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RODALES ARTICLES ARTICLES FROM RODALE´S SCUBA MAGAZINE Date: 2004-12-03

Ten Days In Costa Rica's Guanacaste Region and Arenal Volcano

by dentaldiver
Date: 2004-12-03
Location: Costa Rica

After reading numerous positive trip reports on this board about diving the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica, we decided to give Rolando Arburola of "CostaRicaDive" a shot for a ten day trip to explore the region. He, and the region came up with a very memorable experience, both topwater and underwater.

Upon the completion of the Morehead City, NC diving season, my wife and two other diving friends gave me the responsibility to arrange another dive trip to help extend the 2004 diving season. After much discussion, we decided to try something very much different from the usual Caribbean diving destinations that we were so familiar with. Being veterans of the 150+ foot visibilities of destinations like Cozumel , The Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos, the prospects of having average visibilities in the 30-50 foot range and varying water temps caused us to consider and reconsider the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. However, American Airlines was running a very enticing fare to Costa Rica and I gave it a second look. Based on positive reviews in Undercurrent’s Chapbook and several positive trip reports on this board, we all agreed to give the area a shot and we began to make the trip arrangements.

One particular trip report by mega11gator caught my eye Bolton family report. I made several email contacts with various trip organizers and travel agencies but the responses I kept getting from CostaRicaDive convinced me that Rolando Arburola had the most organized and varied trip itinerary. I thoroughly scoured his very informative website CostaRicaDive website and decided on a 9 day trip with diving as well as a few days in the Arenal area to see the volcano. He recommended the first part of the trip, which was to be devoted to diving for 6 days straight, would be spent at Ocotal Resort. We had seen many positive reports on this resort and felt quite comfortable with his recommendation. Upon completion of the diving, he would transfer us to the Arenal Observatory Lodge to spend our remaining three days to be devoted to hiking, rafting, and touring the rainforest. Everyone involved seemed comfortable with the plans so we sat and waited for Nov 5th to arrive.

TRAVELLING TO COSTA RICA

The original travel plans to leave on Friday Nov. 5th were scuttled by American Airlines when we were informed two weeks before departure that all Friday flights to Liberia, Costa Rica were discontinued and we would have to either fly on Thursday or Saturday. We decided to extend our trip one more day by flying Thursday and informed Rolando that we would like to add another day of diving at Ocotal Resort. When travel day arrived, all went well with our flights from Reagan National Airport to Miami and then on to Liberia, Costa Rica. We were greeted at the airport by a small minibus for the 40 minute transfer to Ocotal Resort. All went well at check-in and we were at the pool bar enjoying a sampling of the local concoctions, skillfully served up by the bartender Stewart, within two hours of touchdown in Costa Rica.

OCOTAL RESORT

El Ocotal Resort sits on a secluded parcel located in a sheltered area of the coast that is ringed with sheer rock outcroppings that are quite stunning as the waves gently caress the shoreline. The entrance is gated and there is a secondary guard station on the access road just before the rooms. Security was obviously taken seriously here. The grounds were very lush and manicured daily by a crew that seemed to work non-stop throughout the day. There are several types of rooms available, our room being in the 100 level of the resort closest to the dive shop. The rooms were very clean and nicely equipped with cable tv presenting mostly Spanish channels with a good mix of English news channels and the three major networks. The view out the back sliding doors was stunning as you could see the entire cove and several miles of deserted black sand beach. As couples, we were given adjacent rooms with a shared patio. The patio had two hammocks and a round table with chairs. We had a refrigerator, microwave, and sink in our room while the other room had no cooking facilities at all. Both rooms had a coffee maker, alarm clock, and telephone. The air conditioning in both rooms worked very well in the 90F+ afternoons we enjoyed at Ocotal.

The pool area was only a very few steps from our door. There is a swim-up bar and pool-side restaurant located near the dive shop which was less than 100 ft. from our room. The convenience of having everything right there cannot be overstated. The main restaurant is located about 300 yards up a very steep hill at the top of the property. Our diving package included a full American breakfast at that restaurant which would make that hill seem a little more bearable to walk every morning. During our stay, renovations to the poolside restaurant were being done, and they were not serving food. However, in order to accommodate their guests, food could be ordered at the bar and eaten poolside. Father Rooster’s Bar, just a five minute walk down the beach, had a very nice menu with most items being very reasonably priced. The folks at Father Rooster’s were a very accommodating bunch. Being from a small town near Pittsburgh, PA and having suffered through a few back to back losing seasons with the Steelers, we naturally assumed that our vacation, which was scheduled before the start of the season, would only take us away from watching two more losses, especially since they were playing the Eagles and Browns. To our surprise, the Steelers became the team to beat in the NFL after ending the historic Patriot winning streak at 21 games. The next game against the cross state rival Eagles was next and here we were, stuck in Costa Rica, and doubtful we would see the game. Along came Father Rooster’s to the rescue with a satellite feed of the game and a tailgate style buffet as we watched our Steelers trounce the Eagles for bragging rights in Pennsylvania.

The main restaurant at El Ocotal, although a little pricey for dinner, has a varied menu and a spectacular view from the patio. Breakfast was served every morning on the patio and included a buffet of American breakfast favorites like fried potatoes, bacon and sausage, pancakes, and omelets cooked to order. There were also local favorites like black beans and rice, fried plantains, and huevos rancheros. There were also renovations evident at the main restaurant with a new canopy being installed and a new tile floor in the main dining area.

LOCAL DINING

Although the food at the main restaurant at El Ocotal as well as Father Rooster’s was very good, we wanted some variety in our dining and for that, you must travel a short distance by cab ($5 US per cab one way) to Playa del Coco. This small fishing village on the coast is home to many amenities for the traveling diver. There is a bank, grocery store, casino, many small souvenir shops, as well as plenty of restaurants and bars to satisfy any hunger or thirst. Papagayo’s Seafood was our first stop where the food was delicious and plentiful, prices moderate, but service was very slow despite having only a few other patrons. The grilled mahi mahi with potato, vegetable, salad and bread came to just over $7 US and comes highly recommended by yours truly. Papagayo’s Pura Vida on the beach was a little less expensive but the food was equally good. One member of our party got the broiled seafood platter that was absolutely loaded with fish, shrimp, lobster, octopus, squid, and clams all for about $8 US. Our divemaster Ronaldo also recommended a local eatery called Melianesa (probably spelled wrong but just beyond the bank near the grocery store) which served very good food for dirt cheap prices. We did not get to try Soda Terista, but were told the food and prices were very good there as well.

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