This is a long report, broken down into diving and non-diving parts, covering the period 6/18-6/24.
DIVING.
Ocotal Diving is part of the El Ocotal Hotel. It is a well-run operation, headed up by Sisenio. Sisenio and all of the DMs Liv, Ronald, Bari, Fernando, Edward, Felipe were conscientious, friendly and helpful. We always had at least one DM for each four or five divers. All DMs were good at pointing out marine life. The staff rinses your dive gear daily and stores it. Nitrox is available; I used it for the first time, and found that it really did lessen the exhaustion that had accompanied 3 dive per day sessions.
The four (I think) boats take a max of 10 divers each, and have shade and a head. Boats leave at 7-8:30am, depending on the dive sites; trips to Murcielagos (Bat) and Catalina Islands usually leave at 7-7:30, and return by 12-2pm.
The dive times were limited to 60 minutes or 700 PSI. Those limits did not pose a problem to me, particularly on days when the surge was heavy and diving was a lot more work. The DMs did allow divers within those limits to stay down when others ascended; in fact, Id say that the DMs were very flexible on bottom times.
I used a 5mm wetsuit, and was content with that. Water temps generally were 76-80 degrees, but we hit some spots that were very very cold. I recommend gloves, not so much for warmth as for protection from the rocks; theres virtually no coral to protect, the rocks are sharp, and the surge can be strong and unpredictable, so the gloves are very handy. Many divers wore hoods.
The Catalina Islands are a 45-60 minute boat ride from El Ocotal. We dove at the Wall/Shark Alley on 6/19 (4 divers plus 2 DMs), 6/21 (8 divers plus 2 DMs) and 6/24 (9 divers plus 2 DMs). On the first day, the surge was very heavy -- at least fifteen feet, and maybe more and visibility was 15-30 feet, at best. Deepest depth was 75-80' on all days, but most of the dives were spent at 50 or so. Visibility improved slightly on 6/21 and 6/24, and the surge was considerably less. As others have said, there is a huge amount of marine life here we saw whitetips every day at this site (one at least 8); other marine life seen included two eels mating (thats kinda wild), many scorpion fish, several pairs of high-hats (juvenile drum fish, according to our dive leader), and an all-too-brief look at a manta.
The third dive on two days (6/19 and 6/24) was Punta Gordo, a small rock mound about mid-way between El Ocotal and the Catalinas. Its a nice dive site; my max depth was 68 but generally spent time at 50. There was modest current and surge, and a lot of life. Visibility here also was not great, in the 10-30 range, depending on depth. Some marine life were a huge school of grunts, a pair of harlequin clown shrimp, more high-hats and numerous eels, the latter including the fattest green moray that Ive ever seen and a zebra eel who gave a great full-body show for several minutes.
The Bat Islands are a 1.5-2 hour boat ride from El Ocotal. We dove at El Pedrillo/The Big Scare on 6/20 and 6/22, with the primary objective being to see the bull sharks. I didnt, though one diver reported seeing one briefly in the distance on the first day. There were 3 divers plus a DM on the first day, and 8 divers plus 2 DMs on the second. The surge was moderately heavy on both days, but more so on the 6/20. Visibility was only 15-30. The second Bat Island dive site (both days) was Black Rock; this site is supposed to be a great dive, with many large schools of fish and many types of life, but we had poor luck here. The surges were very bad, and visibility was 10-20 in most places. In fact, the highlights to the Bat Island trips were a sailfish jumping completely out of the water, perhaps 100 yards from the boat, and relatively smooth seas for the trips to and from.
There are dive sites close to the Ocotal Beach, but I found those to have even worse visibility (ie, 10-20). Depths are 50 or less. Tortugas is near the wreck of an old fishing boat. Mirador, where we saw an octopus and more Harlequin Shrimp, is near the Monkey Head Rock, as is the Turning Point.
NON-DIVING.
The Costa Ricans are a very nice people. We were treated in a courteous and friendly manner by everyone whom we met.
US dollars are accepted about everywhere. We changed some money to colones, but never had a problem using dollars. Take lots of $5s and $1s -- you'll use them constantly; it's difficult to use larger US bills if you'll need much change back.
El Ocotal Hotel is probably three star; the staff was very pleasant and helpful. The rooms are adequate, with the usual water pressure and temperature deficiencies. The hotel is a number of smallish buildings set on various levels of a hill overlooking the bay. We were on the second floor of building five, and had a great view of the bay; if in that building, get that floor, since the first floor view is mainly of a roof of another building. The hotel provides shuttles (small SUVs or pickups) from the dive shop to the rooms; you need these, since the climb is pretty severe.
The hotel dining room is very good and reasonably priced. Buffet breakfasts (included in the room price) were outstanding, with eggs and such cooked to order. Lunch and dinners also were good, notwithstanding the family of fearless raccoons that showed up regularly to scrounge and beg for goodies.
Its a $5 cab ride from El Ocotal into Cocos. There doesnt seem to be a lot in the town, but there are several restaurants, numerous gift shops and a casino in a hotel. Papagayo Seafood Restaurant is outstanding and incredibly inexpensive like, less than $20US for a great dinner for two; we ate there three nights, and were never disappointed.
If you plan to spend your time at the Gulf Of Papagayo, fly into Liberia. The drive from the airport to Ocotal is about thirty minutes, over decent roads, as compared to 4+ hours if driving from San Jose.
Buena Vista Lodge at Rincon de la Vieja is a resort/spa that also offers a Canopy Tour that is great fun. You also can get a volcano mud bath; I should, but won't, post the photo of my bride in her mud outfit. It is a 1.5 hour drive from El Ocotal; think "dirt and gravel ranch road" for the final 45 minutes or so.
Driving in CR is an adventure, and I would strongly recommend against a rent car if going north from San Jose. It is literally true that, on a good portion of Highway 1 between Liberia and San Jose, the drivers swerve all over both lanes of a two lane highway to avoid potholes. The roads leading to the Arenal Volcano from the north are narrow, winding, hilly, potholed and subject to washouts, and generally make for about an unpleasant drive as is imaginable.
The Tabacan Resort and Spa is near Arenal Volcano, and features hot springs that are heated by the volcano. The springs are fun. The volcano was cloud-covered, so we missed that. Prices here are higher than in other spots.
San Jose and environs are home to about 75% of the population. We enjoyed a good breakfast at the Grand Hotel, and a nice lunch at the adjacent Teatro Nacional. The several underground museums nearby are good the pre-Colombian Gold Museum is particularly interesting. There is a pedestrian-only street (Avenida Central?) that is, I guess, eight or ten blocks long, and has about every sort of store one would want. The MercadoCentral is an amazing, multilevel shopping place that has a flea market feel and features numerous booths that sell everything from parakeets to the usual tourist stuff. Prices for Costa Rican goods are very low. Purse and bag theft is a problem, and even the locals recommend keeping straps for bags and such across the chest.
The Machu Pichu Restaurant in San Jose is outstanding. And when the waiter says that something is spicy, believe him.
DIVING.
Ocotal Diving is part of the El Ocotal Hotel. It is a well-run operation, headed up by Sisenio. Sisenio and all of the DMs Liv, Ronald, Bari, Fernando, Edward, Felipe were conscientious, friendly and helpful. We always had at least one DM for each four or five divers. All DMs were good at pointing out marine life. The staff rinses your dive gear daily and stores it. Nitrox is available; I used it for the first time, and found that it really did lessen the exhaustion that had accompanied 3 dive per day sessions.
The four (I think) boats take a max of 10 divers each, and have shade and a head. Boats leave at 7-8:30am, depending on the dive sites; trips to Murcielagos (Bat) and Catalina Islands usually leave at 7-7:30, and return by 12-2pm.
The dive times were limited to 60 minutes or 700 PSI. Those limits did not pose a problem to me, particularly on days when the surge was heavy and diving was a lot more work. The DMs did allow divers within those limits to stay down when others ascended; in fact, Id say that the DMs were very flexible on bottom times.
I used a 5mm wetsuit, and was content with that. Water temps generally were 76-80 degrees, but we hit some spots that were very very cold. I recommend gloves, not so much for warmth as for protection from the rocks; theres virtually no coral to protect, the rocks are sharp, and the surge can be strong and unpredictable, so the gloves are very handy. Many divers wore hoods.
The Catalina Islands are a 45-60 minute boat ride from El Ocotal. We dove at the Wall/Shark Alley on 6/19 (4 divers plus 2 DMs), 6/21 (8 divers plus 2 DMs) and 6/24 (9 divers plus 2 DMs). On the first day, the surge was very heavy -- at least fifteen feet, and maybe more and visibility was 15-30 feet, at best. Deepest depth was 75-80' on all days, but most of the dives were spent at 50 or so. Visibility improved slightly on 6/21 and 6/24, and the surge was considerably less. As others have said, there is a huge amount of marine life here we saw whitetips every day at this site (one at least 8); other marine life seen included two eels mating (thats kinda wild), many scorpion fish, several pairs of high-hats (juvenile drum fish, according to our dive leader), and an all-too-brief look at a manta.
The third dive on two days (6/19 and 6/24) was Punta Gordo, a small rock mound about mid-way between El Ocotal and the Catalinas. Its a nice dive site; my max depth was 68 but generally spent time at 50. There was modest current and surge, and a lot of life. Visibility here also was not great, in the 10-30 range, depending on depth. Some marine life were a huge school of grunts, a pair of harlequin clown shrimp, more high-hats and numerous eels, the latter including the fattest green moray that Ive ever seen and a zebra eel who gave a great full-body show for several minutes.
The Bat Islands are a 1.5-2 hour boat ride from El Ocotal. We dove at El Pedrillo/The Big Scare on 6/20 and 6/22, with the primary objective being to see the bull sharks. I didnt, though one diver reported seeing one briefly in the distance on the first day. There were 3 divers plus a DM on the first day, and 8 divers plus 2 DMs on the second. The surge was moderately heavy on both days, but more so on the 6/20. Visibility was only 15-30. The second Bat Island dive site (both days) was Black Rock; this site is supposed to be a great dive, with many large schools of fish and many types of life, but we had poor luck here. The surges were very bad, and visibility was 10-20 in most places. In fact, the highlights to the Bat Island trips were a sailfish jumping completely out of the water, perhaps 100 yards from the boat, and relatively smooth seas for the trips to and from.
There are dive sites close to the Ocotal Beach, but I found those to have even worse visibility (ie, 10-20). Depths are 50 or less. Tortugas is near the wreck of an old fishing boat. Mirador, where we saw an octopus and more Harlequin Shrimp, is near the Monkey Head Rock, as is the Turning Point.
NON-DIVING.
The Costa Ricans are a very nice people. We were treated in a courteous and friendly manner by everyone whom we met.
US dollars are accepted about everywhere. We changed some money to colones, but never had a problem using dollars. Take lots of $5s and $1s -- you'll use them constantly; it's difficult to use larger US bills if you'll need much change back.
El Ocotal Hotel is probably three star; the staff was very pleasant and helpful. The rooms are adequate, with the usual water pressure and temperature deficiencies. The hotel is a number of smallish buildings set on various levels of a hill overlooking the bay. We were on the second floor of building five, and had a great view of the bay; if in that building, get that floor, since the first floor view is mainly of a roof of another building. The hotel provides shuttles (small SUVs or pickups) from the dive shop to the rooms; you need these, since the climb is pretty severe.
The hotel dining room is very good and reasonably priced. Buffet breakfasts (included in the room price) were outstanding, with eggs and such cooked to order. Lunch and dinners also were good, notwithstanding the family of fearless raccoons that showed up regularly to scrounge and beg for goodies.
Its a $5 cab ride from El Ocotal into Cocos. There doesnt seem to be a lot in the town, but there are several restaurants, numerous gift shops and a casino in a hotel. Papagayo Seafood Restaurant is outstanding and incredibly inexpensive like, less than $20US for a great dinner for two; we ate there three nights, and were never disappointed.
If you plan to spend your time at the Gulf Of Papagayo, fly into Liberia. The drive from the airport to Ocotal is about thirty minutes, over decent roads, as compared to 4+ hours if driving from San Jose.
Buena Vista Lodge at Rincon de la Vieja is a resort/spa that also offers a Canopy Tour that is great fun. You also can get a volcano mud bath; I should, but won't, post the photo of my bride in her mud outfit. It is a 1.5 hour drive from El Ocotal; think "dirt and gravel ranch road" for the final 45 minutes or so.
Driving in CR is an adventure, and I would strongly recommend against a rent car if going north from San Jose. It is literally true that, on a good portion of Highway 1 between Liberia and San Jose, the drivers swerve all over both lanes of a two lane highway to avoid potholes. The roads leading to the Arenal Volcano from the north are narrow, winding, hilly, potholed and subject to washouts, and generally make for about an unpleasant drive as is imaginable.
The Tabacan Resort and Spa is near Arenal Volcano, and features hot springs that are heated by the volcano. The springs are fun. The volcano was cloud-covered, so we missed that. Prices here are higher than in other spots.
San Jose and environs are home to about 75% of the population. We enjoyed a good breakfast at the Grand Hotel, and a nice lunch at the adjacent Teatro Nacional. The several underground museums nearby are good the pre-Colombian Gold Museum is particularly interesting. There is a pedestrian-only street (Avenida Central?) that is, I guess, eight or ten blocks long, and has about every sort of store one would want. The MercadoCentral is an amazing, multilevel shopping place that has a flea market feel and features numerous booths that sell everything from parakeets to the usual tourist stuff. Prices for Costa Rican goods are very low. Purse and bag theft is a problem, and even the locals recommend keeping straps for bags and such across the chest.
The Machu Pichu Restaurant in San Jose is outstanding. And when the waiter says that something is spicy, believe him.
