Costa Rica > Rafting on the Rio Sarapiquí

Today is going to be a long travel day. At seven o’clock we are ready with our suitcases by the bus. We are traveling to La Fortuna today. We drive along the coastline back to Puerto Limón and from there head toward San José. Fortunately, there have been no accidents today, and after two hours we reach the town of Siquirres. Here we stop at a small restaurant for breakfast with coffee. We also prepare a lunch package for the afternoon. Afterward, we continue toward Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí for an activities program. Today we have the choice to go horseback riding, rafting, or take a jungle walk. I choose rafting. I’ve never done it before, and it seems quite exciting. First, we stop at the stable to drop off the horseback riders. Then we drive along the Río Sarapiquí to the starting point for rafting. The seven rafters are divided over two boats. At the departure point, we are already greeted by Cesar. On the shore, he explains the rafting. There are five important commands: forward, backward, stop, lean, and go-down.

Costa Rica - Rafting on the Rio Sarapiqui

In the first few meters, we practice the commands and soon go through the first rapid. We quickly get the hang of it and are soon completely soaked. It’s really fun to go through rapid after rapid. Halfway, we take a short break. Pineapple and watermelon are ready. I’m quite hungry, and it tastes great. At this rest point, you can walk a bit upstream, jump into the water, and let the strong current carry you back to the boats. It looks easy, but when I have to jump, it feels pretty scary. I decide to jump anyway and let the current carry me back. I do it once more. After two and a half hours, we reach the endpoint with the rafts. Here we look at the photos taken along the way. They are offered for $30 per boat. Haggling doesn’t really work. We decide to buy the CDs from both boats and copy them ourselves. Meanwhile, our bus has arrived with my dry clothes and my lunch package. After picking up the jungle walkers, we continue toward La Fortuna. Normally, the weather clouds over in the afternoon, but today it’s still nice. This gives a chance to see the top of the Arenal Volcano clearly at sunset. Fingers crossed! Unfortunately, it gets cloudier as we get closer to La Fortuna. Around four o’clock, we see the Arenal Volcano in the distance, the peak shrouded in dark clouds. I start to lose hope. A little later, when we stop in La Fortuna’s center to withdraw money, it even starts to rain lightly. Willem stays optimistic and wants to give it a try anyway. The clouds can clear in an instant. The eruptions are on the far side of the mountain, where the weather might be better—you never know. As we drive around the mountain, it slowly gets dark. It’s raining heavily, and now and then we see lightning. About 17 kilometers outside La Fortuna, we stop at a bridge.

Costa Rica - Lava blocks roll from the Arenal volcano

From here, the volcano’s display can be seen. In the past, the volcano also spat toward La Fortuna. Many hotels were positioned for the view of the volcano. For the past two years, the volcano has changed its behavior and now only rumbles on the backside. It’s crowded at the bridge—about a hundred tourists hope to catch a glimpse of the large volcano tonight. It’s completely dark now. When I reach the bridge, I immediately see the orange glow of molten rocks emerging from beneath the clouds. Impressive! The Arenal Volcano doesn’t so much spew lava as it breaks off glowing stones that roll downward. As we watch, the clouds completely clear, and we can see the lava chunks rolling from the top. In long-exposure photos, it almost looks like a lava flow, though it’s difficult to hold the camera still for seconds at a time. Even Willem is impressed by the many successive eruptions. The rumbling of the volcano completes the experience. In one word: Amazing! On the way back to the lodge, we eat at a restaurant, and around ten o’clock we’re back at the lodge. I manage to get five minutes of internet at the reception—technically, they’re already closed. I send an email to the family back home. It’s funny that I’ve already been celebrating my birthday in the Netherlands for several hours, but not here yet.