Costa Rica Dive Trip Report

[Tobagoman]

Just got back from Costa Rica this past weekend (October 14th, 2007).
It was a trying time for us (two couples) that were suppose to be on a Windjammer ship (Legacy), but the company had gone bottoms up and we were forced to enact plan B, which I had in the wings since I suspected the Legacy wasn't going to sail that week.

Anyway we were able to make some last minute plans using the same airline tickets that we orginally had and flew into San Jose's airport with Continental. We set up a well referenced driver with a comfortable van, Danny of Costa Rican Tours (his own company) http://www.costaricatourdriver.com. He met us promptly at the airport and had us on our way in no time. His new van was very comfortable and had no problem fitting the four of us with all our dive gear. He was very knowledgable about the country and kept us entertained the entire 4.5 hour (bad traffic on friday) trip to Playa del Coco.

At Playa del Coco we had booked a package with Martin and Brenda of Rich Coast Diving Rich Coast Diving - Costa Rica Diving and Adventure, staying at the Villa del Sol Hotel in two suites (which had kitchens).

RCD is on the main street in Playa del Coco and is a nice small shop that is PADI affiliated. The Hotel was very nice and clean and owned by a nice ex-Canadian named Serge. The rooms were comfortable and air-conditioned and were great for what we needed at that price. The hotel was about a mile walk from town, which was fine, and a few blocks from some grocery stores and restaurants (the Dolce Vida being a really good one).

continued on next post.....

 

[Tobagoman]

We had our first dive set up on Saturday morning and met at the shop around 7:30. Paul, one of the dive leaders, met us at the hotel to get our gear and us to the shop (something they don't normally do I think). Our dive leader for the dives was Bianca and she led us from the shop down to the beach where we waded out a few feet to board the panga which took us out to the converted sailboat (trimaran) which they use as a dive boat. It is not a fast boat, but the sites are near enough that it only takes minutes to get out to them. After the first day, we were able to meet up with them directly on the beach.

As for the diving, I am a bit biased as I had been at the Galapagos Islands earlier this year and it was still fresh in my mind. The sites are kind of baren of corals, with the exception of a few sites that have alot of hard coral growth. Also the bio-diversity is low, but the population densities are pretty high. On almost every dive I saw a number of Octopus, moray's and lots of fish. So it was good in that respect. The divers were oohing and aawing over the white tip reef sharks and spotted eagle rays, but they were kind of passe' to me and my wife after being in the Galapagos.

The visibility was ranging from 25 to 35 feet, and may have been affected by all the rain we were getting (this was the rainy season), it rained or was overcast most of the time we were there. Water temperatures ranged as low as 76 degrees F. to as high as 81 deg F and averaged around 79 on the bottom. A 5mm suit worked well for me in these conditions.

Continued ....

 

[Tobagoman]

We did do dives to both the Catalina Islands and to the Bat Islands, for the rest of the week, Paul was our dive leader. He was very good at what he does and fun to have around. For both RCD had to charter another boat (that was thankfully faster) to get us out to these islands.
On the way out to the Catalina's (a 45 minute trip) we had the pleasure of observing a mother and calf humpback whales jumping and playing close to the boat and while we were diving the whale songs accompanied us the entire way.

We didn't see anything special at the Catalina's except for a lone spotted eagle ray. The exit back onto the boat was really bad due to sea conditions (surge and large waves) and we were lucky that there was no real injuries trying to get back onto the platform (no ladder). For the second dive we went to a more protected area inshore from the Catalina's, which turned out to be one of the best dives of the trip. This was due to the small coral reef surrounding the submerged mount we were diving around.

The Bat islands the next day took us nearly 2 hours to get out to because of sea conditions. Again getting back on the boat was a herculian effort, but thankfully without major injury and again the diving wasn't any better than what we were seeing locally around Playa del Coco. Both of these sets of islands are kind of hit or miss with the big pelagics, so it was a crap shoot we lost.

RCD was very good at providing drinks (water or iced tea) and snacks after or between dives (cookies, fruit and sometimes chips and salsa) which was a nice touch. We only used our own gear, so I can't comment on their rental equipment, except when my wifes regulator had a problem and the spare they had worked fine.

continued later....

 

[Tobagoman]

I'll try to get some pictures posted later and edit them into this report.
The people at Playa del Coco treated us well. Most of the properties had bars over their windows and all the hotels had security guards and gates, but I personally never saw any crime or felt that there was a threat of it, but I am not the type of person that most criminals look at and want to mess with.

One day we booked a tour through Rich Coast with a company called Adventure Tours. It is located up in the jungle about an hour & 1/2 outside of PdC. We had to rent a car from PoAs car rental (yeah, I had fun with that name) which was also set up by RCD and drive up past Liberia onto this rutted, muddy road that took us up into the jungle covered mountains. We didn't really know much about this tour company except that Brenda highly recommended it.

Anyway, it was a blast. For $75.00 it included a 1.5 hour long zipline/repelling/cliff climbing (belaying) tour through the jungle trees, down into a river gorge and up the side of the river cliffs. It was fantastic, the best zip lining I have ever done. Then there was a 3 hour hourseback ride to several waterfalls in the jungle on ranch horses that actually had some spirit and responded to the reigns. Then there was a huge delicious buffet lunch and another horseback ride to a natural mud/hotspring spa. There was also suppose to be some whitewater tubbing down the Negro River, but because of all the rain and the highly swollen rivers, that was cancelled. But, all of that for $75 was a huge bargain and well worth it. Two thumbs way up!

 

[Tobagoman]

Getting back to the airport on Saturday was a chore. We had set it up with Danny for the round trip (his cost is usually $170.00 for the van load each way), but due to the heavy rains and mud slides closing the two routes across the mountains to Playa del Coco from San Jose, he couldn't get to us. Instead he called a friend who lives in PdC to pick us up that morning and take us to the airport. One of the roads had been opened by then, and we made the trip in just 3.5 hours. Danny checked on us the entire way. If you go to Costa Rica and need to hire a ride, you can't do better than Danny.

The flight home was messed up due to Continental's flight being delayed an hour which would of caused us to miss our connection in Houston and not get home that evening. Thankfully they knew in advance and were able to put us on a USAir flight out to get us home to BWI about the same time we would have gotten home on Continental.

So my overall synopsis of diving in Costa Rica. It can't hold a torch to diving in parts of the Caribbean or South Pacific, and is bleak compared to the Galapagos, but to be in Costa Rica which is beautiful and be able to dive some it is worth it. I think I would have done a few more land type adventures in lou of a couple of days of diving. If you like Octopus, eels and white tip reef sharks, you wont be disapointed here.

Rich Coast Diving treated us great, a very nicely run operation that ran smoothly. On a side note, Brenda has adopted a rescued Long Nose Bear (at least that is what I think it is called) that is the friendliest wild critter I have ever came across. I wanted one! Their prices were in line with all the other shops at Playa del Coco. Two thumbs up for Rich Coast Diving. (Hey Brenda, don't forget to send the shirt when you get to Florida)

The Villa del Sol hotel was very nice and I give it two thumbs up also, nice pool, nice roomy rooms and very clean.

Go to Costa Rica, the Rich Coast, you wont regret it!!!

 

[Rich Coast Diving]

Hey guys, wow what a long trip report, good eye for detail! I hope other divers find it useful. Thanks for the compliment and I am glad you guys had a good time. I know you received the T-shirt, ENJOY and show it off!! Haha.
Happy diving for your future travels.
Brenda