The mythical river I was seeking is called the Rio Pacuare and I had booked a primitive hut on Booking.com called the Pacuare Garden Lodge. Armed with little more than an ancient compass printed with the obscure legend 'WAZE', I set out with the objective of arriving about 5:30 pm (according to Waze). I had been advised- and can confirm- that driving after dark in Costa Rica can be dangerous. So I planned to get there before nightfall (which arrives by about 6pm in CR).
I did as planned, but on arriving on this very very rough dirt road in the middle of nowhere, I could see no lodge or sign thereof. Confused and with my iPhone battery dead, I returned to the main path (road) and sought advice from various locals at different restaurants (there is generally a restaurant or some form of drinking establishment every 100 yards or so on most paved CR roads from what I could tell). I could find no one who had ever heard of Pacuare Gardens or who spoke much English. I flagged a guy down who lived by the side of the road who- with a British accent- said that he had never heard of it, but that everything in this area was called 'Pacuare something', which I did not findf particularly encouraging. Finally, I found a young fellow who had never heard of it, though he had lived in the area his whole life, but who helpfully made a few calls which located the place and owner. I then returned to the place that Waze had originally sent me and found this locked gate in the dark-
Just what you want to see as you drive to your appointed lodging at 7:30 at night in the dark. No sign, locked gate, and no one who lived in the area had ever hearing of the place- an interesting marketing strategy. As I stood stupified there in the dark wondering what to do next, suddenly a guy drove up on his motor bike with his wife and kid. I guess they were out for passed for a family outing in this part of the country. He then commenced trying to unlock the gate, but the lock combination he had did not work so we had to climb the gate- the 7 year old kid being the quickest- and walk the 1/4 mile to the lodge where a further fence awaited-
Somehow I never find barbed wire that appealing at my lodgings. With this novel marketing and entry strategy- apparently designed to test resources and climbing agility- I am sure the owner will do well in the lodging market.
The next day I set out to see if I could find the legendary Rio Pacuare and the Kontiki-like rafts and eureka! I found these unique custom made native rafts-
Only a few of these ancient native rafts exist and only the fittest and most proud and skilled natives attempt to raft the wild waters of the Rio Pacuare-
So I did descend the mighty Rio Pacuare which National Geographic apparently rates as one of the top 5 white water experiences in the world. While the water was a little low- it was the dry season- I will say that it might have been the prettiest and most interesting river experience I have ever had. Regrettably, you could not take your camera because of the whitewater, but the narrow green canyon you passed through- unique and just spectacular- and the exotic birds on display made this quite the trip.
Notwithstanding the elite nature of the rafters, I could not quite believe how uncoordinated we as a rafting team appeared to be, with nobody really paddling in synch, notwithstanding the guide's constant admonitions. Even I find 'paddle left' and 'paddle right' relatively easy commands to follow, but it appeared to be a challenge for the more 'independent' on our boat. When I pointed how inept we appeared to be to the guide, he indicated that we actually were far better than other groups he had had recently, including a group of 70 yr old Russians. I can only imagine that standard.....
No comments:
Post a Comment