That Dam Canyon

This was one of the best moments of rafting for me. Everyone jumped out to swim, giving us time with the people who weren't in our specific raft. We all floated along, and it was fun to finally see the canyon where the dam was supposed to be built. I thought the story of how Rafa gathered his rafters and the native people to stop the construction was really.... brave, I guess. He was just a young adult with a love of rafting and his river. They were a huge company with so much power, and it seemed to me it was a moment of "We need to fight for the things we love, even if the whole world seems to be against us." I really liked this part of the Pacuare and the stories behind it.

Paddling For Food At 6:00 a.m.

I am anything but a morning person. So when it was announced that we were going on a kayaking trip before breakfast, I wasn't super excited. But it turned out to be my favorite day of kayaking! It was beautiful and quiet outside, and we could hear monkeys screeching on both sides of the river. Since it was only 5:30ish, it was also cool, which was a nice break from all of the heat. I was in a double with Mr. Wise, in the front of course. I stink at kayak steering. It was a lot of fun to make it all the way to the river mouth, where we could see the ocean and played find-your-species. On the way back, I saw a T.V. hanging from a tree. I got really tired, so Mr. Wise kept baiting me with the thought of breakfast. Only one bummer of the morning: turns out my kayak was full of sand flies. So many bites. So many bites.

fat "alien" worm/bug that scares people

This bug was the most frightening thing on the trip. All of us were hiking and then Rey saw this thing. We all thought it was a cocoon for a butterfly that fell on the ground. Rey was not exactly sure what it was, so he picked it up and looked at it. We were crowded around him and also thinking of what this bug could be. It had not moved at all so we thought it was dead. As Rey called everyone else to come and look, it started to squirm like a worm and literally jumped out of Rey's hand. Everyone screamed and ran to a safe distance from the thing. At that point my heart had almost stopped. None of us thought that this thing could move because we thought it was dead! 

Swimming the rapids

On the bank of the Pacuare River by the lodge

One unexpected benefit of the very low water level was the opportunity to learn to swim a rapid.  With a safety kayaker in the water, two guides with throw ropes and a third guide ready to swim, we were ready to learn to cross the river.  The strategy was simple enough but required guts and strength.  Jump in, let the current pull you upriver a few yards and then swim like mad straight into the rapid until you reached the guide with the rope on the other side.

This was a great opportunity to feel the power of the rapids and to learn to feel a little more comfortable in the water.  Almost everyone swam that day and I was proud of how everyone attacked the rapid and went back for more.  By the time we left the lodge two days later, the water level was higher and one of our guides told me that we probably wouldn't have been able to swim the river had the water level been like that earlier.  This photo celebrates both our accomplishment in the moment and, in hindsight, our luck!

¡Pura Vida!

Waterfall near the Pacuare River

At the end of a long day of hiking, tree planting, tilapia fishing and learning about butterflies, everyone was hot, tired, and ready for a rest.  Despite some people not having swim suits, everyone jumped in for the photo (t-shirts, shorts, and all).  There were so many moments on this trip when I can recall people "jumping in" even though being part of the activity might mean doing something embarrassing, getting dirty, or taking a risk.  These are the moments that make the trip memorable for me.