Chirripo, Sarapiqui, and living in the jungle.

I have moved from Turrialba to near Guapiles, on the Rio Corinto, in la selva baby!  No electricity, hunting for bananas with machetes, cooking together and eating a TON of platanos and arroz y pinto…  pura vida.


In the past five days, I’ve run the Pacuare again, the Chirripo a couple times, and the San Miguel section of the Sarapiqui River in the fine company of the fellas at the Sarapiqui Outdoor Center, and Joni and Charlie, too.  Got some great video of the San Miguel section of the Sarapiqui, which is the creeky-est run I’ve done so far.  All the rivers here are very young, and you can tell by the constantly moving boulders in the river.  After floods or landslides or earthquakes or just a big rain, the river changes channels.  The San Miguel section changed a couple years ago after the river caved in on itself during an earthquake.  David “Sombrillo” Duarte says, “It’s digging” a new channel for itself.  The whole thing at the medium/low level was read and run boulder garden.  I bet with more water, the holes would get a lot more intimidating.

The Chirripo is located below the Rio Sucio section from the confluence called “Rio Frio,” there is a bus station there, too.  Anyway, the Chirripo is very new as well.  The channels of the river run over unstable round boulders ranging from car sized to sand.  It reminds me of how water rushing down the beach from a puddle makes rivulets in the sand, and similarly the Chirripo splits and confluences many times into different channels as it drops.  The channels and turns change to the water’s whim.


Pacuare Trip – With a stroke of luck and the wonder that pulls kayakers together, I have met David, Paul, and Travis of the Sarapiqui Outdoor Center, where I’m staying at their new Chirripo Outpost that is a little slice of paradise.  Joni and Charlie, my gringo kayaker buddies from Turrialba came along, and it appears that Charlie will stick there, too!  We all went on a Pacuare trip yesterday with premier guide trainee, Parrini, Patrick the Oso Peninsula surf chaser, and Geraldo in a kayak from here in Costa Rica.  Water level was nice and fluffy, and we ate a ton of food as usual.  I will not go hungry in the jungle.