I'm Home Again!
I left Dominical for the last time on Sunday. I went back to Alajuela with Josh, who had been down visiting for the previous week. On Monday I took a bus to the mountain town of Turrialba. Once there, I found a guide who could rent me kayak gear and take me down the river the following day.
Things had been working out very well. I met my guide, Diego, at 8AM and we headed to the Class III/IV Rio Pacuare. After a two hour van ride, we began a nearly four hour paddle down the river. We paddled by waterfalls that were pouring into the river and through virgin rainforest. Diego notified me when we crossed into the Barbilla Reserve, territory of the Barbilla indigenous peoples. He told me that there were no more roads for many kilometers and that we were in the middle of nowhere.
About 15 minutes later my sprayskirt (the piece of neoprene that keeps water out of the boat) ripped at a seam. My boat filled with water in less than 30 seconds and I had to get out of the water. We pulled the boats out and I was more than a little curious to see what the plan would be.
That's when Diego said, "It's good to have a needle and thread with."
I agreed.
"So, next time I think I will have to bring some," he said.
We sat around and ate some food that we'd brought. Just when I was wondering what we were going to do next, another boater came down the river. It was a friend of Diego's and he had been fishing on the river. He had some hooks and some monofilament line, which worked wonderfully for sewing up the seam.
The rest of the day went on without any problems and it was a good day.
Sam, Tiffany, and John came to Turrialba that afternoon. We made plans to go up to Volcan Turrialba the following day. We had a good time hiking around the craters and checking out the rocks.
Yesterday morning I caught a bus back to San Jose and then to Alajuela to catch a flight home. It was a good last few days to end a great trip. Now its on to adventures in reality for a while.
Things had been working out very well. I met my guide, Diego, at 8AM and we headed to the Class III/IV Rio Pacuare. After a two hour van ride, we began a nearly four hour paddle down the river. We paddled by waterfalls that were pouring into the river and through virgin rainforest. Diego notified me when we crossed into the Barbilla Reserve, territory of the Barbilla indigenous peoples. He told me that there were no more roads for many kilometers and that we were in the middle of nowhere.
About 15 minutes later my sprayskirt (the piece of neoprene that keeps water out of the boat) ripped at a seam. My boat filled with water in less than 30 seconds and I had to get out of the water. We pulled the boats out and I was more than a little curious to see what the plan would be.
That's when Diego said, "It's good to have a needle and thread with."
I agreed.
"So, next time I think I will have to bring some," he said.
We sat around and ate some food that we'd brought. Just when I was wondering what we were going to do next, another boater came down the river. It was a friend of Diego's and he had been fishing on the river. He had some hooks and some monofilament line, which worked wonderfully for sewing up the seam.
The rest of the day went on without any problems and it was a good day.
Sam, Tiffany, and John came to Turrialba that afternoon. We made plans to go up to Volcan Turrialba the following day. We had a good time hiking around the craters and checking out the rocks.
Yesterday morning I caught a bus back to San Jose and then to Alajuela to catch a flight home. It was a good last few days to end a great trip. Now its on to adventures in reality for a while.
posted by Chris | 5:08 PM
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