February 19. Day 10. We Made It!

Today's Description:  The sweet taste of success!!  This morning we jump on our bikes for a short ride through banana plantations to the town of Freeman where we begin the final leg of our coast to coast traverse in kayaks down the Pacuare River.  The frothy whitewater mellows to a gentle flow and we paddle our way into the Caribbean lowlands where banana plantations gradually swallow the receding rainforest.  At the end of the adventure, we reach the mouth of the Pacuare as it meets the Caribbean Sea, celebrating our passage with bubbly in the surf, while enjoying a well-deserved rest.  After some time on the beach we are picked up by a motorboat and transferred to Moin from where we travel by vehicle to Cahuita.  Here we stay in a comfortable hotel as we congratulate ourselves on completing the journey from Coast to Coast of Costa Rica!  

Biking:  20 km
Sea Kayaking:  15 km
Ascent 75m.  Descent 125m.


Well, we made it to the Caribbean Coast today on schedule.  It's been a tough trip.  There have been more than a few scrapes, bruises, tears and buckets of sweat, but we all arrived safe and sound.   We had another early start today - breakfast at six.  The boys had all the bikes ready to go and the kayaks loaded for later in the day.



We were on the bikes and away from camp well before 7.  First up - 26km of biking on dirt roads.  Gotta say, I much prefer riding on pavement.  On these dirt roads with many, many potholes I just don't feel confident in looking up to enjoy the scenery.  We rode through many, many banana plantations this morning along with a few fields of pineapple plants.  We've had fresh pineapple at least once a day -  yum, yum!



We also passed through lots of civilization today.  Most of the housing was pretty basic although there were a few nicer homes as well.  Probably most of the families are working in the banana industry.  Lots of parents walking or biking their kids to school.  The kids all look so sharp in their school uniforms and their nicely combed hair.

I guess the banana industry has a bit of a checkered past here.  The big foreign companies dominate the industry - Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita; we saw them all.  Yes they provide jobs but they often don't treat their workers all that well.  And the jobs are hard physical labour.  We stopped at a Del Monte operation and here are some  pictures from that.








Along the road we frequently came to banana crossings.   Kind of like railway crossing, but for bananas rather than trains.  They would lower the  crossing arms and then either a human or a horse with human in tow would pull a long string of banana bunches from the field, across the road and onwards toward the plant.  Interesting!

Eventually we made it to the river and the kayak put-in area.  This was the same river that we were rafting yesterday, but a much calmer and flatter section on its last leg to the ocean.  Certainly an easy section for us to paddle but we were encouraged not to tip - there are crocodiles in the water!  The paddling distance was to be about 11km.  Shortly after we put the boats in the water Fez spotted a nice shady sandbar that would serve as a nice picnic lunch area.  We ignored the fact that it wasn't  even 10:30 yet and chowed down on a nice pasta salad.  Only after landing did we discover that we would be sharing our lunch spot with a big pig.

Along the paddle today we saw lots and lots of birds - everything from herons to pelicans.  We also saw some howler monkeys in the trees and and a caiman (small crocodile) slipping into the water.  The sun came out for most of the paddle and it was stinkin' hot.  The paddle wasn't too far, but the sit-on-top double kayaks are not exactly built for speed.

Finally - the Caribbean!  Just in case there was any confusion, Fez pointed out the way.  Once we landed, he pulled out a few bottles of bubbly and we toasted our success.

Here's a picture of our whole group.

And one of the six women from the Ride Idaho group. Average age well over 60.  Well done, kids!

We met up here with a passenger boat and enjoyed our first motorized transportation since we left the Pacific Coast a week ago.

Kind of nice to just sit there and let someone else do the work!  The trip was about 45 minutes on an inland waterway that paralleled the coast.  When we got off the boat it still wasn't even 1pm. I felt like I had put in a full day already!  Next up - a 45 minute bus ride to our hotel in the coastal tourist town of Cahuita.  Just one problem, though. It seems that a small town along the main highway has gone "on strike", blockading the highway and stopping traffic in both directions.  The strike is to support their demands for a new school and new community centre. The truck carrying all our luggage is stuck on the other side of the blockade!  We are still wearing our damp and stinky clothes from kayaking and many people don't have any money or ID with them. Good thing the officers at the police checkpoint on the bus ride to the hotel didn't want to board the bus!  In any case, we happily hung out at the hotel and around town while Fez hired a taxi to go rescue our luggage.  The driver was able to drive within about a 20 minute walk of the blockade. Fez then hired a bunch of locals to help schlep our luggage back to the taxi for the return journey to the hotel. He was gone about 4 hours in total. I'm not sure who was happier upon his safe return with all our stuff - him or us!

Our hotel is really lovely and the hostess is a wired ball of energy. Originally Italian, she reminds me of Marina from the Belvedere Hotel in Italy last fall. Nice big rooms and all the amenities - air conditioning, hot water (I spoke too early; it was cold the next morning), indoor plumbing, wifi, etc.

The big thing that I missed was Heather & Ernesto's close encounter with a sloth. I had already turned back from my walk. They continued on and suddenly a sloth fell out of a tree close by. The sloths that we have seen have always been very high up in the trees and tend to nestle into the crooks of branches so that they are very difficult to see. Anyway, this sloth fell down very close to them. They got some amazing photos and videos of it on the ground and slowly making its way back up the tree.

I did take a brief walk to the ocean front, the local national park and the little shops around town before heading back to the hotel to look for Winter Olympics coverage on TV - and I actually found some.

Finally - out for pizza dinner before calling it a night.

February 18. Day 9. Full Day of Rafting

Today's Description:  After breakfast we cast off the shores paddling through gurgling swells that cut through a virgin rainforest and cascading waterfall.  We maneuver through the exhilarating rapids through dense rainforest and rugged canyons.  Along the way we break on the riverbank and climb through the muddy jungle to a spectacular hidden waterfall with loads of fresh water pools and cascades to play in.  We get back in our boats for a little more whitewater before stopping for a picnic lunch on the shore.  Our rafting ends near the town of Siquirres at a riverside camp.  Dinner tonight is a home cooked gourmet Pacuare feast.  

Rafting:  23 km.
Descent:  175m.

Wow!  After napping and doing nothing all day yesterday, I can't believe how well I slept last night! My "rafting" clothes are still quite damp from 2 days ago.  Oh well - they're going to be drenched after going through the first rapid.

What a great day on the river!!  Maurice is such a good guide.  He's very competent, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and friendly.  He has represented Costa Rica in the last 2 World Rafting Championships.  They came in 5th in Japan last year.

It's a good thing I didn't bring my camera along today.  It would have been soaked the whole way which would have just resulted in blurry pictures.  Plus, the rapids come so quickly one after another that I would hardly have had time to take a hand off the paddle.  We had about 4 or 5 Class IV rapids today.  Most of them were in the gorge, which was a narrow section with really high walls on either side.  We were treated to amazing vegetation all day as well as lots of birds and butterflies.  The most striking butterfly was the morpho butterfly - a beautiful electric blue on top and brown underneath.  Some of the birds were:  tiger heron, several types of egrets, hawk, osprey, vultures, dippers, swallows plus lots of smaller colourful birds.

We passed quite a few camps along the shoreline in places today.  Some were quite swanky-looking and some more basic.  We also passed a number of places that served as access points to indigenous camps further back in the jungle.

We did get stuck in one rapid.  Maurice called for a "lean in".  I lost my grip and ended up on the floor.  Mary fell out of the boat and Jean was able to pull her in.  Maurice's lifevest  got caught on a caribiner and he was immobilized.  The raft was stuck between a couple of rocks so Maurice had everyone move to the back of the boat.  Yes, that's where I was still sprawled on the floor with limbs going in every direction, so everyone just piled on top of me.  It was a bit of a minor miracle that all my joints held up to the load.

Maurice said that this river is rated #9 in the world.  I believe it.  It was a wonderful ride.  Rapid after rapid after rapid with gorgeous scenery throughout.  Especially early in the day we passed many, many waterfalls coming into the river from both sides.  At one point we stopped at a waterfall and hiked up to where it cascaded into a lovely pool.  Most of us went for a swim and sat under the waterfall for a bit.  Wow!  Here's a picture that Liam forwarded to me.

On a relatively quiet section of river we jumped in and swam beside the boat for a while.

Gradually the river widened out and the rapids diminished.  Towards the end we were repeatedly buzzed by a yellow cropduster spraying some type of pesticide on the banana crop in the area.  We were done on the river by about 1:30.  We pulled over and walked a short distance to another C to C camp.  Another lovely spot!  My left leg and toes are felling a bit bashed up from 2 days of rafting.  Overall, though, I feel much better now than I did yesterday and first thing this morning. 

We went for a little walk around the perimeter of the camp.  We saw lots of colourful little frogs - mostly red ones, but also two green (almost teal) with big black blotches.  Thankfully, no snakes today.

Our toys for tomorrow..............

Another yummy feast for dinner before retiring to my elevated tent for the night.

February 17. Day 8. Rest day at the river camp.

Today's Description:  Today we spend some quality time in this beautiful location on the banks of the Pacuare River.  This area of rainforest is maintained as much as possible in its natural state.  The camp is a very comfortable camp with permanent tents on wooden platforms, raised off the ground.  There are showers, flush toilets, sinks and a dining area with a gazebo strewn with lots of hammocks.  We'll head out today on a hike into the rainforest to some of the nearby waterfalls and swimming holes.  

0 km
Ascent: 0m.  Descent 0m.

I had good intentions to get out on one of the optional hikes today, but each time the rain started just before we did.  Also, it was pretty hot and I thought a sweat-free and sunscreen-free day would be a nice change.  So - I chose to stay behind and make it a true rest day.  I wasn't the only one........

Lots of reading today, alternating between the tent and the hammock.  There may have been a few catnaps in there as well.  Some board games played.  Dodged the occasional downpour.  The river was busy with rafters - mostly day-trippers we were told.  I explored the grounds a bit and took a few pictures.  Beautiful grounds!

The boys prepared a lovely dinner for us once again - pasta with sauce, bread and wine.  I really wasn't feeling great all day (probably from eating too much day after day), so I nibbled a bit but didn't have much.  After dark, Jean got out her flashlight and started looking in the bushes for critters.  She found a snake, quite a venomous one apparently.  It was a fer-de-lance.  Wikipedia tells us that it "is a venomous pit viper species ranging from southern Mexico to northern South America and is considered to be one of the most dangerous snakes in the central hemisphere."  OK then; no wonder Fez got everyone out of the area so quickly.  He managed to immobilize the snake with a stick and then take its head off with his machete.  Let me just say that trips to the outhouse that night were taken with some added caution. 

February 16. Day 7. To the Pacuare River

Today's Description:  After breakfast we continue mountain biking towards our rafting "put-in" at La Cruz.  This is the gateway to the mighty Pacuare River.  We'll first have lunch and then embark on a thrilling rafting journey on this exciting river that cuts through pristine rainforest and cascading waterfalls.  We'll run a section of about 30 km of class II - IV rapids.  By afternoon we'll arrive at our comfortable and luxurious riverside camp.  Nestled between the sounds of the rainforest and the hum of the river, we have the remainder of the day to explore this lush environment looking out for toucans and oropendolas overhead or simply relaxing in a hammock to the sounds of the river.  

Biking: 46 km
Whitewater rafting:  5 km
Ascent:  675m.  Descent:  1150m.

Breakfast at 6:30 and ready to go by 7:25.  I think I probably win the award for the biggest 3-day pack; oops!  In fairness, though, the structure of mine takes up a lot of space.  Oh well..........  First up - 46 km of biking this morning.  A lot of the early going was on pavement, some of it pretty fresh; nice!  We went by where the Costa Rican national slalom canoe & kayak teams train.

We saw quite a bit of sugar cane harvesting activity this morning.  We could see where the fields had been burned and then cleared.

Later, the fields had been burned and they were in the process of cutting the sugar cane down and loading it onto trailers.

Then, not too far down the road, came the processing factory.  Lots of smoke announced its presence.

Once the liquid is squeezed out of the pulp, that liquid is boiled off to leave brown sugar.  Reminds me of maple syrup processing.

Next came two long, hard climbs.  I found the first one really tough.  I had to get off and walk at one point.  I thought maybe it was because February isn't exactly mid-biking season and the week had finally caught up with me.  Once at the top I happened to check the wheels.  Well..........  the front wheel wasn't spinning freely at all!  It barely went a quarter turn before it stopped!!  Yikes.  No wonder it was such a hard climb.  Ernesto stepped in to look at it and realized that the wheel wasn't fully seated properly into the fork.  Yikes again!  Good thing the wheel didn't come off entirely!!  I mentioned it to Fez when he got there and he owned up to having put the wheels on last night.  I should have checked the bike at every transition, but I don't think it's too much to expect that the wheels are put on properly.  Anyway, it's good to know it wasn't just the engine!

After a quick break we were back on the bikes again, and up the second hill.  It was similar to the first one, but immeasurably more pleasant with wheels that spun freely.  Although I didn't stop for any pictures, we did get some nice views into the valleys below on our way up both of these hills.  Just a bit further and we stopped at a restaurant for lunch.  Not even 11am yet, but we eat when the opportunity is there.  And a huge lunch it was - rice, beans, chicken, salad, veggies.........I'm stuffed!

After lunch we were back on the bikes again for about 9km of mostly downhill.  Once again, I walked some sections that I wasn't comfortable with.  It was pretty muddy in some places and I'm happy to have made it down safely.

Time now for a completely new activity - rafting!  We changed into our rafting togs and sent Memo away with our bags of wet, stinky, muddy bike clothes.  Our 3-day packs were put into dry bags, we donned life jackets and helmets and got a safely briefing from Maurice.  We had 2 rafts of 5 guests each.  Jean, Mary, Ernesto, Heather & me with Maurice.  Liam, Nikky, Kathy, Pat & Vicky with Abel.  Fez and Graham went downriver in duckies.  Another guide rowed the gear boat.  I don't think I've ever been on a river with consistently so many rapids - one right after another.  When I later looked up the Pacuare River, it consistently comes up as one of the top ten rafting rivers of the world; cool.........  It started to rain just as we were getting into the boats.  Great timing once again.  We were wet anyway from the river, so we didn't even notice the rain.  We were treated to lush scenery and we spotted quite a few birds along the way - turkey vultures (waiting for one of us to get tossed out of the boat and meet our demise?), cormorants, tiger herons, to name a few.  We had a fun boat and fun rapids, although I'm very happy to stay in the back row.  Today's rapids were class 2-3.  Tomorrow we'll have some class 4s as well.  No pictures on the river as I had left my camera in a dry bag.

We're at an amazing camp tonight.  It is owned by Coast to Coast Adventures.

The tents are on elevated platforms and are equipped with comfy mattresses and real sheets.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped and manicured.  My tent is just steps from the river.

We are joined at camp by lots and lots of the yellow-tailed blackbirds with the pendulum nests (aka Montezuma Oropendolas), which I can see right out the back window of my tent, and a pair of toucans seen out my front door.

A bit further uphill and away from the river is a beautiful outdoor kitchen and dining area, with a second floor lounge with chairs and hammocks.

The shower stalls are open to the trees and the water comes out from a large bamboo spout overhead.  They spew cold water, but it's a very cool setup.

Speaking of cool - it's pretty chilly this evening.  It stopped raining while we unloaded, found our tents, had our showers and ate a "snack" (good timing yet again) and then once we were under shelter we had some pretty heavy rainfall yet again.

We were in to camp fairly early, so lots of time to just hang out and listen to all the amazing sounds!  How lucky are we!!

We see and do so much each day that when I sit down in the evening to write my journal, I have a hard time remembering the whole day and when I think of something I sometimes question whether it was today, yesterday or a few days ago.  We're sure packing in a lot!!

The light fades early here; 5:30 and it's already getting dark.  Our dinner table was nicely set and dinner itself was wonderful.

We had a bit more rain on & off throughout the evening and during the night.  Apparently this area gets about 5m of rain per year.  No wonder it's so green!