It's SNUBA, Not SCUBA!

When we got SCUBA certified a couple of years ago, I thought that we would be diving at least once a year.  The Kids had other ideas.  They are too young to dive with us (the minimum age for junior open water certification is 10 years old), and we can't just leave them in the hotel room.  Thus, we're left listening to other people's tales of diving.

When planning this trip, we came across some good reviews about an activity called SNUBA diving.  It's a cross between SCUBA and snorkeling.  Breathing is done through a regulator, not a snorkel.  However, instead of wearing a tank on your back, the regulator is connected to a 20 foot air hose that is attached to a tank inside a towed float.  Two people share one tank, so each dive usually lasts about 30 to 40 minutes.  With this method, SNUBA divers can stay down further than snorkelers.  With the 20 foot limit, there is no need to worry about safety stops or accidentally descending too deep.  If there is a problem or somebody freaks out, it only takes a few seconds to swim to the surface.  Most importantly though, our kids fit the age limit to go SNUBA diving.  When I showed The Boy a YouTube video for SNUBA, he exclaimed "I REALLY want to do that."

We drove to Playa Flamingo for our 7:45 AM meeting with the SNUBA-Costa Rica folks.  We were met by the two owners Mike and Paula.  Mike is a guy from land-locked North Dakota who ended up in Costa Rica for the last three years after doing a stint in the Army.  Paula is a Tico from San Jose who enjoys diving.  They started the SNUBA company about a year ago.  Although the technology has existed for about twenty years, there were no other SNUBA operators in Costa Rica.

With their relatively new operation, SNUBA-Costa Rica does not have their own boat.  They rent space with other dive boats.  We would be piggybacking on a boat from the Brindisi Group.  They were taking a group of about five SCUBA divers out to Catalina Island.  I spoke with one of the other guests on the boat.  He told me that he has done about 320 dives all over the world and seen about every underwater critter around.  However, each dive was always a new experience.  Somehow, the subject of sharks came up.  Right away, I could tell that The Girl was starting to get afraid.  We all tried to calm her by explaining how most sharks are benign and how lucky we would be to even be able to spot one in such shallow waters.  However, I could sense that her fear did not fully abate.

The Catalina Islands are really just big rocks, not inhabitable tracts of land.

The boat ride to Catalina Island took about 30 minutes.  During the ride, Mike explained all of the safety rules with The Kids.  He also showed them the different signals he would use to point out any underwater creatures.  

Mike makes the sign for shark.

The sign for rabbit?

After we were done, the boat's friendly first mate suggested that The Kids may want to drive the boat.  He led them to the captain's chair and they got to steer for a few minutes.  They had a tough time keeping the boat going in a straight line.  

If the captain had let The Kids continue to steer...

...it would have taken us a day to get to our destination.

While we were up there, the eagle-eyed first mate pointed out a manta ray jumping out of the water and the water spout from a whale.  They must have been pretty far away because I couldn't see anything.  While The Kids sailed the boat, the staff prepared all of the gear.

Paula readies the regulators which are connected to air hoses.

The SNUBA floats can carry a tank and support up to two adults.

We were fitted with the proper-sized masks, fins, and weight belts.  

Too many weights and The Boy would
have a quick ride to Davy Jone's Locker.

The Girl tries to get used to breathing out of a regulator.

The regular dramamine must work pretty well because The Boy was not getting seasick despite the choppy waters.  The SCUBA divers were dropped off first besides some snorkelers at Catalina Island.  We then headed to a shallower spot for us to do our first run.  The Wife and The Boy would go first on one apparatus and The Girl and I would go on the other.  Mike would stay with the first group and Paula with the second.  Both would be wearing SCUBA gear.

The wheels started coming off the bus, once we hit the water.  The choppy waters compounded by the unfamiliarity breathing through a regulator freaked out both kids.  The Boy started crying as he hugged the SNUBA float.  So much for being enthusiastic about SNUBA diving.  Eventually he calmed down and started swimming away from it with Mike and The Wife beside him.  The Girl didn't cry, but she wouldn't let go of the float or put her head in the water.  It took several minutes of coaxing before she would let go and swim.  But within seconds, she would head straight back to the float.  I tried holding her hand and even giving her a piggy back ride, but she wouldn't relax.  She eventually put her head down in the water but just for a second to a see a fish or two.  Eventually, The Girl became inseparable from Paula, grabbing onto her tightly and not letting go.     

This practice run didn't go as well as we had planned.  After we climbed back onto the boat, The Girl decided that she didn't want to do the second swim.  The Wife was feeling a little queasy too, so she agreed to stay with her.  It took a little more coaxing to convince The Boy to try it again.

We headed out to the nearby Sombrero Island for our second dive.  

It kinda looks like a hat.

Once again, the SCUBA guys went first followed by The Boy and I.  Mike led the way pointing out several Moray eels and large schools of fish.  He grabbed a blue starfish for The Boy to pet and then showed us an octopus hiding under a rock.  The coolest thing is when he snuck up on a puffer fish, gently held it, and let us touch it.  The fish was so at ease that it didn't poof up.

I was surprised that the current was so strong underwater.  I was even more surprised that The Boy was strong enough of a swimmer to handle himself in the current.  I was glad that he enjoyed the second dive.  Otherwise, I don't think I would be able to convince either of my children to get on a boat ever again.

Unlike our experience on the Wetass II, the guys on the Brindisi Group's dive boat were awesome.  Although we weren't the primary clients, the first mate kept checking on us making sure that we got all the drinks or snacks that we needed.  Adam and Paula were also great.  They took care of setting up and putting away all of their equipment.  They were of great help getting in and out of the boat which can be hard when wearing flippers.  We really never had to do a thing.  Although The Kids' courage failed them, the people we were with still made the excursion fun and worthwhile.

After we made it back to land, we went back to the Hotel Sugar Beach to check out and retrieve our luggage.  Then we had to make the journey back down to Tamarindo to pick up our pottery pieces.  When we arrived at the Guatil Pottery Studio, we learned with dismay that our pieces weren't quite dry yet.  Apparently Arbin would be out the whole day to teach a pottery class in Papagayo.  He had given his assistant, Victor, instructions to fire our pieces earlier that morning as we would have a tight deadline that day.  Unfortunately, there was some mix-up and the pieces still needed a few more hours to go when we arrived.  There was nothing we could do but wait.  I was not happy.

As an aside, Victor told The Wife that he hurt his knee badly in a motorbike accident recently.  In order to get appropriate medical treatment, he would have to take the bus all the way to San Jose to see a doctor (a 6-8 hour journey according to him).  I guess our American healthcare system doesn't sound too bad.

We headed over to Cafe Tico for lunch.  The Wife also bought some artisanal coffee and some locally-produced jams.

Ham and cheese empanada

Smoked tuna wrap

Beef and cheese sandwich.

After an extra 1.5 hours, we were able to pick up our pieces.  They weren't quite fully baked so Victor suggested we blast them in our oven at home for about three hours.  Arbin's wife also gave us a complimentary soap dish for our troubles. 

Since we had to return our vehicle by 6 PM, we booked it to Liberia.  The drive to get to the Hilton Garden Inn took a little over an hour.  We checked in and dropped off our baggage.  

There is something to be said about the consistent amenities of chain hotels.

One of the few hotel bathrooms that we didn't sully with mud and sand. 

We jumped back into the car and drove 10 more km to find a gas station to fill up our car.  We also stopped off at a local grocery and bought some empanadas for dinner.  We made it to the Vamos Rent-A-Car at 5:30 PM.  Despite driving the SUV hard on some pretty rough roads, I was relieved to hear that there would be no additional charges for damage to the car. 

***** 

Tuesday, December 30

We caught an early flight back to U.S. the next morning.  At the airport, we had to pay $29 per person for an antiquated exit tax.

Cuban cigars for sell at the duty-free store don't look so appealing after all...

We didn't want to take any chances, and went with a four hour layover in Atlanta.  That worked out well because it took 1-2 hours to get through immigration and customs.  All of the fancy kiosks don't seem to make the lines move any faster.

Overall, the entire family had a wonderful time in Costa Rica.  For the most part, the people were extremely friendly and laid back.  Despite all the posts about theft and scams on the travel forums, we never felt unsafe during our time in the country.

There were a few negatives though.  For a country with great access to the ocean, Costa Rica's food was a bit disappointing.  The WiFi was awful in most places that we stayed.  Plus, the data package that we purchased for our cell phone was worthless because the signal strength was terrible.  All of the hills and mountains may have contributed to that.  Furthermore, Costa Rica is definitely not an inexpensive country to visit.  In fact, it has turned out to be one of our more expensive trips.  Aside from the fishing though, I think every activity was worth it.  It will be nice to take the family back in a couple of years when they are older.  They were still too young to take part in all of the adventurous excursions available in Costa Rica.