An early start, we were picked up by our shuttle and drive 3 hours to where the tour office/restaurant is and had a buffet breakfast. We then jumped back in the shuttle and drove to the top of the river while one of the guides gave a safety demonstration. Which kind of alerted me that I could fall off in to rocks and get drifted down the river. If this happens 'Stay calm' the guide reassures. Unfortunately it was raining that morning but meant it didn't matter if we got wet coz we were already wet once we got out of the shuttle and suited up with life jacket, helmet and paddle. There were six on our raft (a couple from Melbourne and a couple from The Netherlands) and we had a pretty cool captain who steered us at the back. We practised the commands - forward, back paddle and get down! After each rapid we would all put our oars in the middle like a high five and say 'pura vida!' The scenery was absolutely breathtaking going down the river through lush rainforest with waterfalls cascading down to the water and we even spotted toucans flying above in the trees, those beautiful blue butterflies and other birds. One of the 10 rafts broke so we accumulated another guide/captain which made it pretty fun, they were joking with each other doing back flips off the back and making us do 360s and go backwards and close our eyes through the rapids. At first it was a little scary going through the rapid, not knowing what to expect but the bigger the better in the end coz you would have to hold on tight and try not to fall out while paddling at the same time and you were bound to get wet. We got as big as a class 4 rapid which is about in the middle. It was so much fun! There were certain parts where it was flat and you could get out and swim and just lay on your back and drift down with the river. We kayaked for a good 4 hours -none of us fell out (otherwise they were buying the beers) and we were all pretty hungry for our buffet lunch by the time we got back. This was probably my favourite thing so far (Semuc Champey a close second) and one of the best things I've ever done! Ive always wanted to do it and can't wait to do more white water rafting in other countries or when back home! Add that to the NZ trip ;)
Bridget booked beds for Matt and I in the same hostel she was staying at in Puerto Viejo called Rocking Js. It was a pretty cool hostel, pretty big grounds and right on the beach with mosaic floors and walls so it all looked really mismatched with random art and quotes everywhere. It had a bar and played good music and I think had a good mix of chilled/hanging out and mingling with people/ drinking atmosphere. It wasn't too forced. We chilled in hammocks and met Zoe (London) and Burke (New York) who Bridget had made friends with and chatted and caught up on all the stories and what each of us had been up to since we last saw each other. We had a couple of drinks at the hostel then all went to dinner across the road at a Thai/Caribbean fusion restaurant. It had a really nice relaxed vibe to it, the waitress was really good and we all had delicious meals. I had a lentil coconut curry and complimentary salad and it felt so fresh to eat something other than tacos/burritos/tortillas.
The next morning we hired bikes and rode along the road which was next to the Caribbean sea and had rainforest all around. Puerto Viejo had a very laid back beach/hippy vibe, Rastafarians selling street food and sarongs and the smell of marijuana in the air. It reminded me of what you would think a typical beach side town in Central America would be like.
We went to the Jaguar Rescue Centre which we had been recommended and I had seen good reviews on TripAdvisor when I was researching this trip back home and definitely wanted to come here. A couple started it in 2009 when they found an injured baby jaguar and tried to save it, unfortunately it died and they felt really bad about it, they had also fallen in love with Puerto Viejo so began a rescue centre here and their house is above the centre. They take in injured or threatened animals, rehabilitate them within enclosures which are built like their natural habitat. Monitor them and when they are getting better and stronger, let them roam in the wild to get them used to going back and doing normal animal things as their main goal is eventually releasing them back in to the wild where they should be. The centre has no help from the government so relies on the money from visitors and donations to keep it going. It is also run by volunteers who dedicate their time helping these animals. Our guide had been there for 11 months because she had absolutely fallen in love with the animals. She took us around and showed us the animals such as sloths, wild cats, toucans and parrots, frogs, crocodiles, owls, monkeys and turtles. She told us the story of each animal, facts about them, why they were in there, how they were helping them and about each of their personalities. We could not touch them as the less they were handled the better chance of releasing them back in to the wild but it was so cool to see these amazing animals up close, hear their stories and help out by visiting and purchasing some things from the gift store. I would absolutely love to come back and do a volunteer program with them.
Afterwards we rode to a chocolate shop and got iced coffees/chocolates and they showed us in to a chilled room where we could taste all different flavours of organic chocolate. We then went over to the beach and chilled there for the day. It was a bit cloudy but still hot and it was nice to relax and swim after our big day rafting the day before. I even got a half hour massage on the beach for $10, the girl was so good and my muscles were so sore from rafting and just travelling in general, it felt so good, I wish I got an hour! We then rode in to town to check it out and got a late lunch. We ran in to the Melbourne couple (Aly and Riley) who were on our raft who joined us for a drink. I took photos of an incredible sunset on the beach and we all rendezvoused back at our hostel for some more drinks. We said goodbye to Zoe who was going back to London after her 6 month trip through South/Central America and an impromptu stint to the US while Matt, Bridget and I were getting the shuttle and boat
at 8am the next morning to the islands of Bocos del Toro, Panama.
