The next dive trip I took was
to Costa Rica. I went in March, the dry season. After landing in
San Jose I took a four hour bus ride to the northern province of
Guanacasta. I stayed at El
Ocotal -a beautiful resort with a PADI facility right on the
premises. The trip was necessary then, but I understand a new
international airport is being built near a town called Liberia.
This would eliminate the need for the long bus ride for future
travelers. Costa Rica is beautiful and I did a lot more there
than dive. But I won't deal with its various other
attractions-check out the web for various sites.
Most of the diving in Costa Rica is off the Pacific Coast. One
of the reasons I choose Costa Rica was because of its reputations
for large 
pelagic
encounters and it didn't disappoint. The underwater beauty of
coral reefs is missing here, but Costa Rica more than makes up
for this with its abundant and varied fish life. Fish here are
big, colourful and they travel in large schools. Visibility
varies greatly and some days it was absolutely lousy, while
others exceeded 70 feet. But the encounters where amazing.
All diving was boat diving. Every day my dive buddy Mike and I were followed by a large school of dolphins who chased the boat with a great deal of energy. We encountered large southern stingrays, impressive green morays and huge parrot fish One day in particular stands out. While waiting for a dive off Catalina Island, we spotted a couple of jumping manta rays. Soon our attention was diverted, and the boat was off chasing a humpback whale-even the boat captain was excited. When we finally got into the water, we happened upon a school of three hundred plus eagle rays---absolutely awesome. I barely had time to recover from that encounter when the sun suddenly disappeared. Overhead a school of huge jacks numbering in the thousands had blocked the sunlight. On our next dive we encountered a couple of 11 foot white tips and of course the dolphins followed us back home. The next day my dive buddy came face to face with three bull sharks at Bat Island. All of this more than made up for the occasional lousy visibility. If you get a chance go to Costa Rica--you won't be disappointed. To find out even more about diving in Costa Rica click HERE.
Any Comments? E-Mail Me At: divers_log@hotmail.com
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