19 replies to this topic

[damselfish]

Thanks everyone! Yes I'd rather have a bad day of diving than a good day at work anytime. I'll check it out, sounds like it would be worth dragging my dive gear along even though my gear bag keeps getting bigger and bigger! ~ D

[SeaSeeker]

After I posted, I clicked on the link in ScubaDad's post above to check it out - only to realize it takes you to deep blue diving's web site. Total coincidence.

If you talk to Oliver and Franziska and the gang, tell them I said hi.

ciao,
Tammie

Is Billy and Teresa still there? They were the owners when I was there... They were friends of one of the guys who worked for me...

Hi Scuba_Dad,
When I was there in March of 2008 Oliver and Franziska (German expats) owned and operated deep blue diving. Lenin and Isaac were their boat captains on the Lady Blue and Mar Y Sol, and Jairo was there head dive master and instructor.

Perhaps Oliver and Franziska bought it from Billy and Teresa? How long ago were you there?

ciao,
Tammie

Edited by SeaSeeker, 29 January 2009 - 10:54 PM.

[Scuba_Dad]

After I posted, I clicked on the link in ScubaDad's post above to check it out - only to realize it takes you to deep blue diving's web site. Total coincidence.

If you talk to Oliver and Franziska and the gang, tell them I said hi.

ciao,
Tammie

Is Billy and Teresa still there? They were the owners when I was there... They were friends of one of the guys who worked for me...

Hi Scuba_Dad,
When I was there in March of 2009 Oliver and Franziska (German expats) owned and operated deep blue diving. Lenin and Isaac were their boat captains on the Lady Blue and Mar Y Sol, and Jairo was there head dive master and instructor.

Perhaps Oliver and Franziska bought it from Billy and Teresa? How long ago were you there?

ciao,
Tammie

Wow! It was June 2004. Time flies way too fast....

Al

[pinkladydi]

I dove Ocotal on 2 seperate trips right after 9/11 & stayed there also the boat diving was great , forget any night or beach dives, both dissapointing
but on my 1st dive we decended into a school of GOLDEN COW-NOSED RAYS it was awsome
the sea life is larger than Fl or the Carib. and there are more schools of fish & the fish are larger, actually you rarely see small fish in CR, mating sea turtes on the surface, frog-fish and pacific rays that are enourmous
So if you decide not to go you can go to Manzanillo instead "www.gomanzanillo.com "Visit this Website

[rarnoldreit]

I got my Padi OW certification in Dominical (essentially a surf and dive town on the South Pacific side) this summer at a place in called Costa Rica Dive and Surf. Geat place, very good instructors, very laid back. The website for anyone interested in checking it out is: www.costaricadiveandsurf.com. If you do a google search you find plenty of options to choose from on both the Pacific and Carribean sides. I will be heading back there next summer. Kind of easy since my sis-in-law lives in Uvita which is just south of Dominical.

Costa Rica has a lot of great diving. Others have added posts for some Carribean site so I'll make a pitch for the Pacific. Cano is touted as a world class dive site. The week I arrived some a group from the dive school spotted humback whales, dolphins, shark, sea turtles, etc. Even when diving in Playa Dominical I swam with a school of Damsel fish and saw shark, sea turtle, beautiful coral formatins, etc.

Here's the url for one of many video clips (running time 6 minutes +) that you can find on YouTube. Check it out. It'll give you a great feel for what to expect if you dive there: . Here are a couple of others, including one with dolphin and whales seen off Drake Bay: : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJMxKQxdz6s; and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nNMbFUqKeA.

The great thing about Costa Rica is that there is so much stuff to do to do when not diving. Great place to take an non-diving significant other or for a a family vactions. Great ziplines all over the country, lush jungles, mountains, an active volcano, an incredible array of animal life--several varieties of monkeys, crocs and caiman, green iquana, a couple of types beautiful but deadly poison dart frogs, sloth, great surf and off-shore fishing, horseback rides up Nacuya Falls, and so on. You also can visit an active volcano, take cheap Spanish schools while attending dive school, kayak through mangrove roots in a jungle river or through cavens, take surf lessons or just surf with locals and surfers from all over the world, take up world class birding with guides and international birders, take all manner of hiking trips with local guides (a guide took my son and I to camp overnight in the jungle where we went on a late night expedition to explore nocturnal jungle life), etc. Well, you get the drift. And probably the best thing of all are Costa Ricans and their style of life which is known as "Pura Vida" (the pure life). Among the kindest people on earth which I say having seen many places around the world.

If you have ever considered visiting CR to dive or otherwise, I highly highly recommend it.