Sometimes all it takes is a picture to sum things up.  So here are before and after photos of the Sarapiqui River here in Costa Rica.  And these photos are in honor of our fantastic group of southeastern boaters who were here last week–totally confused by the fact that we forbade them from doing the southeastern rain dance that they have been religiously performing the past two years back at home!! if the CCC week of rivers committee ever learns how good this groups is at conjuring rain they will never have another moment of peace again!!!!!

Lower Sarapiqui put in-high water looking upstream

First: the “before” pictures of the Sarapiqui at a “normal” water level.  note the blue sky!!  The Rio Saraipqui is always a favorite run on just about any trip because there are two different sections: a Class IV upper run and a Class III lower run.  The water level in this photo is what last week’s group anticipated having since most of them were veteran Costa Rica paddlers and well-versed on the Sarapiqui. And after checking with our “sources” who gave a thumbs up and said the river was “good to go,” it was what we also anticipated last Wednesday!

Looking upstream at lower Sarapiqui normally

Tree below bridge-Lower Sarapiqui

And now the “day of ” photos of the river when the group arrived at the put-in last Wednesday!

Lower Sarapiqui put-in tree-at high water!!

Needless to say, Costa Rica has had a crazy crazy couple of months here at the tail end of the rainy season. Between the end of October and the first of December, there is typically an average of one to two cold fronts that come across the country from the east Caribbean side of the country.

This year there have been six. Already!  November ended with twice the average monthly rainfall…and that was after a very wet rainy season (wet rainy season may be redundant elsewhere, but not in Costa Rica). Then the first two days of December brought as much rainfall in 48 hours as normally falls in the entire month.

High Water Sarapiqui - downstream view

Finally last Thursday the weather broke (or the sky just flat out ran out of rain!)

Today’s beach sunset was icing on the cake after another great day of paddling.

Sunset on the west coast