Here is a quick thought of all the things we experienced while in Costa Rica:
Day 1: Sunday, July 20, 2008 6:30am arrival after an all night "red eye" flight. Followed by a 4 hour drive to Playas del Coco in the northwest corner of the country. The rental car process took an hour, so we didn't get in until noon. Nap. Spent the evening getting to know Dave, Jeff, Leidy, Jackie. Watched the sunset at Playas del Coco. Ate ice cream, watched monkeys, crashed for the night after a mild rocking from an earthquake. Beautiful country, not like anything I have ever seen. It is like a combination of the tropics and mountains, amazing.
Day 2: 8:00am start for our two tank "local dive". We saw fish, turtle, eels, octopus, sharks, wreck, eagle ray, hermit crabs (on decompression break), ate pineapple and sugar cookies. If any body ever claims Costa Rica diving is substandard, have them come talk to me, I will knock some sense into them. Good enough to go back tomorrow for an unscheduled dive. Came home around lunch, chilled in the glorious tropical heat. Spent the evening in a community party.
Day 3: 8:00am start for our Catalina's Island two tank dive. More cliffs and valleys on this dive, less wild life. The currents were swift so we met the boat hundreds of meters from where it dropped us off. Current diving is a must as it is a very unique experience. Another day of great diving. Late lunch at the local restaurant was a delicious rice and beans with mixed seafood. Evening included Margaritas with Dave and an incredible $20 massage.
Day 1: Sunday, July 20, 2008 6:30am arrival after an all night "red eye" flight. Followed by a 4 hour drive to Playas del Coco in the northwest corner of the country. The rental car process took an hour, so we didn't get in until noon. Nap. Spent the evening getting to know Dave, Jeff, Leidy, Jackie. Watched the sunset at Playas del Coco. Ate ice cream, watched monkeys, crashed for the night after a mild rocking from an earthquake. Beautiful country, not like anything I have ever seen. It is like a combination of the tropics and mountains, amazing.
Day 2: 8:00am start for our two tank "local dive". We saw fish, turtle, eels, octopus, sharks, wreck, eagle ray, hermit crabs (on decompression break), ate pineapple and sugar cookies. If any body ever claims Costa Rica diving is substandard, have them come talk to me, I will knock some sense into them. Good enough to go back tomorrow for an unscheduled dive. Came home around lunch, chilled in the glorious tropical heat. Spent the evening in a community party.
Day 3: 8:00am start for our Catalina's Island two tank dive. More cliffs and valleys on this dive, less wild life. The currents were swift so we met the boat hundreds of meters from where it dropped us off. Current diving is a must as it is a very unique experience. Another day of great diving. Late lunch at the local restaurant was a delicious rice and beans with mixed seafood. Evening included Margaritas with Dave and an incredible $20 massage.
Day 4: Wednesday: Arenal Volcano: After a 4 hour drive to the volcano, we got a splendid view of a live and active volcano. The photos should speak for themselves. Following the volcano hike, we ate more rice and beans, and completed the evening with a night at the hot springs. There was a waterslide. Holy Crap was it fast. After an unpleasant rearranging of my testicles and right eyeball (Two different occasions from the sudden stop at the end of the slide when we hit the water) I decided to quit the crazy stuff. Note: Kaiser medical care thousands of miles away...
Day 5: Thursday: Boat trip to the beach and George deep sea diving. Nice beach. This was followed by a trip into town for cash, time in the market, and another dose of margaritas with Dave at the bar. We wrapped up the evening watching the sunset over the ocean and had another nice stroll through the town. Fed a hungry dog and basically wandered around. Followed up our walk with another community party eating shrimp, cervece (eating the Mahi Mahi that George caught on the boat trip), and chicken. Scrumptious.
Day 6: Our last day in Playas del Coco. Started with possibly the best excursion of the trip, canopy tour/zip line. Outside of a mild head injury for Irene, this was incredible. High speeds at high altitude in the jungle. Ask me about superman... This excursion was followed up by another trip to the market for ice cream. Then we went to the "bull fight" at the celebration of independence from Guatemala. Very interesting experience to see the locals rooting for the bull as the stupid gringos ran around testing their manlihood in the ring. It was like watching a car race hoping for a wreck. (See medical note above).
Day 7: The commute back to San Jose was an adventure all in itself. A two lane highway for hundreds of miles. Not a big deal you say? It is the only highway across the western portion of the country meaning a high volume of trucks hauling from the northern ports into San Jose. That paired with mountainous terrain and the speeds could drop into the 10 - 20 mph range. Since it is only two lanes, it wasn't uncommon to count a line of 100+ cars backed up behind a slow moving truck. Cars were passing recklessly on the left and we almost observed dozens of head on collisions. On the right we must have been passed by 50 motorcycles driving on the shoulder. Here is the trick, the shoulder would often disappear randomly into a cliff or wall of rock with little or no notice as the road was often very narrow. Harrowing... No wonder the car accident fatality rate is one of the highest in the world. You have to see it to believe it. Note: See medical care above.
