June 25, 1999

Brush with Death

We got up early today and caught the bus for the white water rafting tour. The bus was almost full already, and we were the last tourists to get on. There wasn't anybody really interesting on the bus and we headed toward the province of Cartago. On our way to our final destination, which took about 2 hours, we stopped by a place for breakfast where they served fresh fruits and a variety of juice along with scrambled eggs and rice & beans.

We continued on. Small towns and houses that dotted the countryside road disappeared, replaced by larger stretch of farms and some secondary growth forests. We finally veered off the main road and started a slow descend through unpaved gravel road down to Rio Pacuare. There were several tour buses and rafts down there already and people milling about, getting ready and handing out gear.

We got our gear and a river guide instructed on what to do while in the raft. They started assigning people to various rafts and we ended up with just the three of us along with a guide. Everyone got into his or her rafts and then we were off. A mousy looking guy with a mustache in a white water kayak led the way and followed us closely afterward to rescue anybody if needed. This is a class 3 and 4 segment that we're travelling in and it was a 4 hour-long trip. We floated along cliffs with clinging vines, forest thick with vegetation and small waterfalls plunging from cliffs above. After the first few rapids, Rudi fell into the boat on a rough rapid and in doing so, knocked me overboard. I went under only for a second or two and was pulled back into the boat. I scolded him a little bit but continued on with our fun.

We hit another pretty rough rapid that bends the river at a cliff face and Rudi fell in again and knocked me over. This time, the water was a lot rougher around that cliff bend and it churned and splashed and pushed me under for more than 10 seconds. Brown water swirled around me gurgled in my ears. From underwater, I peered up through the swirls of brown and white and saw the blue skies. For a few seconds, it was almost surreal. It was almost like I was peering at the world above through some sort of aquatic kaleidoscope. I had a weird feeling that I'm leaving that world behind. Rocks jarred at my body and scraped against my legs. I was told later that I completely disappeared under water. I panicked during the first few seconds, then remembered what I was told, to just lay back and relax and let the life jacket float me to the surface, which I did. I was then pulled into another boat and then finally returned to my boat. I was not amused at all and scared shitless.

After 2 hours, we pulled up to an embankment and they set up for lunch with lunchmeat and sandwiches and fresh fruit. Cookies and candies were provided as desert.

We continued with our trip through the beautiful narrow canyon. A footbridge draped with moss and vine and a canopy of trees tower over the canyon, blocking out the skies and sun completely. It was beautiful. Dave and the guide took a dip along with other people while Rudi and I guided the boat down. We resume our tour shortly and completed our journal without any further incidents. We rode in several pockets of "hole" where the plunge of the water created a back washing of water, and a raft can ride this hole for a while. There was another area where the holes were rougher and we rode it twice. Another raft attempting the same thing was turned over and the rafters emerged unharmed a few yard away.

We finished where a major road crossed the river and we got out and cleaned up and dried off. We finally left and traveled through a clouded rain forest on the way back to San Jose. I wasn't able to enjoy it because I never had to pee this bad before and was concentrating on holding it in. I was finally able to find relief after we got dropped off.

We went back to the apartment and washed up and rested for a few hours before heading out to dinner. Dinner was at Café Mundo. They served nice pasta dishes but I was hoping to eat more local dishes. I will have more chances in the future I'm sure.

We headed to a local club a few blocks away and right away it reminded me of a country western type bar. It was playing popular American and Latino music though. I had a few salsa lessons from a few locals but I don't think I fared too well because I was looking at my feet most of the time, making sure I got the steps right. David and Rudi retired early and I stayed there for a few more hours before heading back.