ADVENTURE DIVING IN COSTA RICA A short time ago the country’s underwater attributes were being explored by only a handful of adventurous divers. Today a growing infrastructure is now providing excellent daily dive trips and to a variety of offshore destinations. There are still, however, plenty of areas that have barely been visited and others yet to be discovered. The focus on diving in Costa Rica is along the Pacific coast, especially in the Guanacaste Province along the fringes of Papagayo Bay and the beaches of Coco, Ocotal, Hermosa, Tamarindo and Flamingo. Further to the south are the frontier underwater vistas off the Osa Peninsula and farther out to sea, reached only by live-aboard cruisers, lies Cocos Island. Those acquainted with Caribbean diving will find a completely different underwater environment in Pacific Costa Rica. Here the conditions may vary daily due to river runoff, tidal flow, winds and surge. Conditions, however, are relatively dependable with visibility that averages about 60 feet and water temperatures that range from 74 to 78 degrees. The best visibility usually is found in the dry season, from December to May, but diving is year-round and always interesting. Also quite different is the underwater seascape itself, which is not a configuration of true coral reefs, but a maze of rocks, pinnacles, caverns and overhangs. Painted by a veneer of solitary hard corals, soft corals and encrusting organisms, these monoliths and mounds are swept with an unending parade of marine life – large schools of rich-hued tropicals and silvery pelagics constantly appear and then disappear from view. It’s as if the entire ocean is revealing itself in rapid procession. And, while the underwater environment is perhaps best appreciated by the experienced diver, excellent instruction and learn-to-dive programs are available at most coastal operations.