We just returned from Ocotal and had a less than spectacular time which might be weighed against the glowing reports in this thread.
My Boyfriend and I were in Costa Rica for two weeks beginning Jan 10th and returning Jan 24th. We stayed at the Ocotal Resort from Jan 16th through the 23rd down in the rooms by the beach. Other then the fact that the walls were pretty thin, I thought the rooms were just fine. Sure, some critters made there way inside but not too many and to tell you the truth - it was way too hot not to have the air on and the windows closed so maybe that is how I emerged unscathed from the bug bite issue.
I dove for seven straight days, five of them with the Ocotal Resort Dive shop and two with Aquacenter in Flamingo so will review both as there were pros and cons all around.
Aquacenter dive shop was great - they took us to Catalina which is a lot closer to Flamingo then to Ocotal and we had decent dives - seeing white tip, nurse and sand (?) sharks along with a lot of sting rays and some devil rays - no Mantas though (and all I heard the entire vacation was "we were sorounded by mantas just two days ago") - I was a bit dissapointed but the visibility was good on both days - about 30-40 feet and I enjoyed myself. The cons to this dive shop is that they don't pamper you in a big way. Its hard to describe, but on the second day we had to basically get ourselves out of the water with little help which I am not happy with - Scuba gear is soooo heavy lol.
Ocotal Dive Shop - They pampered the hell out of us when we were diving, but back at the dive shop was a different story. The divemasters (especially Fernando) were great and they made sure that those of us who suck air like crazy got to the surface and on the boat in a safe way. The diving was decent but the other action was amazing. On Sunday, Jan 18th (?) three humpback whales surfaced withing ten feet of the boat - I actually stood on the bow and watched one of them emerge from beneath us. I swear, the sight was worth the whole trip. We all went completely crazy and my boyfirend took a whole role of film while they gave us a show for several minutes. A couple of days later on the way out to a dive we hear the call "Whale Shark!!! Get your snorkling gear on now!" We all scrambled into our stuff and jumped overboard to swim alongside a 30 foot whale shark - unfortunately for me, I am a slow swimmer. One of the men swam alongside the shark for a couple of minutes. As I said - the divemasters were great - they saw more on the surface and below then any I've been with before. I wanted an Octopus before I left and Jesus, great divemaster number two found me one on my last day - it was awesome. Back at the dive shop - the people who ran that side of the business were not as hot. They tried to charge me for an extra day of diving and were very disorganized about arranging a trip to Catalina (so we went with the other outfit for that) - it seemed that they kept scheduling a Catalina dive everyday we weren't going out. It was frustrating.
We drove from San Jose - in this area you do need a car, but the mountains and the beaches were incredible. The resort was decent, and the town of Coco was charming and full of reasonable eateries. One thing I found in Costa Rica - you can eat cheap.
I just wanted to point out that different people have varied perspectives of the same place. I would go back to Ocotal in a minute. I loved the setting and the people.
As for the rafting part of this line of thought - spent two days rafting the Pacuare - most intense rafting experience of my life. If you are adventurous - its amazing, but not for the faint of heart. We lost at least one person on eat major rapid (of cours we dragged them back in) and I went overboard on one of them myself - it was a blast and a bit dangerous. I loved it and recomend it. I used the Rios Tropicales group and did the two day trip.
If anyone has any questions - feel free to drop me a note - I have more info and pictures both above and below the water are being processed now if anyone is interested. I am just tired of typing.
Back in Michigan again - from 80 degrees to 5 degrees and back to work - oh well, got to pay for the next trip!!
Julie
