Rafting Pics From Our Class Trip to Costa Rica!

We rafted our first full day in Costa Rica. We stayed at the beautiful Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat, where owners Meghan and Davis treated us like royalty. My students were amazed when they awoke to howler monkeys on the roof of their dorm-style rooms. Those howlers sure can make some noise! They were also amazed that they survived the night without air conditioning. It was only 70* at night and it was quite comfortable sleeping. It was a LOT cooler in Sarapiquí the mountains of Costa Rica than in Southern Indiana!

It was my first time rafting and I did not know what to expect. So, at the suggestion of my wonderful guide from Vamonos Tours, I put one boy in each of the boats. We had a small number of boys on the trip compared to girls (our group was 44 plus guides) and they were incredibly athletic kids: football players, cross country runners, and basketball players. We decided that athletic agility could be useful to have in each boat. I’m not really sure it was necessary since we were only on a level 3 part of the river, but quite a few girls told me afterward they felt more secure in the boats since we did that.

We laughed, we fell on top of each other, we got out and swam, and had the time of our lives! Students started asking me when we were returning to Costa Rica before we even finished rafting! And they want to stay at the non-air conditioned Chilamate Rainforest Eco-Retreat for more than one night next time.

We rafted through Pozo Azul and they took these amazing photos. They also made me an offer I couldn’t refuse on the picture package (more than 230 photos!). I did have a little difficulty with the download because they did not tell me that the file would come from a third party downloading site (We Transfer), so I didn’t see it in my SPAM folder. Also, the business card they gave me had all the wrong information on it, so I had a hard time tracking someone down. But in the end, it was well worth the small amount of hassle because the photos are AMAZING!

What adventures do you take when you travel? I’d love to hear from you! If you are thinking about traveling, but just haven’t committed to the idea yet, I highly recommend Vamonos Tours! They are committed to service learning and can build as much or as little into a trip as you want.