Where Paddling and Indulgence Meet in Jaco Costa Rica

When Neil, the owner of Kayak Jaco, shared with me what the sunset/night kayak tour was all about, I told him he had me at cheese and wine. For those of you who live in Costa Rica, you know it is extremely hard to find good cheese, and if you do it’s incredibly expensive! Looking back on the tour, the cheese and crackers were just icing on the cake.

Where Paddling and Indulgence Meet in Jaco Costa Rica

The tour started about 40 minutes before sunset on a picture-perfect flat water beach. Instead of individual kayaks, this tour utilized a large outrigger canoe. Neil explained that, “It’s really hard to keep track of individual kayaks and assure everyone’s safety after nightfall if we aren’t all together.” We learned the basics of paddling an outrigger and off we were! After a leisurely 20-minute paddle we landed in a small cove. The guides immediately went to work, setting up a bonfire, ceviche, wine, cheese, crackers, and eventually s’mores when the fire was ablaze.

A guide walked me to the tide pools where I could see fossils of a variety of shells ingrained in the rock. While enjoying the sites, ceviche was delivered to me! When I retired to a chair they had brought to the cove, I was doted on, “More wine? More cheese? More crackers?” The sunset was spectacular, the service second to none, and it was clear that each paddler felt excited to share this incredible moment. It’s a special thing when you can see overwhelming excitement in a complete stranger’s eyes that says, “Can you freaking believe that we are doing this?” Kayak Jaco’s night reminded us that we were all united on this earth.

Before our return paddle, we were supplied with glow-in-the dark headbands. It was a great touch–every time I turned around the outrigger I saw glowing heads. What a smart way to keep a head count without killing our night vision!

We paddled in the quiet of the black night, a sacred thing in and of itself, but we were afforded something even more spectacular, bioluminescence. As our paddles glided through the water, a chemical reaction occurred, which created a blue light under the water. It was an amazing end to a truly magical night.

Where Paddling and Indulgence Meet in Jaco Costa Rica photo credit by Shannon Enete.