February 28th, 2009 Kayaking Rio Frio (Cano Negro to Los Chiles): In a much larger group, some caver friends of mine and I kayaked from Cano Negro to Los Chiles. The water level of Rio Frio was high and the current fast. My inflatable kayak kept up with the canoes and traditional kayaks with no problam. The scenery was beautiful and there was plenty of wild life...birds, crocs, monkeys. LAST 14 PHOTOS.

February 24th, 2008 Kayaking Rio Frio (Guatuso to Cano Negro): John, Peter and I planned this trip the evening before using cartographic maps. We were six people in total with two sea kayaks, two inflatable kayaks and one canoe. Sunday morning we met at my office in Ciudad Quesada at 6:00am, arrived at our starting point at Guatuso at 7:30am, dropped off two vehicles at Cano Negro National Wildlife Refuge at 9:00am and were back in Guatuso kayaking Rio Frio at 10:30am. We were over ambitious in our trajectory with 35 kilometers to kayak in limited daylight hours. Cristian and Gabriela had difficulty paddling in a coordinated fashion and proceeded at a turtle pace. They decided to take a taxi back to Guatuso and wait for us. Willy and I were utterly exhausted from the hours of non-stop paddling to reach our destination. Our shoulders burned not from the sun but the lactic acid accumulating in an intense effort. John and Peter, the pros, easily outpaced us. My inflatable kayak was a drag in comparison to their sea kayak and canoe. Finally we made it to Cano Negro in the pitch black. It was rather disturbing when my head lamp illuminated the eyes of countless crocs along the shoreline. Images of them muching on my vunerable rubber raft filled my mind. Alas we got home safely!


August 27th, 2006 at Cano Negro National Wildlife Refuge: Deb and I celebrated my 35th birthday by touring scenic Cano Negro in northern Costa Rica. This place is reknown for it's intense concentration and variety of bird life. Observing horses munching on grass and crossing rivers reminded me of family trips to Chincoteague Island decades ago. Our guide from Cano Negro Natural Lodge was absolutely superb and at one point gave an up close look at a croc nest. Deb pleasantly surprised me at lunch when she invited the lodge staff to sing a special song.