Adventures with Julia

March 4, 2017

Met at 7:30am by our next driver, Fabian, we departed El Silencio for a long drive up to the top of the cloud forest at 6300 feet and then down and out of the cloud forest, through the Central Vally, around the outskirts of San Jose and east to the village of Linda Vista, where we dropped steeply down to our put in on the Pacuare River at 980 feet above sea level. Along the way, we had a delightful conversation with Fabian, who is ell educated and knowledgeable about his country. We learned that the El Silencio Resort consists of 518 acres along the creek sized, River Gorrion and is sandwiched between two national parks As we climbed back up the mountain into the fog and increasingly heavy rain, he began to share a few bits of Costa Rican history with us.

Columbus landed at Costa Rica in 1502. The Spanish moved in and controlled the area until Costa Rica gained independence in 1821. There was a small military skirmish in 1856 when William Walker tried to merge Costa Rica and Nicaragua to build a canal between the 2 oceans along the river shared by both countries. The Costa Ricans succeeded in preventing the merger and have had no need for a military since then. Instead, the government has focused on political stability, improving the standard of living and increasing social benefits such as education, health care, clean water, sanitation and power. Since the 70’s, expansion of these services has resulted in a rapid decline in infant mortality, a sharp decrease in the birth rate and an increase in life expectancy. Currently the birth rate is below the replacement level, which explains why so many Nicaraguans have been imported to Costa Rica. Nine percent of the population is foreign born. All this sets Costa Rica apart from the rest of Central America. Interestingly, the income from tourism and medical procedures now exceeds that of all agricultural products. The current president is a guy named Luis Guillermo Solis. He was elected 3 years ago because, according to Fabian, people were fed up with the 3 previous presidents, who had become too corrupt. The new guy, not unlike Trump, is not a seasoned politician. He has one year to go before the next election. Technically, each president is allowed only one 4-year term. But some exceptions have been made and Fabian is not sure what will happen in the next election.

The most important part of this information for Mark and me is the clean water. We started drinking bottled water as soon as we arrived, only to be told all water out of every faucet is potable. That was hard to digest at first. But after a few days and not getting sick on the water, we have accepted that we can drink directly out of the tap. Plus, the water looks and tastes good.

All along the way, we passed what we would call low to middle class homes.  Mostly small to medium sized, well cared for houses on small lots with tidy yards and room for at least one car.  Anyone can buy and own property, including foreigners.  While passing through San Jose, Fabian pointed out high end gated communities where the houses go for a minimum of $500,000.  He thought that was very expensive.  We also drove by very posh shopping centers and office buildings.  He admitted that there is also a sizable homeless population and unemployment, but he did not elaborate.

Due to horrendous traffic and clogged roads, the expected 4-hour drive took nearly 5. Finally, we reached the put in and bid Fabian good bye. Our river guides were Ivan and Arturo. As it was raining, we did not linger, but pushed off into the Pacuare River as soon as possible.

Ready to raft the Pacuare River

A brief safety talk and review of paddle rules and we were off. Once we hit the first little rapids and got splashed, we stopped worrying about the rain. Wet is wet. Happily, the ride lasted only 50 minutes with only a few class III rapids and no gullywashers. We were cold and hungry, having not eaten since 7am and glad to reach our destination, the Pacuare Lodge, on the right bank of the river.

Entrance to our Pacuare Lodge suite

Thankfully, the welcome committee greeted us with hot cocoa and quickly showed us to our room high up the hill in the forest above the river. Immediately we tested the shower and found it deliciously hot. After changing into dry clothes, we walked down hill many steps to get to the main lodge and dining facility. After some soup and a light salad, we felt much revived, but not interested in any activities.

he in and outs of our suite

So we hiked back up to our room to enjoy our private space, which included a large deck overlooking the forest and the river.

Our deck at Pacuare Lodge

It contained an outdoor plunge pool, a hammock and comfortable chairs. The walls consisted of sliding screen doors on three sides. Our bathroom included indoor and outdoor showers. In spite of all the open air, we had total privacy. The only thing lacking was electricity. As the light grew dim, we lit the many candles provided. Finally, it was dark and we wanted dinner, so we put out the candles and headed down the hill. Half way there, we knew we had made a mistake not bringing our umbrellas. We ran the rest of the way to keep from getting drenched. The mojitos were delicious as were the spare ribs and duck we were served along with the other 30 guests we saw. We enjoyed the food more here than at El Silencio, although it was good there too. Just not quite to our taste. Shortly after dinner, we were happy to grab 2 umbrellas and slog our way up the hill to bed.  I enjoyed listening to the sounds of the rain pounding on  our metal roof, the river rushing down stream and night birds singing in the forest surrounding our cottage.