water. So you will have to settle for a long blog post....

The day started early with the Adventure Naturales tour company picking us up at the hotel at 6:00am! It was an hour and a half drive to breakfast up in the mountains with great views of the volcanoes around the country. We enjoyed gallo pinto (traditional Costa Rica rice and beans) for breakfast, and then drove another hour or so to the river. We parked the buses and then it was a good 10 minutes downhill hike to the river where we met our guides. The "K Hos Crew" was all able to stick together for the trip - 6 of us in a raft with our guide, Louis (who has been guiding down this river for 15 years!)

We went down the Pacuare River - 18 miles, 450 meters in eleveation change, class ii, iii and iv rapics, about 4 hours on the river. For several in our roup it was their first time white water rafting ever. And it was a great time! Big waves, lots of water, full of adventure. We really had a blast. And no one in our boat was tossed out unexpectedly! We all stayed in, paddled hard, and made it through the rapids.

We stopped about halfway through the the trip to have lunch on the river - plenty of fruit, tortillas and some pasta salad. Then we finished up and drove the 3 hours home.

Tonight we were able to relax, enjoy a nice dinner and group devotions (led by our guide, Jimmy Lizano). After dinner we walked to the McDonalds on the corner for ice cream, and then relaxed by the pool again. We are enjoying the sites, the experiences, the conversations, the food, and the amazing adventure of Costa Rica!!

PS - sorry for no pictures - the links to the websites should have some so you can get an idea of where we were.