Rio Celeste Float: Tubing Between the Rapids and the Still Water

The Rio Celeste is run here on a float, going with the current rather than paddling against it. The descent alternates: short sections where the water picks up and pushes the ring along, then backwaters where it slows almost to a stop and you drift. Those slow stretches are where the river is worth looking at. The vegetation grows down to the bank on both sides and closes over the water in places, and the colour of the Rio Celeste is what brings people to this part of Costa Rica to begin with. It is a descent rather than a hike. The river does most of the work.