White Water Rafting worth it?

[snorkelman]

When our cruise (Carnival Liberty) arrives in Limon, it will be the first week in October. Will the water be too cold?

 

Have any of you ever done this excursion through Carnival?

 

According to Carnival's website, it is a one-hour air-conditioned bus ride to raft the dam-controlled Reventazón River’s rapids. Then we "return to the Rios Tropicales Center for a delicious Costa Rican lunch and refreshments."

 

Are you supposed to bring a change of clothes? Are you soaked afterwards, and freeze on the bus ride back to the ship?

 

Is there an opportunity to take pictures with our own waterproof camera? Do they have photographer who sells pictures to you? How much?

 

This seems like an excursion that is probably worth booking through the ship. I intend to do so unless someone convinces me that it is easy to do through a local, and no chance of missing the ship, and much cheaper.

[DEL67]

We went rafting while on the Liberty at the end of December last year. In response to your questions:

 

- Will the water be too cold?

 

I did not think that the water was particularly cold in Dec so it should be fine in Oct.

 

Have any of you ever done this excursion through Carnival?

 

Yes, we went through Carnival because we had a large on-board credit. The bus was full, but it was handled effieciently unlike some tours where there is a good bit of waiting.

 

Are you supposed to bring a change of clothes? Are you soaked afterwards, and freeze on the bus ride back to the ship?

 

Bringing clothes is up to you. There is a clean rest room at the Center where you can change. We were more than damp, but not really soaked.

 

Is there an opportunity to take pictures with our own waterproof camera? Do they have photographer who sells pictures to you? How much?

 

I took a few pictures with mine. Yes, there is a photographer who was selling a CD, but I do not remember what it cost.

 

This seems like an excursion that is probably worth booking through the ship. I intend to do so unless someone convinces me that it is easy to do through a local, and no chance of missing the ship, and much cheaper.

 

I researched local vendors and found there was no significant difference in price.

 

One additional comment. We really enjoyed the rafting' however, we would have liked more time on the river. The rafting part of out trip was only about 45 minutes partially because they had heavy rain that morning and the river was running very fast. That made for better rapids, but a shorter trip.

[EricaLovesCats]

Did the water rafting take up your entire Costa Rica time or did you have time to do other stuff? (look around, snap photos, shop, etc)

 

Thanks

[DEL67]

Since the Liberty is only in Puerto Limon for from 10:00 to 6:00, rafting did take most of the day. Knowing this we chose the last of Carnival's 3 start times so we would have time to browse in the craft market at the end of the pier. We arrived back about 15 minutes before boarding.

 

Reallistically, there is not much to see near the pier other than the craft market. When I was there a few years ago, there were also a few small shops just beyond the secure area, but we did not go there in December because we wanted to put what we bought back on the ship. In addition, they warn you that the town is not safe and one passenger on our cruise got shot in the arm.

[Bella Luna]

We just returned from the 6/9 sailing of Liberty and did the white water rafting tour with Danilo Hall. He and his assistant Shanty were very accomodating. They picked us up at the port, just beyond the Carnival bus pick-up area. I liked the fact that there were only 9 family members in his van, which made the drive more personal. We were able to ask questions and actually have a conversation with them about their country and how the people lived. The shocks were shot, but when you see the roads they drive over, you will know why! The cost of his tour was $70 per person, I believe Carnival charges $90 or so, but they include lunch.

We drove about an hour out, stopped at a roadside restaurant to meet up with our river guides and get changed, and then drove another 10 minutes over some very bumpy roads to the river. We did not put in at the same location as the Carnival tour. Danilo's van was small enough to make it right down to the river. We were outfitted with helmets, paddles and lifevests and given a safety/ rafting briefing. The actual time on the river was about 1.5 hours and the water was fairly swift, some good class 3's and 2's with still breaks in between. I found the water refreshing, but muddy, due to the recent rains. Our guide said that the fall is when the river runs highest. You will get soaking wet, so bring quick- dry clothes/bathing suit and water shoes or sneakers. Flip flops don't cut it as my teenage son found out fairly quickly!

After the rafting, we returned to the restaurant to change. You could buy lunch ($7 for a plate of beans/rice/tortillas/avacado/plaintains). Danillo provided soda/water and fresh fruit. There were photographers stationed along the shore taking pictures and also one riding in a one man kayak. The CD was available at the restaurant for $40, which was steep, but there were about 25-30 pics on it and we shared the cost among our family members. You can take pics with your own waterproof camera, but you won't be able to get the action shots they do as you are too busy paddling during the swifter parts of the river. We left the restaurant and drove back towards the port.

Our last stop was at a wild animal rescue, which was at a woman's home. She nurses injured wild animals and then releases them back to the wild. She had some very entertaining howler and capuchine monkeys. The capuchine monkey was a real pick-pocket, my 12 year old got in the cage with her and she unzipped his short pocket and took out his Sail & Sign card in a matter of seconds. She also took my sister-in-laws sunglasses and any other shiny bauble she could lay her hands on. We spent about 45 minutes there and then headed back to port for a quick shopping trip for coffee.

I would recommend Danilo for a more personal experience in Cost Rica. We did not take any Carnival tours while on the cruise, I didn't like the long lines and large buses. I know Danilo also offers the rafting/ziplining together, as you pass by one of the zip line centers on the way to the rafting sight. Don't know the time frame for that tour.

[Brenda728]

This was the best tour we did on our cruise! I highly recommend it. In fact, several ship's crew members were on our tour on their day off. This was the Carnival tour. The only glitch was our bus lost it's a/c and we returned to the ship pretty warm. Bring a change of clothes and leave it on the bus while you are rafting.

 

The rafting is pretty strenuous. I can't imagine taking pictures, you are holding your paddle the entire time. On our tour we were literally soaked - head to toe. It was refreshing and not at all uncomfortable. Don't know how it will be in Oct. but Florida is still really warm in Oct - 80's - 90's, so I imagine Costa Rica is even more so.

 

Every raft lost someone at one time during the ride. Only one person fell out of ours, and he was scooped back in immediately. One raft overturned entirely, dumping everyone. Prepared to get wet!!! Also, very important - wear shoes of some sort. We brought "aquasocks" or water shoes. The shoreline is really rocky, and you cannot go barefoot. One guy wore flip flops and he lost one when he fell out of his raft. Either wear old sneakers, or invest in some water shoes. They have them for sale on the ship for about $20, but you can get them cheaper at Walmart or a similar store.

 

Afterwards, we were taken to a very nice, clean facility with showers and changing facilities. They also provided a large buffet style meal included in the tour cost. Beer was available for extra - I think $2. They have a small gift shop on the property. The CD's of the trip were available and I don't know for sure the cost, but I believe it was $30.

 

We had a blast and I highly recommend this tour!

[snorkelman]

Great advice. I really appreciate the details.

 

I have decided that since I will probably purchase the cd with pictures, the total cost for two people to go on the cruise ship's excursion (as opposed to the private excursion) is only $20 more total.

 

To me, it is certainly worth $20 to have the security of knowing that the ship will not leave me if the bus breaks down. I have already booked this online for my cruise, because I assume this will be one of the high-demand excursions that sells out before you even board the ship.

 

By the way, I think that the water shoes that I picked up for my last cruise were about $7 at wal-mart.

[EricaLovesCats]

Hmmm I am really torn between Danillo Hall and the cruise ship tour. I like the idea of visiting the animal rescue....but the security of the ship. Hmmmmm much to think about.......

[susiesan]

What was the name of the company that ran the white water rafting? My cruise on Azamara Quest will be visiting Puerto Limon in March '08, but this is not offered as a shore excursion. I'd like to try and arrange it myself if I can find a way to contact the vendor.

 

Susie

[emporess]

We did the white water rafting with Danilo Hall. Our family of four had our own raft and guide. It was crazy and one of our best excursions we have ever done. It was pouring and the rapids were big. You cannot take pictures......no way!! There was a photographer who worked with our guide. He went ahead of us and took 52 photos that were downloaded to a CD. It cost $40, but they were all pictures of us rafting. They were amazing action shots.

 

Take a change of clothes as you will be soaked.

[susiesan]

We did the white water rafting with Danilo Hall. Our family of four had our own raft and guide. It was crazy and one of our best excursions we have ever done. It was pouring and the rapids were big. You cannot take pictures......no way!! There was a photographer who worked with our guide. He went ahead of us and took 52 photos that were downloaded to a CD. It cost $40, but they were all pictures of us rafting. They were amazing action shots.

 

Take a change of clothes as you will be soaked.

 

How do I get a hold of Danilo? Does he have a web site? Thanks for the info.

[emporess]

http://www.geocities.com/adventure_caribbean/

 

Have fun!!!!

[snorkelman]

I just returned from the Carnival Liberty yesterday. So this is just a follow up.

 

We did the Carnival excursion for White Water Rafting. It cost $110 per person and was worth every penny. The cd full of over 500 pictures (not all your raft, but plenty of pictures of each raft) was $30 which was very reasonable. I can now edit the pictures using Photoshop if I want (not really needed because they are all excellent pictures from a pro) and I can have them printed whatever size I want.

 

My wife and I have never done WW rafting before and had no problem. We did not fall out of the raft, but one person (out of the 189 people on the river that day) did fall out.

 

I suggest that you bring a change of clothes and water shoes. The food after rafting was buffet line style of rice & beans and chicken and lettuce tomatoes (salad) and even spaghetti and sauce. They had some free drinks and they also had a bar and coke machine. they also had a gift shop so you can buy sunscreen and shirts if you want. They stop at the gift shop before the tour in case you need to pick up this stuff before you go rafting or go to the bathroom. Then after rafting you go back there to eat and THAT is when you can/should buy the souvenirs if you want. We just left everything on the bus when we went rafting and it was safe.

[SeaCruiser3]

Thanks for all the information on this. Have always wanted to do this and so has my DW. Will definately be booking this one!

[GufiFoot]

Do you remember the company that the shipp booked it through? Our ship/line is not offering it at all and we are thinking about doing it. Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks

kcj

"GufiFoot"

[Corey]

We did white water rafting with Danillo Hall. He was great. He met us at the dock and took us white water rafting and zip lining. It was the best independent excursion we have taken in 15 cruises. He is very knowledgeable and will make it a day to remmember. Give him a shout.

 

Danilo's email is adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com.

[CruiseQueen0107]

White water rafting in costa rica HIGHLY recommended!

[emporess]

It was the highlight of our cruise!

[asader83]

I'm copying and pasting this from my Miracle review, so please bear with me. Any questions, please feel free to ask.

 

We were up quite early for our planned day, and were again excited to be met with some relatively decent weather. And yes, we were up early!

 

 

Looks like it may have been too early for certain people.

 

 

We were scheduled for an excursion with Danilo Hall. Let me tell you, this guy was AWESOME! We really were literally one of the first passengers off the ship, so when we walked out the port area, there were a lot of vendors trying to sell us an excursion. All I did was mention that we were scheduled with Danilo, and everyone jumped in to help out. Turned out, there was some kind of traffic jam or accident right outside the port, and Danilo was stuck trying to get in. One quick call from a Charlie Soto rep to Danilo confirmed this. I thought this was wonderful. It just seemed to me that there was a high level of respect for Danilo before we even had the wonderful opportunity to meet him! So we did end up waiting about 20 minutes for him to arrive, but it was no problem. We knew what was going on, so were fine with it. Danilo arrived shortly after, and we were pointed out to him by the other vendors. He picked us up in a van, and it was just us four plus Danilo! It doesn’t get much more personalized than that! J

 

 

I jumped at the chance to sit up front, so that I could grab some pictures and question Danilo about his country. We spent just under an hour in the van, passing banana plantations, banana “factories”, and lots of houses and storefronts. I loved how open and honest Danilo was, answering every question (even Mom’s maybe too personal questions! J). It was obvious that Danilo was incredibly proud of his country and was dedicated to showing us an amazing time. We stopped at a small road-side restaurant to get out and stretch, meet up with another bus, and to pick up our river guide, Chalo, another absolutely amazing guy. After a short 10 minute trip down one of the most picturesque yet harrowing roads, we were literally right at the water.

 

 

 

At this point, we were given a safety briefing, and explicit directions to LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE AT ALL TIMES. We even practiced for a while on dry land before pushing out into the river.

 

[asader83]

Our family was thrilled that we had Chalo as our personal guide, even though we were traveling down the river with a group of 4 rafts and guides total. Also, we loved that we were just us in our raft. We knew the pictures would rule, because they would all be just the family (plus awesome Chalo). Now, this was a white-water rafting excursion, not a pontoon ride. We knew that when we signed up months in advance. I’d just assumed that people KNEW what they were signing up for, and were up to the challenge. I guessed wrong.

 

Within minutes of pushing off, we were in some rapids. Chalo was yelling, “Left paddle!”, “Back paddle!”, and “Get in!”. I think my mom was having so much fun, that she wasn’t really listening, because at one point, I had to grab her by the neck and yank her in the raft. But seriously, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a more beautiful location in all of Costa Rica. This was beautiful AND exhilarating.

 

 

We were the last raft to leave, I think because Chalo was the “main” guy, and shortly after getting started, I noticed this:

 

 

Thankfully, our little raft should have had a red cross on the side of it. We had a nurse, a firefighter and a cop on board! J We listened carefully to Chalo as he shouted instructions while we paddled over to her, and within seconds, Chalo had her by the life vest and yanked her in to our raft. She was totally shaken up and had lost her shoes, but overall was fine. She didn’t even let go of her paddle! Awesome!

 

Because her raft had also lost another (experienced) rafter as well, we all pulled over to get our bearings. Our rescuee continued to be shaken up, and insisted that she stay in our raft with us (so much for our awesome family-only pictures. Oh well! J) The other girl that was tossed was fine; I think I overheard someone say that it wasn’t the first time she went out in her experiences. Our new passenger told us that she did not want to do the excursion in the first place, that her family members begged her to come along. Poor thing, within 5 minutes of starting, she was terribly regretting her decision to go. After checking everyone out and making sure we were all ready to continue, we headed back out on the river.

 

After about 20 or so minutes, Chalo motioned to the other rafts to pull off to the side. As we were now at the front of the pack, we were the first to arrive. Just as we pulled ashore, Chalo said to us, “There’s a really pretty waterfall up there if you want to go and check it out. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Heck, yeah, I’ll go! How many times do I get to go to Costa Rica, surrounded by all this absolutely gorgeous scenery, and get to see a stunning waterfall on top of it? Now was when I was regretting leaving my water camera in Danilo’s van. I was told I could bring it, but was also told that it would be hard to get any good pictures due to the activities and conditions that we would be encountering. There was also another guy with us that followed along in a kayak that took professional shots all the way down the river, which is where these pictures came from. Totally worth it, I would have never gotten such awesome shots on my little $8 water camera. We exited the raft, and began a short walk over a very rocky area. It was very rocky, but we were also given the choice as to whether or not we wanted to get out. Because it was a more difficult walk, it did take about 20 minutes or so to get up to the waterfall (maybe ¼ mile total). My jaw dropped when we made the last turn. I was in heaven.

 

 

As quickly as I was in heaven, I was in hell. As I was enjoying the crystal clear waters and lush surrounding, I started to hear yelling. I took notes while on this cruise, and I wrote down exactly what he said. He said, “You *bleeping* a-hole! You God-*bleep* liar!” I looked over to see the source of this, and saw one of the middle-aged men literally shaking Chalo by the life vest in a very scary, menacing way. My shock turned me dead silent, watching this like a train wreck in slow motion. He was livid because “this was it?” He felt as though he was lied to, being forced out of the raft and having to walk over some rocks to see the waterfall. It was very clear to us that this was completely optional. I can’t be sure that it was made as clear to them, but that response was completely uncalled for. The worst part for me was that after 10 minutes of screaming, yelling and threatening, he was STILL carrying on. Someone in their group was well, elderly and overweight, with bad knees and had a hard time walking over the rocky terrain (or something to that effect, it was hard to comprehend the yelling at some points). At one point, I overheard one of his kids complaining too, so perhaps it ran in the family. Look, pal, I understand that you’re upset, but what can they do about it now? As a family, we decided to not get involved, but to let Danilo know exactly what we experienced when we returned. As I stated earlier, one would think they would KNOW what they were signing up for, but I guess not. At one point, it took all my being not to turn to him and say, “OK! WE GET IT! YOU’RE PISSED! I’m not, so please don’t ruin my day, too!” It almost ended up putting a dark cloud over the rest of the afternoon, but we made it a point to let the guides know that it wasn’t going to, and made an extra effort to have the most fun possible. I think this says it all:

 

 

We carried on (again, with our rescuee on board), and in total, our trip was about 2 hours. We encountered some pretty decent rapids, and I loved every second of it.

 

Two funny points in this picture:

• All the pictures of my mom looked like this. I’m not sure she saw anything. J
  
• Our poor rescuee looked like this from the second we picked her up to the minute we returned. I felt so bad for her, but we did see her many times during the rest of the trip, and she seemed to have recovered just fine. Props for her for finishing the excursion, even though she was terrified!

 

We hadn’t even pulled the raft ashore and our “pals” were already shouting at Danilo, who was waiting for us to return. Because of this, we were late getting back to the restaurant to change into dry clothes. At this point, we left Chalo, but not before buying the photo CD, tipping him handsomely and giving him a big hug. We reassured him that WE had an excellent time and would do it again in a heartbeat. We briefly changed and looked through the pictures back at the restaurant, and thankfully got Danilo all to ourselves all the way back to Puerto Limon. I felt terrible for him, as a word-of-mouth kind of guy, who’s been doing this for 17 years, he was worried that this would affect his business. I assured him that I would be happy to leave feedback on CC giving our honest feedback. We did have a little bit of a time restraint coming back (nothing major, still got back 30 minutes prior to leaving) and after a warm goodbye to Danilo and another nice tip, Mom and I grabbed some coffee from the local vendors and reboarded.

 

If anyone is considering doing this on their next stop in Costa Rica, my God, contact Danilo Hall. This was my fourth cruise, and I’ve lived abroad in Europe, and I can honestly say this was the VERY BEST excursion I have ever done. It was absolutely amazing. I can’t fault Danilo or Chalo for jerks on the tour, and I don’t. That was beyond their control. It was a great value (of course, less than the cruise ship and way more personal) and I would recommend it to anyone who is PHYSICALLY ABLE to handle it. If not, I’m sure there’s some nice banana plantation tour or bus ride through town that will better suit you.

[susiesan]

Thank you, asader83, for your extensive review. I desperately want to do this with Danilo when we are in Limon from Quest in March but no one else from our CC roll call or from the ship has booked with Danilo. Our ship doesn't offer it as an excursion. He can't do the rafting with only 2 people, has to have at least 4. I have ziplining with him scheduled as he looks for others to join us. After reading your review rafting sounds like a blast. I hope we'll get to go.

 

Susie

[asader83]

Hi Susie,

 

I really do hope that you can find others to join you. It really was an awesome time.

 

Perhaps you can cut and paste this thread into your roll call? Might change some minds. Just a thought.

 

Either way, have a great time in Costa Rica and on your cruise! Any questions, please feel free to ask!

[ktcruiser1982]

Hey all, did any of you guys have a problem getting in touch with Danilo? I am trying to schedule a ziplining tour with him when we're in CR on March 15th. I emailed him over a week ago and haven't gotten a response. Anyone else have the same experience? If he doesn't respond, I think I'll end up picking a C. Soto or O. Brown tour instead.

[K&S]

We returned from a cruise on the Liberty in Feb. We had precoordinated to meet Danilo Hall (adventure_caribbean@yahoo.com) at the pier. When we got off the ship, he was there holding a sign with our names on it. He also had another family from the same ship who were to join us, but they were a no-show...so we had Danilo all to ourself for the day!

 

Originally, we had wanted to go white water rafting; however we didn't have enough sign-up for the trip (it was just my wife and I). Instead, Danilo showed us his beautiful country. First, we went zip lining at a wonderful location near Limon. He drove us to the top of the mountain and we travelled down the mountain through the jungle canopy on the lines. The company that ran the zip line were very professional and asked us at each tree platform if we were having a fun time...I guess they saw the excitement on our faces! After a drink and some fresh fruit, Danilo took us to the Tortuga Canals for a small boat ride through the canal. Walter, our boat captain (again, it was just us in the boat...a private tour) guided us through the canal, stopping at places where he showed us wild aligators, birds, sloths, iguanas, monkeys, etc. He made sure I got all the pictures I wanted. Walter, then dropped us off at a new butterfly/bird santuary along the canal where we met back up with Danilo and the santuary owner (Maria). She gave us a private tour of her property. She said it was the largest live butterfly collection in the Caribbean. She is just starting her business in eco-displays and is very proud of her efforts (as she should be....it was great to see all the butterflys and birds flying around as you walk through the santuary). Again after a drink of fresh mango juice and fruit, we had to say goodbye to Maria and her daughter (Vanessa). Danilo then drove us around the countryside highlighting things he knew we'd enjoy. He is very proud of Costa Rica and all it has to offer. He got us back to the pier with plenty of time to shop before returning to the ship. I would highly recommend anyone who enjoys fantastic personal service and a desire to see a country by a local (instead of through a bus ride), to contact Danilo for an adventure of a lifetime. If interested, I have several pictures I could post of zip lining, canal, and santuary.:D

[jimbug]

I just got back from the Carnival Liberty's 8-day western itinerary which included a stop in Limon, Costa Rica. We booked the Class III Whitewater Rafting through the ship...here is my review of it (taken from my full trip review on the Carnival boards):

 

Wednesday, March 19 - Adventures in Costa Rica:

Mom and Granny and I woke up, got dressed, and went down to the Silver Olympian to have a leisurely breakfast while we were pulling into the port of Limon, Costa Rica. We pulled in between the cargo ships and fishing vessels, and ended up docking beside the infinitely smaller Spirit of Adventure cruise ship. The Holland America Volendam was just a short distance away, as well. I fell in love with the chicken sausage on the dining room breakfast menu. I know that’s kind of random, but it was so delicious! It was kind of spicy and sweet all at the same time, and I do wish I could find something similar here at home! I had poached eggs and toast to go with my chicken sausage, and was delighted to find that I could get pineapple juice here. A note about the breakfast juices on the ship…in the lido, you can only get orange, apple, and in a few of the machines, a guava-passion fruit-orange concoction that tastes more like Sunny Delight than actual fruit juice. From room service, you can only get apple, orange, or tomato, I think (not quite sure about the tomato, but I *think* it was there). But, in the dining room, there are a ton of juices, including all of the above, plus grapefruit, pineapple, cranberry, and prune.

 

After breakfast, we went back upstairs to get our belongings for the day, and got Granny squared away at the spa for her “excursion.” Cristina took good care of her for the day and Granny says that her day in the spa was her favorite excursion on the trip! Mom and I took the elevators down to Deck 0 to disembark—when the doors opened up on 0, our full elevator discovered that we were being trapped like caged animals (haha). Apparently the Costa Rican authorities had not yet cleared the ship, so all of the elevators that went down to 0 stopped there, opened the doors, and the ship’s security personnel put a rope across the elevator door to keep us all in. It was actually quite humorous, and while we were waiting there, I had a nice chat with some people from North Dakota who had been on my flight from Fargo, of all places! After about 10 minutes or so, they released us to disembark. We had booked the Class III Whitewater Rafting excursion through Carnival, and we were very excited to get going! The excursion was operated by the Rios Tropicales tour company. (The rest of our group took the ziplining…just a quick note…they liked it, but there were far too many people there and they said they were only “in the air” for about 10-15 minutes, tops. Kind of an expensive roller coaster ride for that short of time…)

 

Anyway, we found the guide holding the sign for our excursion, and we were directed to a very nice Mercedes coach bus, where we waited for the other 48 passengers to fill it up. I admit that it was pretty nice going on an excursion with only 50-70 other people (there was another smaller bus that they used for the remaining people). Once we were ready to go, Cristian, our guide, provided us with a great commentary on what we were seeing, Costa Rican life in general, and how the rafting stuff would work out. Cristian was awesome…he really provided us with an insider’s glimpse of living in Costa Rica, and he was quite entertaining, as well. The ride to the Florida section (lower section) of the Rio Reventazon (near Guapiles) was about an hour each way, and when we got about 95% of the way there, we pulled off on a dirt road and transferred to an old rickety school bus for the rest of the way down to the river banks. We kind of wondered why, but once we got going again, it was perfectly clear. Holy man, the roads were steep, bumpy, and had killer curves. Yikes!

 

I had read on a previous review of this excursion that there were lockers for rent if you brought valuables or dry clothing, etc., but this wasn’t the case for us. We were instructed to leave all of our valuables or things we didn’t want to get wet in the first bus with Manolo, the driver, and he would meet us at the end of the trip. So, while everything was perfectly safe, I wouldn’t bring a ton of cash or your passport with you, just in case. When we finally reached the river banks, we went through an assembly line type set-up to get our lifejackets, helmets, and paddles. Then, one of the river guides started asking for groups and assigning us to rafts. We were in an 8-person raft, but most of the rafts held only 6. Michael was our raft guide, and he was great. He is only 22 and has been running the rivers in Costa Rica for seven years already. My mom and I were in the raft with another mother-daughter pair, plus a family of four. Michael took about 10 minutes to get us all situated and to explain some paddling techniques and safety information, then we were off! Mom and I had never been rafting before, but I am a kayaker, and live for the thrill of whitewater! I really wish I could have taken a kayak tour there, but the only one offered through Carnival was on flat water (boring), and I couldn’t find an independent kayak tour that fit into the time frame we needed. Anyway, there were quite a few kayak guides going down the river with us for safety and to take pictures of us all.

 

We hit our first set of rapids almost immediately and got through them with flying colors. Michael quickly proclaimed us to be the “best group today” and we kept up our chant of “Pura vida!”. Pura vida literally translates to “pure life”, but it’s used commonly in Costa Rica, just to mean “this is great” or “the good life.” We made our way down several sets of rapids, able to regroup after each section and each time successfully conquering them. Michael pointed out the birds, plants, and points of interest along the way, and it was really quite informative. If you’re considering taking this tour, definitely do it, but realize that you. will. get. wet. Also, when the tour description recommends wearing river shoes, take that to heart. As a kayaker, I knew what kind of shoes were appropriate, and I wore my Keen sandals that I use in my boat…they have a closed toe and are attached to my feet (i.e., not flip-flops), so I wouldn’t lose them. They also have a tennis shoe-like sole, which is great for walking on the rocks. I was amazed at how many people were trying to get by with wearing flip-flops out there! We had to walk over several wet and slippery rocks to even get in the raft the first time, and getting out was a whole other story—tons of rocks, mud, moss, slippery stuff…the people in flip-flops had to end up going barefoot, which also probably wasn’t the best idea. Also? When you fall out? Your $100 Juicy Couture flip-flops won’t stay on your feet and they will become a donation to the river gods…which is what one of the women in our raft quickly found out…haha.

 

Anyway, back to our rafting…we were all having a good time, but I have to admit, it was almost getting a little bit boring because we were so good at it…lol. We hadn’t lost anyone yet, and we seemed to have a pretty good paddling rhythm down as a team, so we were just sailing through the rapids. However…enter the last set of rapids (Lower Bamboo, I believe)…I guess the two paddlers in front decided that we were so good at this, we could lolly-gag through this set of rapids and gawk at the scenery on the river banks instead of paddling through! Michael kept yelling at us to paddle right, but despite our efforts, we ended up smack dab in front of the biggest rock in the river. I won’t take time to explain the physics of it, but suffice to say, we ALL fell out! I love the water, and I’m a strong and comfortable swimmer, but I must admit that I panicked for a split second. I hadn’t expected to fall out, so not only did I swallow about a gallon of river water, but I couldn’t get to the surface for air because I had 3 other people and a raft on top of me! I did freak out for about 5 seconds after I was able to surface, then calmed down, got my feet up, and calmly floated down to where some of the kayakers and other guides were rescuing us. One of the other raft guides handed me his paddle, then he pulled me up in their raft to hang out while Michael righted our raft and got it ready again. I’m a big girl…definitely not light…but those skinny Costa Rican raft guides pulled me right up in the raft like I was a feather! Impressive…have to admit, I had my doubts about that working…haha.

 

We finally met up with Michael and our raft, and we picked up all the rest of our swimmers from the kayakers and the other guides who had rescued them. We all agreed that it was fun and definitely worth falling in! I can no longer say that the rafting excursion was getting boring! We finished our section of the river shortly after that, where we got out, returned our gear, and reboarded our bus to be taken to the Rios Tropicales visitor center. Before I get on with that section of the review, here are some thoughts about this excursion. Do not, and I repeat, do not take this excursion if you cannot swim or are not comfortable in rapid-moving water that will sweep you downstream very quickly. If your raft tips over, it actually can be very dangerous, especially if you panic. Michael even told us that yes, people have drowned on this section of the river before. The kayakers will not be able to rescue you if you are panicking or flailing, because it becomes even more dangerous (you will tip over their boat, and then there are two people in the water instead of one!)…and it is a lot harder for the raft guides to get to you when they have 8 other people in their raft that is probably downstream already. So, be sure that you can swim and be sure that you can maintain a calm composure despite the circumstances. As long as you are prepared for that, go and have a great time! It was a blast, and possibly my favorite day of the whole trip!

 

When we arrived at Rios Tropicales’ visitor center, we were directed to the buffet line for lunch. The food was just so-so, but it was supposedly traditional Costa Rican food. The rice and beans were excellent, but nothing else really whet my appetite. The dining area was open-air with picnic tables, and there were several tv screens mounted from the ceiling, so we could see the slideshow that the photographers had just taken of our trip. Of course, we had to buy the photo CD they were selling, because they had captured our raft tipping over! It was $30 for the CD. Tory, the photographer, had taken over 600 pictures of the rafts, and had filled the remaining space on the CD with about 220 pictures he had taken in Costa Rica. He is really an excellent photographer, and all of the pictures were great! 60 of the rafting pictures were of our raft, and there were approximately 10 rafts, so it does work out to pretty equal exposure for everyone. We had a little while after eating to browse the gift shop, and for being such a small shop, they had a ton of great stuff. I bought a t-shirt for myself and one for my husband, and I also bought a Rio Reventazon sticker to put on my kayak once our rivers thaw up here in the arctic north.

 

We reboarded the bus once again to make the trip back to Limon, and about halfway there, Cristian had Manolo stop near a roadside banana stand. Cristian got out and purchased a huge bunch of little bananas for us all to try—they were the sweetest, most delicious bananas I have ever tasted! It’s too bad we couldn’t take them back on the ship! During the ride to and from the river, we saw a lot of banana plantations. Dole, Chiquita, and Del Monte all have a huge presence in Costa Rica with their banana operations, and it was kind of interesting to see how they work. Cristian told us a lot about it, and did you know that Costa Rica’s number one export is actually not a food product? Their biggest export is computer chips, and Intel has a large operation there, as well. The things you learn…

 

Once we got back to port, I had intended to do a bit of shopping, but what I had neglected to notice was that there was no shopping at the port! None. At all. Hmm, oh well. So, I guess the point is that if your ship is stopping in Limon, then you should definitely book a tour either through the cruise line or through an independent operator, because there is nothing to get to by foot on your own. The town of Limon was very poor, and other than one arts-and-crafts store on the main road, there was really nothing of interest. However, I don’t think that Costa Rica is a “scary” place, by any means. In fact, my husband and I plan to come back for an extended vacation when he graduates with his Ph.D. in a couple of years. It is a beautiful country with a lot to offer.

 

My pictures of the rafting (and of the cruise) are here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mrskennedynd

 

Enjoy!