After sleeping for nine hours last night, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. with my body’s batteries completely recharged. I started my day at Upstairs @ the Rip Jack restaurant, where I feasted on eggs, pancakes and fruit. (I really appreciate this egg/sugar combo. Normally pancakes don’t come with any type of protein, and I cannot justify ordering pure sugar for breakfast.)
As I was waiting, Gregory, Rip Jack Inn’s charming and knowledgeable manager, showed me a yoga series called the Five Tibetans. Between these new moves and the surf lesson I was about to have, …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Grande, Tamarindo »
Activities: Massage, Pacific Beaches, Surfing »
Today I was able to dive the legendary Catalina Islands for the second time with Aquacenter Dive Company. Our first immersion was at Roca Sucia, presumably named “Dirty Rock” because it is covered in bird droppings. Visibility was between 30 and 40 feet and in addition to the tropical species we spotted yesterday, we also observed an unbelievably large school of bigeye jack along with blunthead triggerfish, guinea fowl pufferfish, spotted porcupine fish and blennies.
However, the most amazing sighting of the day was not what we discovered underwater, but what we spotted from the boat …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Flamingo, Playa Grande »
Activities: Bird & Wildlife Watching, Massage, Pacific Beaches, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling »
This morning, I was thrilled to dive the Catalina Islands with Aquacenter Diving in Playa Flamingo. The Catalinas compose an archipelago of volcanic and sedimentary islands just a few miles offshore from Flamingo. Due to soft coral and fragile sea fans, these islands are normally, but not exclusively, reserved for intermediate to advanced divers who can navigate deep and drift dives (where divers are transported by tidal currents) without a problem. Today, visibility was decent – between 20 and 30 feet – and our hopes of seeing exceptional marine life were high.
A small speedboat …
Location: Gold Coast, North Pacific, Playa Brasilito, Playa Conchal, Playa Flamingo »
Activities: Horseback Riding, Scuba Diving and Snorkeling »
