Costa Rica

Daily Adventure: Rio Celeste tour with Ecoterra

We had gotten an email the previous day that the park trails may be closed because of the heavy rain that had gone on the previous day. We followed up and the park trails we open but we were warned that the river may not have it’s beautiful blue color if the rain had stirred up too much dirt. We kept our expectations low, but secretly hoped for the best.

We were picked up and as luck would have it we were the only 2 people on this tour. It was a bumpy ride to the park, and again, maybe between 1 and 2 hour drive. Our tour guide, Andre was fantastic.
The hike was strenuous for sure, but he let us set the pace. The trails were a bit muddy but we were prepared with hiking boots so it was no problem. He did an amazing job of not making us feel rushed but at the same time making sure we were able to fit everything in before the rain came. We hiked and came to a beautiful blue lagoon with a waterfall. Further on down the hike we saw the confluence of the 2 rivers where it magically changes into the bright blue color.
What makes Rio Celeste this bright blue? Well, the simplest explanation is that it is an optical illusion.

If you look along the rocks at Rio Celeste AND one of the rivers that converge to form it - the “Good View River” you’ll see a whitish substance on them. This substance was found to be a mineral that is made up of aluminum, silicon and oxygen that is found in the water. This is responsible for reflecting light from the sun and reflects that bright blue color.

This particle is found in both rivers so why is the Celeste River blue and the Good View River and the other rover that forms it (Sour Creek) not? Something magical happens when the Good River meets Sour Creek. The acidity level of Sour Creek is much much higher than in the Good View River, which makes the particles of that special mineral grow larger, therefore reflecting much more of that blue color when you look at it.
Another answer that you may get that is much shorter, is that god dipped his paintbrush in the Rio Celeste after painting the sky.

After our hike we were taken to lunch with Andre and our driver, Edgar which was typical Tico food, but again was very well done.

We got to know Andre a little better and it’s always one of my favorite parts of traveling outside the country is to hear about their culture. We were planning to go into the town of La Fortuna that evening to explore and they gave us many suggestions for dinner including a nice restaurant that he said would be great for a “date” called Nene’s.Read more