Tequila Right!

Today we traveled to El Rio Pacuare for our whitewater rafting trip. This river’s tumultuous rapids and picturesque virgin rainforest surroundings made the sets for Jurassic Park and Congo possible, among others. But, the sheer rock gorges, waterfalls, and dense greenery were hard to admire for long on account of the class III-IV rapids.

Our guide for the bus ride from San Jose and then my guide on the boat, Paulo, was a polar opposite the stereotype of the “laid-back” Costa Rican. With somewhat of a napoleon complex and some harbored bitterness against the United States (thank you, “Senor Boosh”), he made for an entertaining, if volatile, guide.

Paulo is the leader of the rafting operation. He also is the most experienced and was not afraid to say so. He requested the most “hardcore” group to go with him and, being who you all know I am, I was the first to raise my hand. Oops. By the end of the trip, I was ready to give it up and take my chances with Charybdis.

One of the eight maneuvers that had to be performed upon a moment’s notice explains the intensity. Tequila Right is a maneuver designed to keep the upturning water in front of a boulder from flipping the boat when broad siding it from the right side. The three passengers on the left side must loosen his feet from the straps and fly across toward the boulder side and brace the side of the raft between the right side passengers. When Tequila is called on the opposite side (away from the boulder), the raft flips violently and the river becomes a yard sale of paddles and shoes (very funny, Paulo).