Drake Bay Costa Rica?

[c-dog]

Helllo,

I'm going to Costa Rica in the begining of April. I'm thinking about doing a couple of
dives in the Drake Bay area. My wife is new to diving. I've heard reports of limited vis
and strong currents. Would anyone who has been to this area like to share a report?

Thanks

[Scuba65]

I haven't dove there yet. next yr. but, i know that the currents are strong in that area. My cousin has dove there a few times and he say's it's really beautiful but the currents can be strong..specially for a newbie diver..not recommended.

[cyklon_300]

You'll most likely be diving at Isla Cano. We didn't encounter any significant currents during our dives there. We observed a fair amount of wildlife at Bajo del Diablo (which is really the only decent dive site IMO)...whitetips, bullsharks, sea snakes, large snapper, mobula, and a giant manta. We also got to see a humpback whale and calf at the surface.

Diving was limited to 2 tanks/day. A morning dive, SI on the beach at Cano, and then an afternoon dive. Vis was not spectacular, but ranged from 25-50'.

There are hiking trails on the island that lead to some fairly spectacular views. There were other tourists there who usually had spirited games of frisbee and volleyball going.

Another cool sight was the thousands of hermit crabs that showed up anytime food was pulled out...

[c-dog]

Thanks for the info.
We will probally go for at least one day of diving while we are down there.

Who did you dive with cyklon_300?
How where the boats and equiptment? And what the heck is a mobula?

Thanks again

[cyklon_300]

Jinetes de Osa, run by the Chavez Bros. from Colorado. We had our own gear so can't speak to the quality of rental stuff. The open boat was very basic and had an outboard motor, took about 45-50 min to get to Cano each day.

A mobula is a type of ray...

http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=batoids/extant/mobula_spp.html&menu=bin/menu_batoid-alt.html

[c-dog]

Just returned from our trip to Costa Rica.

We spent one week in the country and had a great time. We only dove I day. We spent the first part of the week near the Arenal Volcano and did some hiking, a canopy tour and the hot springs. Then we flew to Drake Bay and stayed at Jinetes de Osa. We dove the Shipwreck and Devils Pinnicales around Cano Island. We had about 40' of vis and saw loads of snapper and jacks, some white tip reef sharks, rays and eels. The water was about 70F on the bottom and the current was minimal. We enjoyed our dives very much. We also enjoyed our hike through the Corcovado Rainforest.

Thanks for the info.

[cjames]

Spent a week at Aquilla de Osa and dove Cano Island a bunch. Great visibility and tons of black tip reef sharks. The current was never bad. We had some surge one day but that was manageable. Also did Corcovado park which was awsome.