Pacuare River Rafting & Trip to Bananito, Costa Rica
Greetings,
I’m writing this from what feels like one of the most remote places I’ve ever been. We did the rest of the Pacuare River whitewater rafting adventure and ended at the Selva Bananito Eco Lodge. I decided to film rafting on video so apologies for the lack of photos. From there we met a driver who took us on a trip further south along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We drove until we arrived at a small hole in the wall in Bananito which is south of Limon and ordered some beers after meeting our new guide. We waited half hour enjoying beers before a pickup arrived and we drove 10KM into the jungle…
After driving such said 10km into the jungle we arrived at Selva Bananito which is an eco-lodge owned by a German family and is 2000 hectares in size. It’s one of the closest things you can do to being totally off the grid but still comfortable. It’s so off the grid that it has no actual power besides solar and this post is a few days late as there is no internet. To add to the feeling of isolation, we’re the only guests here so the whole “at one with nature” really comes to mind.
Supposedly there were 4 guests who stayed here the night before but none now. The room has this sweet open concept and there isn’t much to worry about here besides the off chance of stepping on a snake at night, seriously. There are all sorts of vipers around who are nocturnal and if you step on one your goose is cooked unless you get the anti-venom but enough of that, yes?
Somehow I went on a tangent and skipped the bulk of the day, oops. I’m talking about the whitewater rafting we did on the Pacuare River. Rancheros and I got lucky as there were no other guests going on this day so it was just us and our guides. I sort of felt like an 1800’s explorer with pleasant porters as it was us in one raft, a raft for supplies and our gear as well as one gent in a kayak in case things got loco or “rico” as they say here.
Half way through we stopped and had a proper, it was delicious and well prepared with our comfort in mind. The river was sweet and it it snaked through the rainforest that was lined with walls of trees that towered over us. It kept reminding me of my place on this planet and how short a time I have to enjoy it as some of those trees had to be hundreds of years old. It was humbling in a good way.
We battled through class III-IV rapids with ease as our guide was amazing and Rancheros and I paddled like the chairman from hell himself was on our heels. Our guide said that we handled these rapids and if we get a chance to ever do some class V aka as hard as it gets, go for it. Supposedly the Pacuare River has some of the most interesting and intense level IV rapids in the world. Mid October aka the peak of rainy season is the best for the biggest volume of water but late September is still solid.
Turns out last night was mainly newlyweds at the Pacuare Lodge, a nice change from the first night and all of us joked and laughed over hard liquor in the lounge. I wish I could bring you here to see what I’m seeing as the photo of my mobile office does not do it justice as Nightmare on Wax plays at the perfect volume and nature jumps out at me in a scene as vivid as I can remember. The gent who owns this bought the area in 1973, I want to find somewhere that is 1973 Costa Rica today but who doesn’t?
Also there has been a change of plans after looking at the map but more on that later… Tomorrow we’ve got some options including horseback riding, tree climbing and a rainforest nature hike which should be cool. I’d continue but the power on this laptop is dwindling along with the day as night begins its necessary watch over us so tomorrow we can start anew.
Tips hat,
P.S: This was written when it happened, about two weeks ago.
