I'm back and in one piece, or at least the piece that the bugs didn't chew off! Bug spray seemed to be nothing more than laughing gas to the little no-see-um's. I had a great time chilling out and throwing back cold ones at every opportunity and meeting new people, most of whom were from the DFW area. Did some inland adventures in the jungles of Buena Vista Park on the side of an active volcano and saw plenty of local wildlife like monkeys, colorful birds and a few toothy creatures that inhabit the banks of the local rivers and streams. The Costa Ricans, Ticos as they refer to themselves, were all very friendly and most speak some English, some speak it very good. English is taught in school there from an early age. We took our pocket guide to Spanish for those few occasions where the language barrier limited the conversation and we did just fine. They also accepted US greenbacks in place of local currency and conversion between the two was never a problem. Everywhere we went shopping the vendors had calculators that made the conversion a simple process. The country is one of the worlds oldest democracies and has strong ties with the USA. Many Americans have landed there either in retirement or as their home away from home. All the dive shops that I corresponded with prior to our trip were all owned by Americans and used locals as either deck hands or dive masters.
Sandi and I did 2 days of 2 tank diving on the other side of the bay from our resort and can say all in all it was a great experience. We rented a car and drove over to the dive shop (Deep Blue Diving Adventures) located in a small sheltered tourist oriented fishing village called Playas Del Coco (AKA - Coco Beach). The roads there were not up to our standards but we did not have problems getting around. Just be sure to dodge the potholes. Diving visibility was limited to 20-30 ft. due to all the plankton in the water and somewhat overcast days since we were there during the rainy season. It's the plankton that is the draw for the bigger critters that pass through this area at different times of the year. Although we did not get out to the deeper waters where they congregate and feed it is possible to dive within an hour or so from Coco and see Humpback Whales, Manta Rays, and Whale Sharks. These seem to be the big three that bring divers from all over to visit the area.
We stayed in the bay and did the local dives spots which for us beginners was plenty fine. The locals we dove with really knew where to look and what to look for at just the right time and in just the right places. We of course tipped them appropriately for their experience and fun factor they provided. I think they were grinning more than we were on each dive!
What we did see were some Sea Turtles, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Morray, Zebra, Tiger and Jewel Eels, Devil, Spotted, and Sting Rays, Octopus, Puffer fish, large schools of Jack fish and countless other creepy crawlers and colorful fish from 1in. to 2+ ft. in size. Hammerhead and Bull sharks also make this area home but we did not run across any that I could see on our dives. Our deepest dive was to 80' where we saw the Whitetips and Devil Rays. Our longest dive was right at 60 minutes in 30-40 ft. My funnest dive was a wreck dive on a 55 ft. fishing trawler on a sandy slope near some rocks in 60-70 ft.. I brought an underwater light so I could look inside and see what was lurking in the shadows. Besides a whole ecosystem that had taken up residence we found a HUGE Morray eel that had staked out his territory in the front section of the wreck. No exaggeration, this guy was as big around as my waist and at least 6 ft. long from what I could see of it. Even the dive master was shaking his head in disbelief when I shined the light on it. I also took an underwater disposable camera, no flash, and have the film in for developing so I hope that at least a few of the pictures come out.
The gear I bought before the trip, BC, Reg., and computer worked like I champ, no problems. It all fit perfect and felt comfortable and gave me confidence to go deeper or stay longer if I needed to or could have. I had troubles with my mask leaking when we did the practice dive at Clear Springs the week before so I trimmed up the mustache a little under the nose and added a dollop of silicone grease and problem solved, no more leaking mask.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you the low down on my perspective of our Costa Rica trip last week.
SeaHunt
Sandi and I did 2 days of 2 tank diving on the other side of the bay from our resort and can say all in all it was a great experience. We rented a car and drove over to the dive shop (Deep Blue Diving Adventures) located in a small sheltered tourist oriented fishing village called Playas Del Coco (AKA - Coco Beach). The roads there were not up to our standards but we did not have problems getting around. Just be sure to dodge the potholes. Diving visibility was limited to 20-30 ft. due to all the plankton in the water and somewhat overcast days since we were there during the rainy season. It's the plankton that is the draw for the bigger critters that pass through this area at different times of the year. Although we did not get out to the deeper waters where they congregate and feed it is possible to dive within an hour or so from Coco and see Humpback Whales, Manta Rays, and Whale Sharks. These seem to be the big three that bring divers from all over to visit the area.
We stayed in the bay and did the local dives spots which for us beginners was plenty fine. The locals we dove with really knew where to look and what to look for at just the right time and in just the right places. We of course tipped them appropriately for their experience and fun factor they provided. I think they were grinning more than we were on each dive!
What we did see were some Sea Turtles, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Morray, Zebra, Tiger and Jewel Eels, Devil, Spotted, and Sting Rays, Octopus, Puffer fish, large schools of Jack fish and countless other creepy crawlers and colorful fish from 1in. to 2+ ft. in size. Hammerhead and Bull sharks also make this area home but we did not run across any that I could see on our dives. Our deepest dive was to 80' where we saw the Whitetips and Devil Rays. Our longest dive was right at 60 minutes in 30-40 ft. My funnest dive was a wreck dive on a 55 ft. fishing trawler on a sandy slope near some rocks in 60-70 ft.. I brought an underwater light so I could look inside and see what was lurking in the shadows. Besides a whole ecosystem that had taken up residence we found a HUGE Morray eel that had staked out his territory in the front section of the wreck. No exaggeration, this guy was as big around as my waist and at least 6 ft. long from what I could see of it. Even the dive master was shaking his head in disbelief when I shined the light on it. I also took an underwater disposable camera, no flash, and have the film in for developing so I hope that at least a few of the pictures come out.
The gear I bought before the trip, BC, Reg., and computer worked like I champ, no problems. It all fit perfect and felt comfortable and gave me confidence to go deeper or stay longer if I needed to or could have. I had troubles with my mask leaking when we did the practice dive at Clear Springs the week before so I trimmed up the mustache a little under the nose and added a dollop of silicone grease and problem solved, no more leaking mask.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you the low down on my perspective of our Costa Rica trip last week.
SeaHunt
