I’m sitting here listening to music brought back from Costa Rica while I type this blog.  What a lovely country!  Mountains, valleys, a Pacific and a Caribbean coast, exotic wildlife, great food and wonderful, friendly people; we had a wonderful time.  But this blog is supposed to be about kayaking, so I’ll get to that right now. 

        Most everything I have to say about our four days of kayaking will be positive.  My only negative comments have to do with the booking agent, Crystal Seas Kayaking.  Crystal Seas misrepresented the nature of the trip.  Both their website and the pre-trip information lead you to believe that this is a supported expedition type trip.  This means paddling to a different beach to camp each night and moving on to another beach the next day.  Even the packing list supported this notion.  But that wasn’t what happened. 

        Crystal Seas, rather than running its own operation in Costa Rica, acts as a booking agent for a Costa Rican outfitter, Rios Tropicales.  There is no one from Crystal Seas in Costa Rica, which explains why Johannas at the Crystal Seas office in Friday Harbor, Washington, was so vague on details about the country. 

Our first hint of trouble came before the trip even started.  We all expected to be contacted by Crystal Seas after our arrival in Costa Rica to confirm our

arrival, our location and set a definite pick up time.  With just twelve hours or so till pick-up, I had heard nothing so, with the help of customer service at my hotel, we figured out that Rios Tropicales was the local outfitter (no one had ever heard of Crystal Seas).  We called them and got a definite pick-up time.  They had assumed that Johannas had done this.  Others in out group were ready at 6AM, hoping that someone would show up to get them. 

Rios Tropicales seems like a good organization, and they provided us with a memorable four days.  But it was a base camp operation with day trips to various islands, not the expedition trip we expected.  Our guide, Cris Cerdas was upset that Johannas had not corrected Crystal Seas website or given us the correct information in his mailing, as, according to Cris, he had been asked to do so.  Even though the trip was not as advertised, it was a great experience. 

There were some positive surprises and some other minor disappointments.  The literature we received said that the outfitter would provide “top-of-the-line” touring kayaks, life vests, paddles, tents, and sleeping pads.  This was largely true, but not completely.  The tents were of good quality and had been set up for us.  We had been promised Thermarest type mattresses, and we all envisioned the typical 1.5 inch thick roll-up variety.  In fact, we got outfitter type self-inflating mattresses that were three inches thick and very comfortable. This is an advantage of a base camp, as there is no way one of these comfortable pads would have fit into a kayak. 

The paddling equipment was of good quality but not “top-of-the-line”.  And it was in many cases, worn by the environment, use, and the need to make

field repairs in this remote location.  Life vests were by Lotus and Stohlquist, both quality companies.  Paddles were feathered, fiberglass and non-adjustable.  They were a little heavy, but were sturdy and of good quality.  The single Kayaks were of two models: we had 14.foot Carolinas, and a boat called an Echo of about 15 feet, both plastic boats by Perception I believe.  The Carolina is clearly a transitional boat with a short waterline and wide beam.  The Echo was narrower and more responsive, but still made of plastic and at best an entry level touring boat.  These boats are clearly designed for beginners, which was appropriate in this setting, as several of our paddlers had never done anything like this before.  However, appropriate, serviceable boats does not equal “top-of-the-line”.  The double kayaks were of better quality, being made by Northwest Kayaks and Eddyline. 

        All of this means that I (and other members of our group of eight) were very pleased with the work of Rios Tropicales but not with the work of Crystal Seas Kayaking.   Crystal Seas “over sold” the trip, which was unnecessary, and dropped the ball on contact in Costa Rica.  If Crystal Seas will straighten out its website and pre-trip information packet to reflect the true nature of the trip, I think most of us would be satisfied.  The trip as delivered is not the trip that was advertised.  Still, it’s a good trip and at $699.00, a good value.  If this error doesn’t get straightened out, I would think long and hard before ever booking another trip with Crystal Seas Kayaking.