I had seen photographs of Río Celeste from the hiking trail above it. Seeing it from inside a tube, lying back at water level, the blue flowing around me and the forest overhead — that is a completely different experience. Our guide named every bird we passed. Toucans, kingfishers, a flock of something brilliant red that he identified immediately. The small rapids kept the float moving without feeling dangerous. I went home and the first thing I told people about was not the beach. It was the blue river.

Our family took this experience with children aged seven and twelve and it was completely suitable for both — the seven-year-old loved the gentle rapids and the colour of the water, and the twelve-year-old was fascinated by the biodiversity our guide explained throughout. The warning about the colour potentially changing due to rain is honest and worth knowing — but we were lucky with clear skies and the river was that famous impossible blue the entire time. The drive is long but the experience absolutely justifies it.

As a wildlife photographer I came specifically for the river birding from water level, which is a completely different vantage point than any trail gives you. Río Celeste's corridor is extraordinarily rich — we counted forty-two species in a single float. The guide's knowledge was comprehensive and his ability to position us for photographs was exceptional. The colour of the river is exactly as described and photographed — perhaps even more vivid in person because you can see it in the current, in the eddies, against the forest on the banks. A truly remarkable half-day.