Desafio Adventure Company

We had a fantastic day with Wilson. He arrived early to our apartment in Heredia and took us to Volcan Poas and La Paz waterfall park, before dropping us directly at our AirBnB in La Fortuna. Wilson was a great driver and a knowledgeable, patient, and amiable guide. We told him we were all studying Spanish and he spoke with us in Spanish all day, teaching us new words, and explaining in English whenever it was necessary. He also told us a lot about the plants and animals and places we saw along the way. Great experience!

Today I participated in the white water rafting in the Balsa River and had the time of my life! All the guides were very friendly and professional. Our raft guide, Alejandro (nicknamed Fox) was extremely jovial and skilled. Two of us flew off the raft at different times, and he had us back in within seconds. I’m a fairly big woman, heavier than him, yet Alejandro pulled me out almost as easily as a mother pulling her baby out of bed. His love of rafting and the river was evident. Two emergency guides zigzagged among the four rafts in the group, ready to help if needed. One of them treated us to some entertaining acrobatics; imagine doing a headstand in his kayak on the water, and doing the equivalent of motorcycle wheelies. The trip was longer than expected, 15 km in about 1:40 hours. Fresh fruit was served almost toward the end of the run, and lunch was waiting for us after we finished and drove to their dining area. While we had fun in the water, a photographer guide took photos and videos from several vantage positions, available for purchase afterward. This was my first experience with white water rafting, and now I’m hungry for the next one! Give it a try and be rewarded with an incredibly fun experience.

A wonderful medium paced raft tour of the Penas Blancas river, which has an abundance of local birds and monkeys. The shoreline is undeveloped and heavily forested giving a feeling of being deep in a jungle, although you are never far from agricultural land. Our host, Juan Carlos, was extremely knowledgeable and identified every bird, monkey, iguana and whatever crossed our path.