Tamarindo

Scuba Diving in Costa Rica (w/pics)

~ Steven A. Melnick ~ 1 Comment

I spent part of my time here in Costa Rica SCUBA diving. When I started talking about getting certified to SCUBA dive, my wife was less than enthused. She said something to the effect of, “Are you nuts? You’re going to be 70 years old in a couple of years.” I said, “I hate to break the news, but I’m going to be 70 years old in a couple of years whether I SCUBA dive or not !” I was extremely careful about seeing our family doctor and every medical specialist I routinely see to make sure they saw no issues. They proclaimed me a picture of health. I did not see my dentist (sorry, Hugh). All gave me the green light health-wise and saw no reason I couldn’t SCUBA dive. So…

I did the online classroom work and the initial pool classes/dives back Virginia in September. I did the required four open water dives in West Palm Beach, Florida at the Blue Heron Bridge to complete my PADI Open Water Diver Certification under the watchful eyes of Donna and Dick Barret, certified instructors, and received my PADI Open Water card. But since I was coming to Costa Rica anyway to escape the colder north, I decided to bring my dive gear along and made arrangements to complete the Advanaced Open Water dives here in the warmer waters of the Pacific. As before, I did the classroom requirements online, provided the statements from my doctors, and off we went into the Pacific Ocean with Rich Coast Diving in Playas del Coco under the watchful eye of Samantha Waters, instructor extraordinaire. I learned so much from Donna, Dick and Samantha and will be forever grateful for their guidance and patience.

The Advanced Open Water consists of five required dives which I explained in a previous post (Underwater Navigation, Deep Dive–100 feet), and three electives. I’ve always been a water rat and SCUBA was an itch I had to scratch before I reached the point in life where I had to dive using a walker !!!

I took a few pictures during one of the elective dives (Underwater Digital Photography) and I have much yet to learn about taking good pictures underwater. Totally different circumstances for good shots underwater than on dry land. My dive buddy, George Kieffer, and my instructor (Samantha) also took some photos with my camera. So, make no mistake, the good shots were taken by them !

Here’s a few pictures to give you a taste of my dives. Surprisingly, because it was very windy, the visibility was only about 15-20 feet. Also, the area we were diving in is volcanic so much of the background is volcanic black rock instead of colorful coral reefs. Nonetheless, I learned a lot, met new people from around the world (England, Germany, and Los Angeles–that’s a different country, right?) and had a ball.

I will be diving again in the Bahamas in April and will spend nine days in Cozumel in May with two dives a day from the boat and unlimited shore dives (i.e., waddle into the water like a penguin from shore).

Enjoy the pics … going from left to right, that’s me, me ascending from the depths, a puffer fish with me way in the background, a less than friendly eel that wasn’t too happy to see us, sea urchins, and a round ray lying in wait.

Hotel In The Shade — Tamarindo, Costa Rica

~ Steven A. Melnick ~ 2 Comments

Right now, I am spending the month of February in Tamarindo, Costa Rica — mostly to get away from winter but also to complete the required SCUBA dives for my PADI Advanced Open Water certification. I have completed six dives over three days at Playas del Coco last week (about an hour from Tamarindo). Two required dives are (1) Deep Dive of 100 feet (think Marianas Trench) and (2) Underwater Navigation (just you, a compass, and the fishies — along with your dive buddy and instructor, of course). Elective dives included (3) Underwater Digital Photography, (4) Advanced Buoyancy Control, and (5 and 6) Search and Recovery. The staff and instructors at Rich Coast Diving in Playas del Coco were extraordinary. Highly skilled and very safety conscious. It was a very pleasant experience and I added another “notch” to my PADI certification belt.

The gem at the heart of my month-long stay, however, is finding the Hotel In The Shade in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. A boutique hotel with 16 rooms, it is new, clean, and safe (walled in, combination lock on the gates) and is within walking distance of virtually everything. The pool you see in the picture above has just been constructed this year and is a wonderful place to cool off after a hot day of walking downtown and on the beautiful beach. Dennis does an outstanding job of maintaining the pool along with his other duties.

The staff at the hotel are amazing. The manager, assistant manager, and receptionist (Vanina, Oriana, and Anna), the breakfast cooks (Benél and Greggorio), the house maids (Yahaira and Lisbeth), and the maintenance man (Dennis) are the most pleasant and accommodating group you could hope to find. The owner (Viktor) has assembled a fine team of people who are warm, friendly, professional and very customer service oriented. I am enjoying my stay in Tamarindo in no small measure due to the very pleasant interactions with the staff.

The hotel is in a quiet and safe area of Tamarindo away from all the commotion of the party crowd downtown. With three nice restaurants right next door, you barely need to the leave the immediate area except for the walks on the beach. Peace and tranquility abound. It is the perfect place to write, edit some audio files for my latest audiobook narration, and simply chill out away from the winter cold.

One of the unexpected side benefits has been the variety of guests who have come and gone during my stay so far. Naturally, folks from the USA and Canada comprise a large portion, however, I have met and talked with people from Germany, The Netherlands, Estonia, Venezuela, El Salvador, England, and Columbia to name just a few. It is truly a cosmopolitan group and has been a pleasure to learn some of their stories.

I recommend it highly !!!