Dear Fellow Divers:
I’m sure they named it “Rainbow” for the colors: white
gorgonian coral; anemones from palest lemon to deepest
saffron; octopi turning pistachio green, then ice blue;
volcanic rock deepening from dark, rusty red to ebony. Of
course, I didn’t know that before I backrolled into the
water off Costa Rica’s Catalina Islands. I just bobbed
there like an apple in a bucket, waiting till all the
divers had splashed in. Steve, the dive instructor taking
out divers from Rich Coast Diving, led us in a languorous
descent through the 85° water, past the top of the wall at
40', through a thermocline at 70', and down into the
chillier 68° to 70° water. We stopped at 85', though the
wall itself stretched down past the limits of the 40'
visibility. At the base of some rocks, two 10' black tip
reef sharks lay on a sand patch. Since there was no coral
to damage, I stretched out on the rocks and watched them. They were motionless except for the occasional lazy
circle. After 5 minutes a colossal 12' southern stingray
swooped in, making a beeline for the sharks. It divebombed
the duo, slapping at them, then circled for another
pass. The big fellows never budged.
Continuing past the corner of a rocky point, a stronger
current pulled me past a stretch of rock garnished with
orange and yellow sea anemones. Nearby, an octopus spotted
me and flushed mint green. I moved again, and he darkened
to ice-blue before swimming off. In the distance, a murky
shape slowly came into focus: a 15' manta at 30', so slow
it reminded me of a big grazing cow. Steve used his octopus
to give its belly a bubble massage. It slowed, luxuriating
in the bubbles till Steve’s declining air finally
forced us to 15' for our safety stop.
Hardly sounds like a budget dive vacation,
does it? Yet this junket to Costa
Rica’s Playa del Coco, an inviting,
horseshoe-shaped bay pinched between two
rocky points, was a belt-tightening trip
on the cheap: a bare-bones, cold-water
room at the 6-unit Cabinas de Catarino
ran a measly $5.50 a day. It had the
basics, like clean sheets, ceiling fans,
and private bath, though the shower was a
pipe sticking out of the wall, the windows
empty squares that had never seen
glass, and the walls concrete blocks with
holes, backed by netting to keep out
bugs. For more dinero I could have had
some ambiance: rooms at Luna Tica and
Anexo Luna Tica, right on the beach, were
$8-12/night. They weren’t bad: hardwood
floors, walls all the same color, tile
baths, and hot water. Coughing up $30-$90
gets a/c, television, and a swimming pool
at Puerta del Sol and other Playa hotels.
Undercurrent subscribers with more upscale
tastes often bed at the El Ocotal
Beach Resort, just up the beach at Playa
Ocotal, which oozes all the luxury-resort
amenities from restaurants to nightclubs
to adventure and ecotour excursions.
Pinching pennies at dinnertime hardly
meant bread and water. I ate great seafood,
Italian, and Mexican nightly. A
true gourmet, Louisianian Bob Williams
is culinary artist-in-residence at
Papagayo Seafood, a local eatery where
$7 garnered me grilled yellowfin tuna
with pineapple-rum sauce, pesto pasta,
zucchini, and Caesar salad. Inexpensive
breakfasts were offered up and down the
main drag (or I should say the only drag, since the road you’ll take if you drive
or take the bus into town widens into the main street). At night there are a few
dance spots and lots of beachside bars for studying the sunset. While it’s helpful
to speak Spanish, English gets you by just fine, and Costa Rica’s so safe and
friendly that I never felt uncomfortable wandering back to my room at night.
The one place I wasn’t skimping was on diving. I did as much as I could
squeeze in with Carol and Skyler Chapman’s Rich Coast Diving, a first-rate operation
run by a couple whose dive history runs back past their underwater wedding. Jokes fly here, and there’s an informal, family atmosphere. Sunburnt Skyler has
blond hair, a blondish mustache, and a super-friendly disposition. Brown-haired,
blue-eyed Carol is just as outgoing. Dive instructors Steve and Keelie, a couple
of Victoria, B.C., expats in their early 20s, round out the staff. Steve’s serious
but lively (that black goatee gives him a dignified air), while Keelie’s
reserved and laid back. Most of the divemasters are locals, often former hookahdiving
fishermen who grew up on local sites. After years spent combing sites at
the end of an air hose and compressor, they know them like the back of their
hand.
I dove off the operation’s three boats: the comfortable 35' trimaran Tahonga, used
for both dive and sailing trips; the 21' fiberglass boat that seats 6 divers on two
side benches for the 20-minute runs to local sites; and a 25' fishing vessel they rent
for 1.5 hour trips to the Bat Islands or hour trips to the Catalinas. The smaller boat
doesn't have a head, and the Tahonga is the only boat with a ladder (although someone
was always ready to help me up on the others). None have camera dip tanks or tables.
Trips to the distant sites require a three-diver minimum, although they'll take two
provided they pay for a three-tank trip.
It’s a relaxed dive program. There’s no checkout dive, but one eye’s kept on new
divers till the divemaster sees they know their stuff. Most of my dives had a 100'
limit, but with mantas between 60 and 80', I didn’t go deeper during my dives, which
lasted up to an hour. Things ran on schedule, so I could squeeze 3-4 dives into a day
(I did 25 in 9 days). Though the water ranged between 70 and 88°, where we’d find what
temperature was anyone’s guess. I swam through scads of vertical and horizontal thermoclines
with serious temperature changes. Visibility varied with the thermoclines,
sometimes 100' and sometimes only 10, though 40-50' was average and there was often
better vis just a couple feet up or down. (Bring or rent a full-length suit; some dives
have hydroids in the first 10-20 feet, and the suit fends off the stingers.)
On the ride to the sites, Steve or the divemaster pointed out shore diving spots a
good swim past anchored fishing boats. Briefings were thorough, and divemasters were
always in the water enthusiastically finding critters. Computer users dove their own
profiles. On trips to local sites, snorkelers came along, and they’d be in the water
while we divers relaxed on the boat for
our surface intervals. Rich Coast also
makes separate snorkeling trips as
there’s good snorkeling around the
local sites.
My night dives were unimpressive
compared to my trips to Honduras or Cuba.
With few hard corals (no elkhorn, staghorn,
or brain coral), there aren’t many
daytime hiding places for night denizens.
Fish were fewer, though I saw octopus,
arrow crabs, and lobsters through the
bioluminescence. My only hassle with Rich
Coast stemmed from their broken compressor.
Tanks were being filled up the road
at Ocotal, so there weren’t spares lying
around for impromptu trips.
My dives on the Bats and Cats were top notch. At Viuda and Tetas on the Cats I
watched mating turtles on the surface, then savored the colorful, healthy corals clinging
to striking pinnacles and walls. At 50' I swam with mantas ranging from 10' wide to
25'+ giants so big my outstretched arms couldn’t span them eye to eye. The Arches’ 7'-
wide natural volcanic chimney looked like a silver waterfall with its large school of
grunts, while my dives at Shark Alley usually landed 5 to 10 resting black tips. The
Bats’ Big Scare was mostly volcanic rock scantily covered with corals and anemones.
Many small octopi and reef fish mingled with schools of rainbow runners, grunts, and
chainlink, snowflake, and green morays. But the highlight was lying on the bottom at
65' watching bull sharks. On each of my five dives here, I saw at least five 6-12
footers. Often a dozen swam together within 15' of me.
Yes, diving here is unpredictable, wild, and at times impaired by low visibility
and rough water. The Bats and Cats aren’t always accessible. Often it’s a hit or
miss situation, though summer is generally the calm, wet season, while winter’s dry and windy with rougher seas. If you hit it right you’re in for a diving treat.
And if you hit it wrong? Well, Costa Rica is an incredible ecotour destination.
The surfing, sailing, and snorkeling’s good at Playa del Coco, and Costa Rica’s
hot springs, volcanoes, and white-water rivers are only a couple hours away. If
you miss out underwater, you’re bound to score topside.
— P. G.
Diver’s Compass: Rich Coast Diving: 506-670-0176, 506-391-4980;
fax 506-670-0176; e-mail dive@richcoastdiving.com; website
www.richcoastdiving.com. El Ocotal Resort reservations: 506-
670-0321; fax 506-670-0083; e-mail elocotal@sol.racsa.co.cr;
website www.tourism.co.cr/hotels/ocotal/index.html. Rooms from
$62 US/std. room low season to $186 US/ocean suite peak season;
meals $25 US/day MAP; $52 US/day FAP; dive packages available.
Puerta del Sol: phone 506-670-0650; e-mail
hotelsol@racsa.co.cr; website www.lapuertadelsol.com...Delta and Continental have
direct flights into San Jose, 4 hours away by car, or take a commuter flight to
Liberia, 45 min. away...good side trip for trips to Malpelo or Cocos...c-cards
checked, log books not...aluminum 80s, 3000+ psi, Nitrox available...oxygen,
first-aid equipment on board...well-maintained rental equipment available, no
camera or video rentals, some repairs possible...E-6 processing in Liberia (45
min. drive), camera table in shop...air temps 85° day, 70° night...few
bugs...often moderate currents, some drift dives offered...air temps between 60°