We got off the van and had the chance to walk around for a bit to see the waterfall from different angles.
After this stop, we made a quick stop in San Miguel, so everyone on the tour who needed water shoes could pick some up and then we got off the main road to head to the put-in for rafting on Rio Sarapiquí. A few other vans of tourists were rafting as well, so there were about eight boats heading down the river. Sandy, Tim, and I were in one boat with our guide Jeffrey. After reviewing safety and rafting instructions, we took to the water. This section of the river is great for whitewater rafting with class II, III, and IV rapids.
We’ve done whitewater rafting in the past and generally there are some good rapids, followed by stretches of relatively flat water. Not so on Sarapiqui. It was pretty much rapid after rapid and rapid. It was a lot of fun and we got very wet. At one point, a waterfall tumbled down a small tributary into the river. Our guide steered our raft so that we went directly under the waterfall and got drenched.
This section of river flows through a rainforest and at one point we could see toucans up in the trees, but the rafting was too intense for more than a quick glance. About half-way through the trip, we made a stop at a calm section for a snack. There was a nice set of rapids right before this part and Jeffery suggested to Sandy that she “ride the bull”, or sit on the front of the raft. Sandy managed to stay on going down the rapids, but then Jeffrey pushed her in with his paddle! We then steered our boat to shore and stopped for a bit. As another raft of our group was coming down, both Jamie and Allie fell out of the boat. Jamey was able to get right back in, but Allie continued down the rapids, being rescued at the last minute. Once everybody stopped, the guides cut up some pineapple and watermelon for snacks. I took the opportunity to hike upstream and swim back down the rapids again without a raft. Then, we continued down the river to the take-out spot. After drying out a little, the vans took us all back to the outfitters’ place and we had a big lunch here. After lunch, we continued on towards La Fortuna. About half-way there, near Aguas Zarcas, we stopped for a restroom break at a grocery store. Ro pointed out a three-toed sloth high in a tree in the parking lot. He was a little too high for a good shot of him, but we could definitely see his three claws. Having a local around to point out stuff like that was great. After this break, we continued on the rest of the way to La Fortuna. First, we stopped at the Desafio office to pay for our whitewater rafting and to book activities for the following day. Sandy and I had purchased the adrenaline bundle, so we would be canyoneering/ waterfall rappelling and one more activity. We decided on stand-up paddleboarding on Lake Arenal. Once done here, we headed to our hotel, Monte Real. The hotel had a nice pool and scenic grounds and the room was very nice. The room was much larger than the night before with a queen size bed, instead of two twin beds. There were lovely flowers blooming all around the grounds of the hotel.
After getting settled into our room, we met back up with the group and headed into town for a group dinner at Lava Lounge. I got a cheeseburger here and it was good. After dinner, Ro arranged for a van to pick us up and drove us to a hot springs. Well, not exactly a spring, more like a hot river. We parked near the Tabacón Thermal Resort entrance. This free attraction wasn’t well known with tourists and was more popular with locals. A few amorous couples could be seen in the warm water. We walked down to the river and then river-walked upstream to a nice spot to sit in the warm water. I think that this river originates at the resort and the warm water continues flowing out on its way to Arenal River. The current was moving quite quickly, so we had to really anchor ourselves to the ground. It was raining, but the cool rain got canceled out by the warm river water. After about an hour enjoying the warm water, we headed back to the van and back to our hotel for the night.
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