The Adventure for the players of Sewanee Men’s soccer started with a free lunch in La Calle- street food a new concept in Costa Rica on the city of Alajuela very near from the airport, right after we drove to the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense training facilities in Turrucares where we met the reserve team division the a  great friendly match began… the score by the end of the match was LDA won 4 to 1 …but both teams were just excellent level of soccer…good dinner to end the day and charge  energy for tomorrow’s Pacuare white water rafting adventure.

Our second day in Costa Rica started early at 5 am with a delicious breakfast at our hotel, the Barcelo Palacio, followed by a lovely bus drive up through the Braulio Carrillo National Park. Some of us took in the beauty; others caught up on some much needed sleep. 

 Once we arrived at the exploration center, we were met with second breakfast—an authentic meal of rice, Black beans, potatoes, and plantains—and none of us passed it up. Full and content, we split up into teams of 6, received instruction from our fearless guides, and hit the Pacuare river, ranked as one of the top five rafting destinations in the world. For all the magnificent views of the rainforest and waterfalls, there were even more rapids, thrills, and only a few spills! All in all, we had a blast, soaked in the atmosphere, and definitely grew closer together as a team…well, our only two options were facing the wrath of the rapids or working together. We chose the latter!

Tired and content, we made our way back to San Jose, but we did make a brief stop to view a pair of three toed sloths doing exactly what they do best, nothing! Afterwards, we enjoyed both a relaxing evening at the hotel and also another phenomenal meal to wrap up a truly awesome day. 

Searching for some whales … and we got lucky… ocean king catamaran adventure