The Travelling Spanish class included a two day rafting trip. We were both really excited for this, having been whitewater rafting a few times before but only for a few hours each time. We left on the Saturday morning from Turrialba, stayed overnight in a camp in the jungle, and continued down the river to Siquirres the next day.
On the first day we packed a small bag which was taken away to arrive by car at the camp that evening. For the day we could only take with us things that could get wet. We were dropped off outside of town and walked down to the river with our guide José-Luis. He was great, so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. He overheard me say I didn’t get to see red frogs in Bocas, two minutes later he found a couple for me by the side of the path!
We had two rafts for the ten of us, and two guides, plus a kayaker who went ahead at each rapid and took photos and videos for us. Our raft was me, Chris, Luisa, Berglin, and Mimi. Luisa and Berglin had never been before, but José-Luis was great and soon got everyone going.
The first day was relaxed, some grade 1 and 2 rapids and lots of time to go slowly downriver. José-Luis had us doing practice rescues from the start so we’d feel more confident. We stopped of at some beautiful pools and waterfalls to swim.
The guides know the river so well, José-Luis is our age and has been working on the river for 23 years! On the calmer rapids they got us doing fun things like all standing up, or sitting on the outside of the boat. No one fell in unintentionally!
Lunch was a feast of wraps with different toppings, alongside fresh fruit, all served on an upturned raft.
We arrived at the camp mid afternoon and helped haul the raft up out of the water. The camp was amazing, running water and showers but no electricity. We all had tents on raised platforms with tarpaulins suspended overhead. The tents had proper mattresses and bedding. We made ourselves comfortable in the hammocks in the communal area. I read my book whilst Chris and Laura went to explore.
Whilst rafting we had seen a cage suspended on cables running from one side of the river to the other. José-Luis explained this was how the indigenous people living in the jungle could cross the river in all weathers and without any fuel or electricity. Chris and Laura saw someone crossing over near our camp and asked if they could have a go too. The guy was happy for them to try. To start with the cage goes under it’s own weight along the cables, but once you get to the centre you have to pull quite hard to get the rest of the way across!
After sunset we all gathered around the common area to eat on long tables lit by candlelight. It was such a great way to spend the last night all together. Berglin had brought some glow sticks and mini bottles of Icelandic alcohol with her so we had a bit of a dance and a drink together, trying out all the steps we’d learnt in our dance classes.
Chris, Laura and I were chatting with the guides after the others had gone to bed when we heard an odd noise. One of our guides got really excited and started saying something about a Potoo. He ran off with his torch and came back a minute later beckoning us over. He had heard the Great Potoo, which is a highly camouflaged bird and apparently really rare to find. He had found it perched high above us on a dead tree, almost completely blending into the top of the stump. We only saw it’s eyes reflecting in the dark, and then it spread its wings briefly too. A really good spot!
I slept pretty lightly in the tent, the noise of all the jungle creatures and the humid heat kept me from sleeping properly.
The next morning we had to put our wet rafting clothes back on, the humidity meant they had not dried much overnight! The worst was the squelchy shoes! Thankfully we’d decided last minute to pack watershoes, very useful and meant we didn’t need to ruin our trainers (unlike some of the others).
The rapids on the second day were more technical, grades 3 and 4. We’d had a good warm up on the Saturday and were working well as a team so we handled them with ease. José-Luis even got us doing tricks and paddling under waterfalls! The river passed through an amazing canyon and we got out of the raft and floated through it, such a relaxing atmosphere, so beautiful with butterflies floating around us.
We finished up on a picturesque little channel alongside the river that took us to a restaurant. We brought the boat out of the water and went to shower and change before having lunch. Then came time to say goodbye to everyone, and it was surprisingly sad. We’ve formed a weird travelling family over just four weeks. Chris, Luisa, and I were going on to do a fifth week of Spanish classes, whilst the others were heading in different directions, either to travel more or to head home. Such a great way to finish our time together, we had an amazing weekend.
