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When cold weather hits, rain turns to snow, and ski bums appear most
paddlers panic and desperately search for a ticket south to pursue the endless
summer. I found this golden ticket with World Class Academy. After a more than
epic semester in BC I couldn’t wait to ride the kayaking lifestyle all the way to Costa
Rica. Paddling in the jungle has been a dream of mine for years, and after two red
eye flights this dream was coming true. After meeting up with the whole crew in San
Jose we drove to our humble abode in the infamous Turrialba. Our lodging here was
amazing, great food, comfy cabins, and a pool. Couldn’t ask for more, and couldn’t
think of a cooler place to do class everyday! If your ever in the area check out Siloe
Lodge! The first section we got on was the Lower pacuare, a 16k stretch littered
with countless fun class 4 drops. As the guide book says ” This is some of the most
quality whitewater in the country.” This is certainly no understatement. That has to
be one of the coolest canyons ive ever had the pleasure of floating through. Next up
was the Upper Upper Pacuare, a run similar to the lower in nature and quality. Top
of the line. If you want boof practice spend the day on this run and youll be sick of
boofing by the end.
In costa rain is imminent, it happens daily. TO our advantage this
brought healthy flows and permitted us to get on some real gems, my favorite of
which is the Pascua Section of the Reventezon river. Saying this is an “amazing run”
would be an understatement. With a small crew consisting of Ben Kinsella, Andrew
Morehouse, Ben Mckenzie, and myself we put on with very respectable flows. This
run has to be one of the top three best days of kayaking ive ever done. The only
thing I can compare it too is the NF payette, or a date with Shakira. From the put in
you immediately drop into a super big, splashy, fun big water rapid that doesn’t end
till the takeout. With some more notable pretty spicy rapids in the mix, this run is
possibly the most quality class 4-5 big water in central America. One rapid in
particular sticks in my head. As the river forks the guide book describes the
following section as “ Check to see if right channel is runnable, major hazards are
Giant hydraulics and pollution.” Reading has always been a kayakers weakness, and
we floated right into the right channel and soon found ourselves in a maelstrom of
house sized pourovers and waves that could eat my highschool. I was more than
glad I had a bomber Special K skirt on for this one. Seriously, if your going to run big
whitewater, invest in an IR skirt, drytop, and base layers for the best reliability,
safety, and comfort out there. Luckily, all clean lines were had and we ran countless
more perfect rapids. Never in my life have I been in a situation where my teachers
are also my best friends, paddling partners, and are leading me and a fellow student
down class 5 big water in the midst of a hungry jungle. World class is a special
program, friendship and team bonds form faster than trends in Hollywood. After
many more great river runs, some coffee farming, and a high water portage fest on
the Upper Pacuare we left the comforts of Turrialba behind and drove to Sarapiqui.
Settling in at our lodge in Sarapaqui was about as hard as down comforter.
With more epic lodging our crew was/is more than stoked. Running different
sections of the Sarapaqui, Volcan, Toro, and pozo all leave us with huge grins.

Each stretch is unique in its own way, whether its steep, creeky, bouldery, jungly,
waterfally, or flat all these runs are ones to put on your list. Paddling through deep
jungle canyons is something everyone should experience.
With low flows in the region, the notorious 30 footer “Pozo Azul” has become
our bread and butter. It’s a great one to practice on and fine tune your waterfalling
technique. The people, whitewater, culture, and landscape of Costa Rica is
absolutely amazing. I highly recommend a trip here, it has to be one of the best trips
of my life. I would come back in a heartbeat. Now im sitting in the jungle oasis of the
Chilamate Eco Lodge getting bronzed and bitten by bugs. Soon we will depart back
to Turrialba for a few days then head to the coast for some surf!

Good lines,
IR Team Member~ Teague Manley