Paddling in Costa Rica on a high water day is like paddling on top of a bowling alley!  We experienced this phenomena this week when we did a high water run on the Reventazon.  Underneath us, the round boulders that formed the river bed rolled about due to the fast...

Sunday is election day here in Costa Rica.  On the slate this year is a bid for mayors (alcalde in Spanish).  And to help the citizens vote responsibly, the sale of all alcoholic beverages are prohibited from Saturday morning through Monday morning during any...

Girl power was at an all-time high during Thanksgiving week here in Costa Rica!  This week is always a highlight with the arrival of the Baylor Students of Chattanooga. The tables turned this year when the WalkAbout Program landed here in Costa Rica with four...

Guaro is to Costa Rica what tequila is to Mexico and a reasonable person will have a difficult time deciding which one could do more damage to you!  Sit and chat with a group of paddlers who have done the Pacuare River here in Costa Rica and you will soon figure out...

We won’t lie…the past two days here in Costa Rica have been chilly.  News Alert!!  The 22nd was the coldest November day in 25 years here in Costa Rica. It was 16 degrees. Celsius.  The newspaper was full of stories of selling gloves, parkas, cold weather gear. For a...

Thanksgiving in Costa Rica Okay, they don’t have Thanksgiving in Costa Rica.  The Spanish landed here, not the pilgrims.  And while the end result was similar, the pilgrims were much more gracious about the help they received from the native Americans! So over the...

In our book, sidetrips are an important part of an international paddling trip.  The rivers speak for themselves, especially finishing up this week: we went from gorgeous days on the Pacuare, to an eddy catching frenzy on the Pejibaye, to a huge water roller coaster...

It is always a surprise to a first-time Costa Rica paddler when breakfast is served.  Setting corn flakes and wheaties aside, a typical costa rican breakfast is fondly referred to as ´gallo pinto´by the locals.  Gallo pinto is a serving of black beans and rice cooked...

How would orchestrating a symphony performance equate to running whitewater kayaking trips?  Our last few days here would be  a good example:  you take a good line-up/a program that you know will bring pleasure…and then never stop tweaking it no matter how many...

While they were not visible, we knew there were rocks on the river…because we could hear them rolling underneath us!  Like riding on top of a continual game of billiards, we paddled downstream with the rocks rolling and clanking and making a lot of noise underneath...

The downside of paddling on the west coast of Costa Rica is dodging the wildlife…or maybe it is remembering to put on sunscreen…or maybe it is the burritos for dinner!!  Here we are in week#3 of our trips and find ourselves spread out and on all sorts of...

A stunning sight: Volcano Poas, Irazu and Turrialba all breaking through the low cloud bank on the approach to the San Jose airport. What a welcome back to Costa Rica! Such a site was even a first for us—which says a lot considering we have made this landing for...

Hello from Costa Rica!! Wow, the blitzkrieg is over. Some might think this is the dream job. And it is, but it is a lot of work.  Because of the way that rivers change so dramatically every year in Costa Rica, we always send a team down ahead of the trips to scout...

Scouting Week: Report #1, Upper and Middle Pacuare. Thanks guys, but we’re on the wagon for good this year. Matt has enlightened us on the benefits of a healthy human body and wow, between the calestenics and long, erotic stretching, there really hasn’t been much time...

The weather forecast is predicting temperatures in the 20's here in WNC tonight.  And even as gorgeous as the leaf season is this year, it should be no surprise to all that we are packing up the guides and heading south. First stop:  our Costa Rica trips!  We have a...

One of the fondest memories paddlers have after a week in Costa Rica with us is the time they spent with our driver, Miguel.  We have been working together for sixteen years. He is as important a guide on the road as we are on the river. He has helped us with...