Class III-IV Rafting on the Sarapiquí, from La Fortuna

The Sarapiquí is one of the rivers Costa Rica's rafting reputation is built on, and the Class III and IV section is the one that earns it. Getting there takes about an hour, on a road that runs through plantations of papaya, pineapple and yucca at the foot of Arenal. A good hour, not dead time. At the put-in the guides from Wave Expeditions go through the safety procedure and the rules, and what your responsibilities are once you are holding a paddle. Nobody leaves the bank until the group can give the commands back, which sounds like formality until the first rapid. After that the river sets the schedule. Class III and IV means rapids with real force in them, and there is no passenger seat: everyone in the boat paddles.