Paddling Costa Rica

(Costa Rica Rios Aventuras)

(Costa Rica Rios Aventuras)

(Costa Rica Experts)

The lower Sarapiqum (sae ruh puh KEE) River is an excellent choice for a first day trip upon arriving in Costa Rica. The scenery is spectacular, the rapids are moderate, and the wildlife would have any Audubon Society member babbling ecstatically. The upper section of the river, with a gradient of 90 feet per mile and tight boulder-laden drops, provides all of the scenic attractions of the lower section, with expert level paddling as well.

For the travel-weary new arrival to the tropics, the drive from San Jose through the Central Volcanic Cordillera to the valley of the Sarapiqum delivers a stunning, invigorating introduction to the verdant tropical rainforest. While much of that dense virgin forest has been cleared for agriculture, the complex patterns of tropical agriculture result in a cultural landscape of refreshing diversity. Surrounding the route are dense fields of bananas, coffee, strawberries, papayas, and ferns. In climbing over the southeast shoulder of the immense Poas Volcano, one climbs into the cool, perpetually wet cloud forest, and larger remnants of the natural vegetation complex are encountered. Dense stands of forest shroud the windward slopes of the volcano as the road descends the eastern side of the Cordillera. This side of the range faces the full force of the nearly perennial trade winds, wringing copious amounts of rainfall from the moisture-laden air as it is forced to ascend the 10,000-foot summits.

The prodigious rainfall supports untold numbers of headwater streams, which cascade off the volcanic cone to form the Sarapiqum River. Several of these waterfalls are visible from the highway, including La Paz ("Peace") falls, which are adjacent to the highway and easily accessible. A short side road leads to a spectacular pair of waterfalls, El Congo and Salto del Angel, which plunge 500 feet into a clear pool. The abundant water also supports rich vegetation forms such as the "Poor Man's Umbrella," with thick waxy leaves up to six feet in diameter. Anyone caught without shelter during a typical afternoon torrent comes quickly to an appreciation of the practicality of this unusual plant.

San Miguel to La Virgen
Eastern creek paddlers will feel right at home on the upper Sarapiqum, as it is quite steep and each rapid is extremely congested with boulders. Although boat scouting will suffice for paddlers with the necessary skills to run this stretch of water, rapid, decisive moves are required in order to avoid pins.

The first rapid, which can be easily scouted from the bridge at the put-in, is typical of the drops to be found throughout this section. The character of this rapid is easily seen from this convenient vantage point, but the height of the bridge makes it difficult to appreciate the magnitude of the drop itself. Paddlers must watch constantly for strainers in this section, for the river is extremely narrow and trees hang across it for extended stretches. Frequent evening flashfloods from heavy rains in the mountains constantly alter the rapids and sometimes lodge trees between the large boulders that choke the channel, so watch carefully for strainers.

Named rapids in this section include the Banana, The Mush, and Me Gusta ("I like it"). The Banana is a steep rapid that has a banana-shaped vertical drop at the exit. The Mush has a six-foot waterfall at its terminus that pours into an aerated hole. Obscured from above by a house-sized boulder, Me Gusta appears unrunnable at first. The entire flow of the river rushes against the boulder, forming a powerful pillow on the upstream side, with clean four-foot drops on each side.

It would be very difficult to hike out from this section because it has very dense forest alongside it and the valley walls are quite steep. Pins are a constant concern and when the flow is high enough to pad all of the rocks, the holes get grabby. We recommend paddling it at relatively low water (800-1500 cfs) in plastic boats. This is no place for rafts.

Fernando Esquivel and Rafael Gallo attempted to run the upper Sarapiqum in 1984 in a two-man raft, but the raft was damaged by the continuous rocky rapids and the pair had to abandon the run two miles above La Virgen. The first complete descent was accomplished in kayaks the following year by Joe Pulliam, Rafael Gallo, and a group of paddlers from Atlanta.

La Virgen to Chilamate
From the put-in below the bridge at La Virgen to the take-out at Chilamate the Sarapiqum courses through lush Atlantic Coast rainforest and beautifully manicured fields of sugar cane, bananas, oil palm, and cacao while dropping over innumerable gravel bar rapids. Most of the rapids are quite simple and are easily boat scouted, but many of them follow a somewhat disconcerting tendency to terminate in a direct shot into vertical walls of naturally cemented boulder terraces. On these rapids, it is necessary to cut diagonally across the current to avoid hitting the embankment.

The first rapid of note, Hueco Gringo ("Gringo's Hole"), is a long, straight rapid that ends in a nice hole at bottom center. The rapid becomes progressively steeper as you descend it. Another memorable drop follows. Beginning in much the same fashion as Hueco Gringo, its terminus is quite different. Instead of terminating against a wall, it suddenly enters a complex boulder garden that has at least four possible routes. The rapid is known as Confusion.

Just another quarter mile downstream is a dangerous rapid, Pattie's Bend. It is found approximately four miles down the river. Looking no different from any of the other boulder gardens, this rapid sweeps left to right over a series of drops that end in a strainer where the main current passes through a group of robust tree roots on the left bank. Paddle rafts in particular have difficulty in avoiding this hazard, so it is important to recognize this rapid before entering it and to begin a left-to-right ferry as soon as possible.

Bird watchers will have a field day on the Sarapiqum, as groups of toucans, parrots, bitterns, herons, hawks, oro pendulas ("gold tails"), and huge kingfishers fly busily throughout the river corridor. In many places the river splits into multiple intimate channels where huge trees draped with epiphytes and orchids hang directly over the water. This is indeed the tropics!

The take-out is at a small bar and restaurant on the left bank of the river where drinks and food may be obtained at a very reasonable price—not a bad ending to an unbelievable river trip. Great care should be taken at the take-out, as a fallen tree has created a dangerous strainer just past the restaurant. An ill-advised swim here resulted in a near-fatality following a raft trip in 1986. The shuttle ride back to the put-in is short and direct, as the road follows the river closely, but remains unseen from the river.

The lower Sarapiqum was first paddled in December 1984 by kayakers Jon Sheppard, Andy Zimmerman, Jim Reed, Rafael Gallo, Tom Wise, and Earl Alderson. Although the group was mildly disappointed by the lack of difficult whitewater, they were immensely impressed by the scenery. Commercial raft trips were soon begun on the lower river by Rmos Tropicales and this section is now one of the most popular one-day raft trips in Costa Rica due to its magnificent wildlife and fun rapids.

Chilamate to Puerto Viejo
This section contains nothing but flatwater, but the scenery is still pretty enough to justify paddling it. All of the wildlife found on the section above is found in greater concentrations on this lower section, but one is also likely to see monkeys, mot-mot birds, and other wildlife that avoids the farmlands of the upper section. Small commercial craft ply the river from the Caribbean to Puerto Viejo via the San Juan River, a distance of over 50 miles. It is not unusual to see dugout canoes on the river below Chilamate.

One of the most unusual characteristics of the Caribbean slope streams is their sudden change of slope. On the Sarapiqum, the gradient drops from 45 feet per mile to less than 10 feet per mile in less than a mile, with the change occurring at Chilamate. The Toro and Tres Amigos undergo similar changes in slope.

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