Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Down the Sarapiqui Instead of Over

This morning (is it really Wednesday?) a big chunk of our group rafted down the Sarapiqui - the same river that we flew over yesterday. Our day started at another huge breakfast - really, your children should all come back rested and about 5 pounds heavier - and then we prepared for the rafts. If middle school is frequently about limits and the testing thereof, many of our travelers tried to see if the thin little flip-flops they use around the house could withstand the whitewater. This turned out to be not such a big deal, although they were very creative with restringing their shoelaces over their heels to make it all seem secure.

Very friendly guides met us just down the road and we headed over to the put-in place. Suitably attired and quickly trained, we moved down to the river. Cleverly, we had to enter the river by jumping off the bank; this removed any initial squeamishness about getting wet. The river guides were great - our boat guide is on the Costa Rican National Whitewater Team - and were thoroughly professional. The rapids were Class I - III, but as we are in the dry season, the average was a lot close to II! There were some great thrills, and everyone was in the water a minimum of three times - sometimes by design, never by accident (i.e., some were pushed in!).

Nature was at her best this morning. Tiger herons, kingfishers (blue and green(?), cormorants, and summer tanagers joined us. One of the herons proudly held a fish in mid-swallow. We beached after an hour or so to have watermelon and pineapple. What most of the kids missed (thankfully) was the guides removing a dead fer-de-lance (10 feet long) from the beach before they really landed. This is an incredibly poisonous Costa Rican that was indeed met better dead. The water was clear and warmish, the sky a bit overcast, and all pronounced it a blast.

We put out after just over two hours and had lunch and some great conversation. Here we joined our rested students and teachers that hadn't done the whitewater rafting. We thanked and tipped the guides, and headed back on the bus.

Our final stop today (besides a quick visit to La Iguana Ice Cream stand) was the non-bucolic town of La Fortuna. Your students mingled with regular Costa Ricans, had more ice cream, bought hats, and played a quick game of soccer in the big city park. We then headed to Hotel Lavas Tacotal where we are staying for two nights. The students love the view - right up the east flank of Arenal volcano (the picture on the front of this blog, but much much closer). Right now they are in the pool screaming "Marco Polo" in the dusk under ominous clouds. I promised them that tomorrow morning, if it is cleared up, they will see the perfect cone of Arenal.

Tomorrow - kayaking on Lake Arenal, a hike to La Fortuna Waterfall, and a trip to the Baldi Hot Springs - 22 pools of crowded glory. Should be a blast, if an exhausting one at that.

Two final notes. Please read a Deal parent's (Andrew Smiles) account of his trip to Arenal a couple of decades ago when it was more active - it is in the comment section a couple of posts ago. This story or a version thereof was told to our students on the bus - the volcano burst out of dormancy, killed many, and has burbled on and off for 40 years but has just now gone back to sleep. As David, our guide, gleefully told the story there was a slight shift in the mood on the bus. For a few minutes the primary concern was fear that it was going to erupt tonight and that we were way too close. Not much to do about that, unfortunately, once the cat was out of the bag. I am sure that we will have wary students keeping their shoes on for quick dashes away from the volcano's flanks for the next couple of nights.

And finally, I will get some more pictures from Mr. Rottman to liven up the visuals here. Rafting and ziplining are tough to capture when you are in the midst, and the money the official photographers want is a bit high for most. But if possible, I will repost tonight with some pics for parents. Pura Vida!

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