It’s a little cloudy and chilly today, and at times like these I find myself yearning for warmth and reveling in comfortable objects and memories. So what better to do on a day like this, than to finish my blog about our recent trip to Costa Rica.
I woke up not from the sun, but from a brisk chill running over my body. I was unaware that the mountains of Costa Rica get cold at night – even in the summer. My bunkmate, Abbey, must have known this already because most of the blankets were tightly wrapped around her body, proverbially leaving me out in the cold. No worries though, it was time to get up anyway. We had to be packed, outside and ready to go by 6 am. The only way to the Pacuare Jungle Lodge was to raft in, so we needed to pack a little bravery as well – that was my cheese line for the day in case you were looking for it. A shuttle bus picked us up where we met a small group of folks that we would be spending the next few days with. As we picked up the last group of people, we headed to the Adventure Costa Rica headquarters for supplies. On our itinerary sheet, we were asked to only pack a max of 20 lbs, and all of us were a little nervous about going over the maximum, I had visions of my pack floating downstream and wearing wet clothing for three days.
After we loaded up, we set off to the Pacuare River. In my half-awake half-asleep daze the countryside of Costa Rica passed us by. Steep and curvy roads lead the way through mountains that were dotted with ramshackle towns and homes, native ferns, coffee farms, and sugar cane. An occasional horse or cow blocked the road and gave us a moment’s pause to catch our breath, take a photo and gulp down copious amounts of Dramamine and Imodium – which in all reality probably saved my life. As we reached the summit of the mountainside we saw our breakfast stop, a hillside restaurant overlooking a picture perfect landscape. We downed a delicious meal of rice and beans, eggs and the best hot sauce I have ever had and took a moment for a photo shoot. As a group, we tend to take a lot of pictures, and who doesn’t like a good photo shoot?
The Pacuare River is tough, for some reason I imagined the sparser and gentler rapids of the Ocoee River in TN, but I was wrong. The Pacaure is wide and wild, it’s brown like the Mississippi and there are no breaks – just one rapid after another. On the way to the lodge we traversed through Class III and Class IV rapids, our guide who ended up with us for the entire trip was Max. I don’t think I would be alive today without Max, his knowledge and expertise made the trip enjoyable rather than the complete freak out I would have had – plus he was the captain for the Costa Rica National Rafting Team – so we were in good hands. Max and the other guides safely led us down the river with a few pleasant stops along the way. When you go, be sure to bring a waterproof camera, shoes that are waterproof and will stay on your feet, and good hearing – cause when the guide yells – HIGH SIDE RIGHT – you better get going. We later found out that the trip is technically an overnight rafting trip, which explains the fantastic rapids you get to experience. Overall this was the best rafting trip I have ever been on, and I don’t think you could get much better than the Pacuare River. But we were there for the lodge – the Pacuare Jungle Lodge.
Water seemed to be ever flowing out of my shoes. We exited the raft and were greeted with fresh squeezed guava cocktails along the shores of the Pacuare Jungle Lodge. As my eyes gazed up to relish in the canopy of the rainforest, I noticed the main lodge area gently tucked away – in reality the lodge is a quite prominent feature of the resort and the main station for meals, meeting spots, or just a nap in a hammock. It over looks the river and provides wonderful vistas of the surrounding rainforest, but at that moment in time the lodge seemed to just blend in so perfectly into its natural surroundings that it disappeared into the mystery of the woods.
As we sipped on our cocktails, the general manager of the resort went over the basics of how things worked. The two most important rules were: one – we are on Costa Rica time, which means 15 to 30 minutes either way of the stated time, and rule two – please don’t wear your shoes inside the buildings. What is this heaven? – cause it’s close enough. The manager grabbed our bags and showed us to our bungalow, on the way we got a first hand few of the layout of the resort. There is only a small strip of land between the river and the rainforest. This cultivated area houses the bungalows and cottages, and is filled with guava trees, tropical palms, orchids and bromides, bananas, and a few shrubs that you might recognize, but in the states they small and typically secondary landscaping. The pathways were rocks from the river, smooth, grey and round and they fit perfectly into place and tended to meander though the resort much like the river from where they were pulled. As we walked along the path we came to our home for the next few days, a riverside bungalow suite at the end of the resort. Exhausted I ripped off my wet clothes, grabbed an organic cotton robe and drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the raging river on a hammock gently swinging in the breeze.
We couldn’t figure out what to do first. The resort offers a multitude of activities and I would suggest doing them all. Since we had spent an entire day rafting, and traveling the day before we opted for a quiet first night with some much needed lounge time. Somehow I scored an in-room massage, which ended up being a highlight. The masseuse, Elle, was a small girl with strong hands. She incorporated Swiss, sports, and reflexology into her work and the tension of life in the states slowly melted away. All I really remember is the sound of the water, Elle’s gentle voice, and the thunder of an up coming rainstorm. I was sent into a dream right then and there and didn’t wake up until I heard a Delta airline spokesperson say we were in Atlanta.
All of your meals are served at the lodge, barefoot of course. Breakfasts and lunches were light, healthy, organic and local. I had some of the best banana pancakes there, of course Stephen will say that my banana pancakes are the best, but I’ll let the lodge have this one. Costa Rica is known for their coffee, a fresh pot was brewed every morning and our little group of coffee lovers were in caffeine heaven. I’m a tea drinker myself, so I was incredibly happy to see a bounty of organic teas available in the land of coffee. Dinner impressed me the most, each evening we were given a selection of a starter/salad, main course, and dessert. Below the main lodge was a cellar with the most wonderful collection of wines. The food was amazing, near five-star quality and the atmosphere was divine. Candlelight dinners will always have a special place in my heart from this experience. We knew going here, that the Pacuare Lodge was an eco-retreat, with no electricity and only candles to light your way in the dark, but to actually experience it was another thing all together. I would encourage everyone to have an evening in the dark and absorb the healing qualities of candlelight. We absorbed not only candlelight but a good bit of wine and Costa Rican rum and since it was dark we ended up going to bed at 7 each night. This early to bed bit wasn’t that bad, because we definitely needed it.
So I could go on and on about lounging and the wonderful amenities of the resort, I spent a large amount of time clad in only a robe lying around anything I could find that looked comfortable. A few robe based photo shoots later we decided to get up and do something.
JUST LET GO GLEN! I was yelling at one of our tour partners. There are only a few people allowed on the resort at any given time, and the folks we met on the bus were basically with us during all public events like meals and excursions. We were on the first of many zip lines, and Glen decided to brake a little early because his nerves got the best of him. Poor guy, we finally got Glen were he needed to be (on the ground) and we went on with the zip line course. If you have seen any TV commercials or Travel Channel shows about Costa Rica you know about a zip line through the rainforest. It is THE thing to do; even the airport at San Jose has some manikin zipping through the rafters above the security check point. They say it is the best way to view the rainforest; you can get right into the canopy and view all the wonderful birds and animals that call it home. Although I completely agree, the main reason for any sane person to harness themselves to a cable wire high in the tree tops and fly through the air is simply because – it is so much fun! We had a blast zipping from tree to tree and a light mist of rain came through near the end of our journey, at the end we repelled down an ancient tree to the ground where once again we were greeted with a tropical fruit cocktail. Yum.
Since we were in the rainforest it only made sense to go on a hike. Our expert guide Max took us along a rugged, but easy to walk, trail through the forest and pointed out a multitude of flora and fauna. One of our friends is a landscape architect and a plant lover by nature. She and all of us really were amazed at the variety and pure size of the plants in the jungle. Walking up the trail we looked like a typical movie set. A line of safari jackets and hiking sticks trotted through the trail and the tail end could always see the front of the line from the ravine over. As we took the last corner we came upon a waterfall. We had made it. Everyone stripped down to their suits and dove right in. The cool water refreshed every bone in my body, and the waterfall massaged our necks and back. Max plopped down and proceeded to make facial masks from the local clay and we all got a native facial treatment, apparently you can make a spa anywhere in Costa Rica. Afterwards we meandered back, had a mild wardrobe malfunction, and called it a day.
I found myself back in the front of the raft – somehow I was designated the “front of the raft guy” by my peers and Max. Although fun, the front can be a little unnerving. Today was the day we would finish our trip and go through Class IV and Class V rapids – if there was a day to go overboard – it was today. I mentioned before how the Pacuare River was wild, and for our return trip it decided to show off – just a little. It must have been a popular day to go rafting as the river was filled with groups of people huddled together in a rubber boat, screaming their heads off and praying for mercy. It was great. This part of the river was old and mysterious – the local Indian tribes feared and respected it and rightly so. Huge walls of pure rock sheared up out of the water, vines drooped out of the treetops, and magnificent waterfalls cascaded down the sides. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and ancient. I think we lost Ms. Sandra along he way. I just remember Abbey pulling her back in, I nearly lost a shoe, my camera and wetsack but I gained so much more. We all did. When it was finally over we laid in the grass for a while, just happy to be on solid ground and to be dry.
If I could thank anyone, besides Kendall who actually booked the trip, it would be the folks at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge and Adventure Costa Rica for the fantastic lodging, support and information during the trip. They certainly understand how to make a good trip a great one.