Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Yesterday I was up even earlier than my normal 6:45am. At 5am, I rose before everyone in the house to eat the breakfast they had laid out for me (cereal in a cup, milk need only be added, and the coffee machine needed only to be turned on...nada mas), and catch the bus to the school to be there by 6:20am. From there, the adventure tour company would come to pick me up for a day of whitewater rafting on the Pacuare River. I decided to do this excursion because a one-day tour is included in my program at the language school, and this one was only an extra $10, breakfast and lunch being included, so it was a great deal. The fact that the tour company would pick me up right at the school was also a perk, so I didn't have to find a random bus stop at 5:30 in the morning.
We drove about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the adventure company's home base to have a delicious breakfast before hitting the river. Just to give you an idea of the strength of the rapids (although you can see for yourself in the pictures below) here is a description of the class system for whitewater rafting (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. (Skill Level: None)
Class 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Class 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Class 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Class 5: Whitewater, large waves, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Class 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of luck or extreme skill)
Our trip included Class III and Class IV rapids. Man, am I glad I had "experienced paddling skills" and all that other "whitewater experience"....waaaaaaait a minute.
Even with my lack of experience and paddling skills, everything turned out just fine and it was a really amazing experience. In a boat of 6 people and one guide, I think only 2 of the other people had prior rafting experience, but we were fast learners, and only one guy fell out of the boat...NOT ME!!!!! Our guides were hilarious, and so good at what they do. They were also quite the comedians. They would shout to us things like "Forward Paddle!...Stop!" "Back Paddle!" "Forward Paddle Right! Back Paddle Left!" "Everyone GET DOWN!!!" But occasionally they would shout things like "Forward Back Paddle!!!" Which, in the confused and exhausted state we were all in, we would begin to attempt, realizing within milliseconds that a forward backpaddle is an impossible feat. Very funny, Ivan.
The worst part of the trip for me was that I was freezing cold most of the time (purple lips, good bumps, the whole nine yards). After our guide suggested that we try a dip in the river, I could just never warm up after that. There was no direct sunlight, but only a ton of clouds, and every time a wall of water hit me like a ton of bricks, it felt like ice.
But now, in the warmth of my San Jose home, I can recall this experience very fondly and with out the goosebumps all over my body.
On the way back from the trip, the bus dropped me off in downtown San Jose and I met up with three friends to see an outdoor concert of the National Symphony and a very popular and famous Costa Rican band called "Malpais." I got home around 11:30pm, dead tired, body sore, but the concert was amazing and worth every second of having to stand on my tired legs carrying my heavy backpack after a day on the river. The band was amazing, and I will be posting video a little later of that...
Enjoy the pictures!
We drove about 1 hour and 45 minutes to the adventure company's home base to have a delicious breakfast before hitting the river. Just to give you an idea of the strength of the rapids (although you can see for yourself in the pictures below) here is a description of the class system for whitewater rafting (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Class 1: Very small rough areas, requires no maneuvering. (Skill Level: None)
Class 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Class 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Class 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Class 5: Whitewater, large waves, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Class 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of luck or extreme skill)
Our trip included Class III and Class IV rapids. Man, am I glad I had "experienced paddling skills" and all that other "whitewater experience"....waaaaaaait a minute.
Even with my lack of experience and paddling skills, everything turned out just fine and it was a really amazing experience. In a boat of 6 people and one guide, I think only 2 of the other people had prior rafting experience, but we were fast learners, and only one guy fell out of the boat...NOT ME!!!!! Our guides were hilarious, and so good at what they do. They were also quite the comedians. They would shout to us things like "Forward Paddle!...Stop!" "Back Paddle!" "Forward Paddle Right! Back Paddle Left!" "Everyone GET DOWN!!!" But occasionally they would shout things like "Forward Back Paddle!!!" Which, in the confused and exhausted state we were all in, we would begin to attempt, realizing within milliseconds that a forward backpaddle is an impossible feat. Very funny, Ivan.
The worst part of the trip for me was that I was freezing cold most of the time (purple lips, good bumps, the whole nine yards). After our guide suggested that we try a dip in the river, I could just never warm up after that. There was no direct sunlight, but only a ton of clouds, and every time a wall of water hit me like a ton of bricks, it felt like ice.
But now, in the warmth of my San Jose home, I can recall this experience very fondly and with out the goosebumps all over my body.
On the way back from the trip, the bus dropped me off in downtown San Jose and I met up with three friends to see an outdoor concert of the National Symphony and a very popular and famous Costa Rican band called "Malpais." I got home around 11:30pm, dead tired, body sore, but the concert was amazing and worth every second of having to stand on my tired legs carrying my heavy backpack after a day on the river. The band was amazing, and I will be posting video a little later of that...
Enjoy the pictures!
a generic photo from the internet to give you an idea of the bigger picture
a map showing you where the pacuare river is in relation to where i'm living in san jose
Here we come! See how we sit on the edge of the boat? Sit bones hurt so much the next day.
a non-generic picture...oh yeah, that's my raft, baby! and I'm in there!
i'm easy to spot in all of the following pictures, because I'm the only one with a pink helmet (i'm in the front)
paddling hard!
there were about 6 rafts on the river with us
after conquering a tough rapid, our guide would shout "pura vida!" and we would do a high five with our paddles
there's me in the pink
me in the pink helmet again. this is a great picture of a great rapid.
i loved to paddle! una chica fuerte!!!
one last view
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