Deep Blue Diving - Playas del Coco, Costa Rica
We traveled to Costa Rica on vacation with 3 divers and 2 non-divers. We brought our scuba gear in anticipation of getting in some diving. We were staying at a friend’s place in Tamarindo and made a 1 hour drive in each direction to the town of Playas del Coco to dive at the Catalina Islands.
We used Deep Blue Diving right on the main street in town. We boarded a small boat on the beach and were transported to the dive boat anchored a short distance off shore. Our dive master told us that there was a good chance that we would see mantas. When we arrived at the first dive site, we geared up and entered the water. About 10 minutes into the dive, a manta with about a 10 foot wing span swam within just a few feet of us. We were amazed at how unafraid this manta was, and we were really excited to see one so close. Within minutes, we saw several more also very close. We continued to see these mantas throughout the dive. When we got back to the boat, we couldn’t contain our excitement. The dive master told us that since the mantas were here, he would take us to a cleaning station on the next dive.
We arrived at the site and he took us to a large rock where we stationed ourselves and waited. Within a short while, a manta swam up and stopped to be cleaned. Again, this was just a few feet away from us. We spent the entire dive here observing the action. Amazing! The next day, we returned to do some local diving. Visibility was not as good as at the islands and we were disappointed after the previous day, until we spotted a group of 5 eagle rays. That was the highlight of the day.
The boat crew, dive masters, and shop staff were the best. I accidentally left a booty at the shop after rinsing our gear, and the shop mailed it to my home in California at their expense. The 2 hour drive each day was well worth it to dive with Deep Blue Diving.
