We awoke for a day on the beaches of Costa Rica. The group spent the morning helping the government-employed workers tend the ground where we stayed. We picked up the debris that had fallen from trees and tore down the turtle sanctuary for the season. The last nest has hatched that morning and the sand needed to drift around and re-organize the nutrients before the next season’s horde of turtles would come to lay their eggs.
Everyone enjoyed releasing baby turtles one last time at Playa Hermosa. It was the third nest to have hatched while we were there. While the turtles struggled through the sand, everyone picked the turtle they thought would be fastest. We cheered and bantered over whose was best. Mine did well, but it didn’t pick the quickest path to the water.
A sudden bit of excitement beckoned me over to a group that was forming around a student. I rushed over to see what the commotion was all about and found a very large starfish in one of the guy’s hands. It had bright orange legs that were feeling around in all directions. It was beautiful. After everyone had a look, it was returned safely to the water.
The day was spent hanging out, playing soccer and football on the beach and trying to catch waves in the bad surfing conditions. After playing some football, I waxed my board and paddled out between sets. I waited a long time before finally finding a wave worth riding, but when it came, I hit it and got everything I could from it. I did this several times before the sun had crossed the sky and began to set.I had been surfing for hours and only found a few waves, but I didn’t care. I was moving with the warm ocean waters rather than shivering in a jacket as I would be 24 hours later. I didn’t let myself take any of this for granted.
When the sun was low in the sky, the other surfers and I caught our last waves back to shore and rejoined our respective sub-groups who we had been with for the last weeks. In the groups, we discussed the experiences we had and shared what we appreciated about each person. It was very nice to hear the uplifting talk and each person was affirmed for his or her contributions to the group.
When the meeting was over, we were taken to a restaurant to eat wonderfully prepared meal and taste the only alcohol we were allowed on the trip. Those of us who indulged were faced with a choice between Pilsen or Imperial Beer. I chose Imperial after a suggestion from one of the guides, but after trying a sip of each, I determined Pilsen to be the better brew. After weeks of sweating and being grungy much of the time, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to sit in a restaurant with clean clothes and enjoy my Cajun mahi-mahi and beer.
I found myself enjoying the company of friends in a paradise I knew would not last and I was in the best mood I have been in for as long as I can remember. It was a magnificent feeling. I knew I would not see the guides again unless there was a very fortunate turn of events. As I drank my beer, I felt like I was drinking goodbye to friends.
After dinner, the group went back to the beach at Playa Hermosa. We gathered in the sand and were given a show of Fire Poi by one of our members. It was beautiful to watch the fiery orbs dance around our member’s head while hearing the whoosh of the fast-moving flame. It put me in a trance.
When the show concluded, Felipe’s daughter of 6 years wanted some attention of her own. With a headlamp in each hand, she danced around and twirled the lights while performing her own dance. Everyone applauded for the adorable girl and watched as her face lit up from the attention.
Once the show was over, everyone began to prepare for bed. My group members and I walked down to the water to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean one last time. We would be leaving early in the morning and would not get to touch the ocean again before we left. The water was warm and everyone was happy enjoying their last bit of paradise before heading home in the morning. I went back to camp and crawled into my hammock to sleep in the warm Costa Rican air.
Shortly after lying down in my hammock, a hard rain began to fall. I quickly rolled out of my hammock and threw my belongings sloppily into one of the tents that had room for an additional guy. Everyone scrambled to put the rain flies on the tents because we had chosen to sleep without them during the trip due to in the Costa Rican heat.
Around 5:00 AM came the almost daily interruption of our morning. This time, however, it was not a rooster, goose, or other fowl, but rather a new bird with a far more annoying call than any had previously made. It literally made the Dolby Surround Sound warm-up noise repeatedly for the entire morning. We were not amused.
Upon leaving our tents in the morning, we were greeted with a wonderful surprise. In the night, one of the turtle nests had hatched in the sanctuary and we were going to release them before breakfast.
A full bucket of baby sea turtles (they were carefully places in their by a man with a glove on) was brought to the beach and the turtles were poured out in a line on the sand. Some had not yet woken up from their slumber and were put back in the bucket so they could be released later that day when they become conscious. The rest began their long journey down the beach with us protecting them from the birds.
We had to release the turtles high on the beach because their journey across the beach is crucial for them to be able to return to this specific beach in order to lay eggs in successive years (The turtles have glands that learn the exact sand composition of the beach and the turtle will return to the same beach for the entirety of their life).
When all of the baby turtles had made their struggle into the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean, I took a walk down the beach. I was amazed at the variety of shells and lack of trash on the beach. It was so clean and natural looking.
Eventually, I wandered back to our camp for breakfast. The waves were not yet sufficient for surfing, so everyone helped do community service around the grounds where we stayed. Some helped with the turtle hatchery while others removed debris from the ground. Coconuts were thrown into the jungle and fallen branches stacked at the edge of the jungle.
When the waves had built enough for surfing, everyone went to the storage room and grabbed boards. Since I had previous experience surfing and have done nearly every board-sport imaginable, I was permitted to forego the padded noob boards and take a hard board. The instructor was really cool about this and took time to teach me how to properly wax a surf board and what to look for should I ever be in the market to purchase one.
After waxing my board, I joined the others in the surf and began catching waves. I found the board to be a lot of fun and began practicing my turns. It was challenging, but I was successful in making a few turns and was happy with the speed at which I was picking up the sport. I don’t know what it is with myself and water sports, but we just work well together.
Consumed by hunger, we took a break from the waves and went in for lunch. We had fresh pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, coconut, and sandwiches. It was healthy, filling, and delectable. Everyone left the meal with full stomachs and bodies tired from surfing (which is a lot more work that it appears to be!).
I went and laid in my hammock while the rest of the group grabbed their sleeping mats and lay in the shade around me. It was siesta time as the afternoon sun turned the sand too hot to stand. Several members of the group talked and laughed quite loudly, so none slept, but it sure was nice to rest in such a warm beautiful place. It was 88 degrees in the shade with a light breeze. Life could not be better.
Eventually, the group grabbed their boards, I grabbed mine, and together we headed down to the water. We surfed non-stop for hours. As the gigantic sun began to drown into the aquatic horizon, it painted the canvas of the sky a luminescent watercolor of every pink and purple hue imaginable.
Having paddled myself beyond the breakers, I laid half-submerged with my back atop my surfboard in order to watch as the glowing bauble in the sky sank below the horizon. I had never seen the sun so large. Viewing it from a surfboard that was gently bobbing in the warm, Pacific Ocean water made it an unbeatable experience. I found myself having one of the few moments of my life that stand above the rest. Life was pure – Pura Vida.
Upon returning to the beach, we were informed that the other group from our college would be arriving soon. We were all a little nervous as our group had formed a very tranquil atmosphere and the other group was much louder and outspoken. Their arrival, with shouts and song that could be heard from far down the road only made us more nervous. Fortunately their energy did not stay too high for very long and the two groups quickly blended together as they had in the first day of the trip.
Later that evening, everyone was asked to sign up for a one-hour shift watching and protecting the turtle nests during the night. I signed up with a girl whom I had been friends with for a long time but rarely spoke to outside the trip. We got along very well and had many things in common. It was fun to sit and catch up on the last few years where we had been near to one another, but so few words were exchanged.
While everyone got ready to go to bed, our surf instructor broke out his guitar and began to serenade the camp in his Costa Rican accent. He was a well built man with dark complexion and gnarly dreads. The girls all melted when he played “Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson, but I rather preferred his renditions of “Jammin” by Bob Marley and “The General” by Dispatch.
I quickly fell asleep because I had essentially been up since 5:00 AM thanks to the Dolby-Surround-Sound-bird and had signed up for a turtle-watch shift in the middle of the night. My hammock was comfortable and I was happy to be in it again (if only for a while).
An early morning and a brisk pace allowed us to break camp and be on the river by 7:30 AM. It was going to be a long day and we needed all the time we could get. We headed downriver and quickly came to some challenging rapids. Some flipped in their duckies but the kayaks remained upright through the first few rapids.
I flipped in a rapid called “Rattlesnake.” It was my fault, I tried to go to the right of a boulder but the river pushed left. I hit the pillow and began to roll. A good brace would have saved me, but I didn’t manage a good brace. I flipped just as I flowed off the pillow and onto the tongue to the left of the boulder.
As the current quickly pulled me downriver, I tried to get my paddle in position to flip myself back over, but it collided with rocks and was impossible to get into position. A second or two later, my head met a large boulder that was submerged. It collided hard enough that with my solid hip-snap, I nearly rolled my kayak upright from the force of the collision. I caught a breath as my head came out of the water for a moment, but my paddle was still in a very awkward position and my combat rolls were not yet perfected.
My head splashed back under water, but only momentarily. I had gotten my paddle back to a decent position for rolling and I went for the roll with everything I had. It worked and I was right side up once again. Everything had happened so fast, I couldn’t believe how well I had done with recovering after my mistake had lead me to flip. I certainly still showed signs of being a noob, but I was picking up the sport very quickly.
As I passed Felipe, he began to laugh. I inquired as to what he was laughing about and he replied by telling me to take off my helmet and look for myself. I did and was surprised by the amount of damage the rock had caused. The helmet had a 4×4 inch patch of deep gouges and scratches. I can only imagine how my head would have looked if the hard-shelled helmet was not there to protect it. I looked back at Felipe and said, “So that’s why you wear a helmet” and thank God I had. The helmet worked so well I didn’t even have a headache from the collision.
Another bit of excitement came when we took a break for lunch. We made our buffet on some rocks and began preparing the meal. After a minute or two of peaceful, quiet work, someone shouted something about a crocodile. Sure enough, about 30 yards from us a crocodile was swimming past. Throughout lunch, several other crocs were spotted across the river.
A few members of the group were a little nervous about such a powerful animal being so close. The guides tried to reassure them that it would be fine and that these were “little” crocodiles, only about 8-feet. The students who were nervous didn’t think that little was an adequate description of an eight-foot croc, but considering how large they can grow to, it was a fair assessment.
In the afternoon, the group pulled all of the gear out from the river and began the drive back to headquarters to return the rafting gear. Once that was accomplished, everyone piled into a touring van and were driven to Playa Hermosa, where we would spend the last days of our trip learning to surf and helping with the ongoing sea turtle restoration project (There will be a cool video of this coming soon so stay posted!).
Our second day of kayaking down the Rio General was filled with large rapids, interesting history, and lots of play. Felipe was enjoying watching my excitement for kayaking and showed me how to do some cool tricks (if you missed the video of me kayaking the Rio General, click here to view it!).
The first thing he taught me was how to enter the water from a great height. He had me bring my kayak to the top of a large boulder, about 8 feet out of the water, and launch back into the river. This would be very similar to what I would need to do if I ever am fortunate enough to go over a waterfall in one of theseboats. Felipe made sure that I knew what he felt was the most important step: holding the paddle above your head so it does not knock out teeth. I was careful to follow his suggestion.
Another trick I was taught was sculling (skip to 2:24 in the video to see what sculling is). It is a very useful skill as a good scull can mate with a roll and allow a kayaker the ability to right themselves from nearly any position. When rapids are large and the water is strong, this can prove invaluable to the kayaker as they are tossed around by the waves.
A little further down river, Santiago flipped one of the girl’s duckies. It was hilarious hearing the scream of surprise and seeing the splash. While he was flipping her ducky, however, I positioned myself to flip him. He was distracted and did not notice me coming up quickly.
In order to flip the ducky, Santiago had to set his paddle down next to him in the river. When I flipped him, he could not hand-roll and did not ask for a T-rescue, he instead simply pulled off the spray skirt and bailed. Everyone laughed because in flipping someone else’s boat, he was flipped worse.
Santiago picked up his kayak (full of water, and therefore extremely heavy) in the middle of the river and drained it over his head. He decided to try to jump in to the kayak from standing on a rock in the river. The kayak bobbed once and spat him back out. He gave up and swam the kayak to shore to drain again and re-enter. I had quite a sense of success in having gotten a guide so well with a flip.
We found a ball in the river and played with it for a while
Challenging rapids awaited us down river. Two were on the border of Class III or IV and really could have gone either way. I managed to make it through both without flipping, but the second rapid was quite an experience. The kayak in front of me flipped so I turned around and surfed a hole in the middle of the rapids to give him space. There was only one kayak behind me and it was Felipe who had eddied out so we could pass him.
I soon found out that Felipe had left the eddy and was quickly coming down towards me. I turned as much as I could and he glided right over my bow and kept going. I turned back around and continued down river. I was very excited about the control I had gained over my kayak and the fact that I had just successfully surfed a hole without any preparation. I had just turned around and did everything I needed with instinct.
Besides running rapids, we also spent time where we learning about the history in the area where we were kayaking. at one point, we pulled off the river to look at ancient rock carvings that lie inconspicuously on boulders along the river. We were also informed that this was one of the areas littered with the famous rock spheres several of us had read about before embarking on the trip.
Hitting a hole backwards for fun
Our last exciting lesson of the day was watching a Jesus Christ Lizard run across the water. The guides scared it so it would run away from us over the water. The lizard earned its name because of its ability to run on the surface of the water. It was quite an amazing sight.
We finally made camp for the last time along the river. We made a large fire on the beach and enjoyed the warm night. Everyone was all-too-aware that our amazing adventure was quickly coming to en end. We would leave in the morning for Playa Hermosa, spend a couple days there, and head home. We resolved to make every remaining moment count.
Larger, more technical rapids were the norm in the Rio General. In higher water, this river would become a world-class whitewater paradise. Fortunately, for us, however, the water was lower and we mainly experienced class III rapids.
With my occasional flipping in rapids, I was very glad to have practiced my rolling skills as much as I had. I found myself able to roll in a rapid and pop right back up to keep going. This ability caught the instructor’s eye and he told me that he wished he had picked up kayaking as fast as I was. The comment encouraged me and gave me confidence in my abilities.
While I paddled, the sun beat down. It felt warm, but the water splashing on me to kept cool. The sun was relentless however, and sunscreen was a must-have. I applied it more than usual, but the water washed it off my hands. I soon found hundreds, maybe even thousands, of sun-blisters forming on my hands. There were so many blisters that they were running together and seemingly stacking on top of one another. It hurt.
I ended up needing to cover my hands with athletic tape in order to shelter them from the sun. I guess that in future tropical kayaking trips – should I be so lucky to have some – I will need to bring rowing gloves in case that sort of thing starts up again
When we made camp at night, I was one of the group-members in charge of cooking dinner. We had the best dinner I have ever tasted in the backcountry. We made mashed potatoes, a mix of cooked veggies, and blue marlin. I could not get enough of the marlin. It was fantastic and I had never had such a delicacy which on a backcountry trip. Without a doubt, that meal raised the standard for meals in the backcountry.
As the fire died down, we prepared for bed. Everyone slept under a large tarp on the beach. The stars were bright, and the jungle had a pleasant ambiance from all of the animals singing their songs.While we cooked, other members of our group made fire and the men regressed into little boys. They even got into a sword fight with sticks at one point. It was great to see grown men, many of whom work very professional jobs and internships back home, completely letting loose and playing around with their imaginations in a way usually only children can do. For some unfortunate reason, most adults leave their imagination behind as they grow up, but these individuals had certainly found them again and it was a joy to see.
Here is a video of me Whitewater kayaking in Costa Rica, There will be posts to follow that will break down these days and the turtle rescue/surfing we did in Playa Hermosa. Until then, I hope you enjoy my video:
To my readers:
A special thanks to all of my followers, ‘like”-ers, and commenters. I really appreciate everyones involvement with my stories. As you will know if you read my bio, I am aspiring to become a gear-tester. This month is the first month where I have had enough traffic to be considered by the website who I have been in contact with (one of their pre-requisites was being an established blogger). Thanks to everyone who has come back to read my posts multiple times and to those who have used the share buttons on the bottom of my posts or simply shared through word-of-mouth. I am grateful for any exposure you help me get.
As for my posts over the next week, they may be erratic and less frequent because I will be taking my girlfriend on a rock climbing trip in Tennessee and visiting her parents. Please continue to check in and I will do my best to keep to the every-other-day schedule that I have been keeping.
P.S. My video of the baby turtles is available to be viewed if you navigate to my YouTube channel (big button on the right bar of the website) and a reminder to sign up for the Clymb if you haven’t yet! They have great deals on all sorts of gear for anything remotely athletic (and whoever is the 1 millionth to sign up will win $1000 credit for themselves and $1000 for the person who invited them – why not at least sign up, you have nothing to lose!).
Each successive rapid allowed me to gain more stability and confidence in my kayak. I soon found myself flipped less often and when I did flip, I could right myself much quicker than before. I was also looking to learn extra skills on the sides so I could practice while in between each of the rapids. My desire was soon met as our guides taught each of us who were interested how to surf holes.
In our first attempts at surfing, we all buried the noses of our kayaks and flipped, but with each attempt, we were able to keep our kayaks from flipping just a little longer. During one of my failed attempts, the water was too deep for me to push off the bottom to right myself, but too rocky for me to get my paddle in place to roll. My helmet bounced off rock after rock and my paddle kept getting knocked out of position before I could roll. It was the only time I had to bail from my kayak since I learned to roll.
I clearly was not an experienced kayaker, but I still had potential—it was only the second day. After several more attempts, I could surf as long as I wanted before exiting a hole.
Felipe showing us tricks in his play-boat
Since we ran the same portion of river multiple times, we were driven back up river in the jeep after each run. While I carried my kayak from the road to the water, I had to pass guides from another company. Those guides called me Eric Jackson (aka Jackson KayaksEric Jackson) and said I look like him. I thought that was pretty cool, but mostly I just wanted to be able to paddle as well as him (although that can unfortunately never happen with as little as I get to kayak).
For the rest of the day we continued to practice our skills. On the last run of the day, we saw horses standing on the bank of the river. They were free-roaming and absolutely beautiful. We also saw a man who had just caught an iguana for his dinner. I hopped out of my kayak and asked him, in Spanish, if I could hold it for a picture. Once the picture had been taken, he stuffed the iguana in his backpack and walked into the woods (what an odd encounter).
When we came back to the river the next day, we split into two separate groups based on how each person was doing with the kayaking skills. I went in the more challenging group and practiced my surfing skills (and rolling ability) a lot more. By the end of the day, I was permitted to kayak when we moved to the Rio General for the next days of kayaking, not everyone would be allowed to because the rapids there were much larger and more dangerous. I gladly accepted the offer. One other guy from our group who was allowed to use a kayak chose to; the others opted to switch back to the more comfortable and stable duckies.
Once we were done kayaking for the day, everyone piled into a van and headed towards our last home stay near the Rio General. After a flat tire and our first taste of soda in weeks at a little bar on the side of the road, we arrived. There we saw Santiago’s children again and we met Felipe’s daughters as well. We stayed at their mother-in-laws house (they married two sisters) and got ready for they next day of kayaking on the Rio General.
Me hitting a wave after I switched into the Jackson Villain Kayak
At precisely 3:30 AM, the [insert favorite expletive] rooster snuck under my hammock and began to crow. If I were not a guest in a stranger’s home, I would have killed the darn thing. The early bird may get the worm, but the rooster who crows too early gets kicked—and that’s exactly what I intended to do. My plans, however, were foiled because while began to roll out of my hammock, the rooster ran away. Over the next three hours, that stupid cock continued to crow directly beneath me whenever I fell back asleep and promptly run off when my tolerance wore out.
Finally, the sun was up and breakfast was ready. I ate a hearty meal in preparation for my first day of whitewater kayaking. This was the activity I had waited the whole trip for and was the main reason I signed up in the first place. No amount of drowsiness or sore muscles was going to get in my way.
Following breakfast, everyone was taken to the front lawn where kayaks were laid in rows. Each person was to find and claim a kayak that fit his or her body. I got a blue Piranha, the model of which I cannot remember. Once everyone had grabbed a boat that fit, a lifejacket, helmet, drinking water, and any other gear needed for the day, we loaded the trailer and headed out.
I could hardly contain my excitement.
When we all were finally in the river, we had to go over the basic skills to ensure that everyone was on the same page. We started by practicing high and low braces, hip-snaps, ferrying, eddying-out, and T-rescues. T-rescues were very important because they allowed a kayaker the ability to right their kayak without being proficient at rolling. Without the T-rescue, we would have to pull off our spray-skirt, flood the kayak, swim it to shore, and drain it; with the T-rescue, we would grab the nose of a friends boat and simply flip ourselves back over.
Once everyone had become remotely comfortable with the skills and could accurately perform them a majority of the time, we moved on to the skill I had been most excited to learn, rolling.
Each student went one-on-one with an instructor to learn the roll, then paired up with a partner to practice. This allowed the instructors to help with form until the movement came naturally enough to perform before practicing with a partner to give a T-rescue if it became necessary. Everyone knew how much I was loving this stuff, and I think at least some of them enjoyed watching me get so excited because, like many other times on the trip, they offered me the right to go first. I gladly took it. I’m getting excited for you just reading it
One of the girls who was working with another instructor flipped before me, but once I got it, it wasn’t going away. I practiced and practiced until my success rate had gone from zero to about one-in-four, then half. By the end of the next day, I was rolling successfully with nearly every attempt.
The afternoon consisted of class I & II rapids—rapids I would not take seriously two days later. At the present, however, they were a challenge. My boat wanted to tip over any way it could, but I was solid and way more fun than the stable ducky I had previous controlled. I did not have any near-flips and soon began trying rapids backwards and sideways to increase the difficulty. If I could have seen my face, I bet it would have been like a child when his father surprises him with that one toy that he would have done anything to get. I could not have been happier.
During the entire afternoon portion of our paddle, only two kayaks flipped. Each of us had fun, but many stated that they preferred the duckies. I didn’t quite understand why anyone would want that, but I guess they probably didn’t quite understand why I was so gung-ho about every little thing either. To each their own.
When the day was over and we were back at the home stay, everyone was happy but tired. Our leader was not able to join us in the water during the afternoon due to his injury, so we relayed those events back to him and he shared about a wonderful walk he had enjoyed while we went down river. Everyone was tired and went to bed on time because the mornings come early in Costa Rica.
We awoke for a day on the beaches of Costa Rica. The group spent the morning helping the government-employed workers tend the ground where we stayed. We picked up the debris that had fallen from trees and tore down the turtle sanctuary for the season. The last nest has hatched that morning and the sand needed to drift around and re-organize the nutrients before the next season’s horde of turtles would come to lay their eggs.
When the meeting was over, we were taken to a restaurant to eat wonderfully prepared meal and taste the only alcohol we were allowed on the trip. Those of us who indulged were faced with a choice between Pilsen or Imperial Beer. I chose Imperial after a suggestion from one of the guides, but after trying a sip of each, I determined Pilsen to be the better brew. After weeks of sweating and being grungy much of the time, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to sit in a restaurant with clean clothes and enjoy my Cajun mahi-mahi and beer.
After dinner, the group went back to the beach at Playa Hermosa. We gathered in the sand and were given a show of Fire Poi by one of our members. It was beautiful to watch the fiery orbs dance around our member’s head while hearing the whoosh of the fast-moving flame. It put me in a trance.
I went and laid in my hammock while the rest of the group grabbed their sleeping mats and lay in the shade around me. It was siesta time as the afternoon sun turned the sand too hot to stand. Several members of the group talked and laughed quite loudly, so none slept, but it sure was nice to rest in such a warm beautiful place. It was 88 degrees in the shade with a light breeze. Life could not be better.
nathanmenkveld 