Today was the day that Billy had been waiting for the whole trip. We were finally going to go snorkeling in Costa Rica! Getting up early was easy when we knew what was ahead of us. Our snorkel charter picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the marina in Quepos. We chose Planet Dolphin from the great reviews.

www.planetdolphin.com

We knew as soon as we arrived to the dock that we had made the right choice. The catamaran we were going on was huge! It was named the Tom Cat I. The great thing about Planet Dolphin is that they did not pack the boat to capacity, but intentionally capped out the passenger size so that there was plenty of room on the boat. Looking at the other boats heading out to the ocean, ours was the least crowded. Planet Dolphin is the way to go if you are looking for a family trip. The other boats were catered to the party scene.

The views from the Marina were beautiful!

Quepos Marina, Quepos, Costa Rica

Coffee and drinks were offered immediately on the boat. Snacks and juice were already set up for us and available the whole trip. The catamaran was amazing! It had been so long since we had been out on a boat in the ocean. We started out hugging the coastline and visiting Manuel Antonio National Park. It was like a post card.

While we made a few stops along the coast, the crew gave us some history of the area. After hitting up the coastline, we headed out to the open ocean to visit some schools of dolphins. On the way it was nice mingling with the other folks on the boat. Once we found the dolphins, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife as everybody was waiting for the next dolphin to jump out of the water and show off!

Our next stop was back inland near some rock formations just off the coastline. This is where the fish were! I felt like a kid at Christmas putting on my flippers and mask. After seeing other snorkeling videos of Manuel Antonio, I did not have high expectations, however, it was so much better than I imagined once we swam out to the reefs.

 

Just a word of warning… that slide off that thing is a doozy! Make sure to keep your head against the slide because you generate some speed going down that thing. It was so much fun, and such a rush! Billy has never been a daredevil, so I was shocked to see him line up to jump off the catamaran roof! He didn’t even hesitate.

After wearing ourselves out snorkeling, and swimming, we all got back on the boat, and were treated to a delicious lunch of pescado, fish and pasta salad. I really can’t say enough good things about the crew that day. They took excellent care of us. If you were interested, they also had a professional photographer that took candid photos the whole trip that were available for purchase at the end of the day.

By the end of our snorkeling trip, you would have thought we would be sick of being in the water. Nope! As soon as we got back to our room we all headed to the pool. It was nice, and relaxing by the water. The Parador has a beautiful infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean off of Cathedral Point with views of Manuel Antonio in the distance. My family keeps nagging me to go back!

Once we had our fill of the pool, we got cleaned up and went out to dinner at Cuban Libre.

Getting dressed up for dinner at Cuban Libre

The views were incredible from Cuban Libre

The food and service at Cuban Libre was top notch. Right next to Cuban Libre was the café we had been to earlier, Emilio’s. As soon as we walked in we recognized our friends from Dallas that we had met on the horseback tour, Gary and family! They had just gotten done eating dinner so we sat down with them and caught up on adventures while we snacked on cheesecake and coffee. It was a great way to end our last night in Quepos.

Tomorrow morning came much too soon. We did sleep in a little before we packed up and checked out. On the way back to San Jose, we stopped at the cliff overlooking Jaco for some pictures, then headed to the beach for some lunch. Billy really wanted to eat at a place we saw called Ridiculous Burgers (secretly, so did I).

On the cliffs of Jaco, Costa Rica

It was so worth it! (NEXT TIME I’LL GO FOR THE SINGLE)

While we were eating lunch we were chatting with a man from the US. He was an ex-pat from Minnesota, an Navy vet, and retired police officer. He was very friendly. Him and his tico wife lived in Costa Rica seasonally, spending their summers back in Minnesota.

My family had to roll me away from Ridiculous Burgers. Seriously, go for the single! We continued on and made it to San Jose where we checked into the Barcelo. I made sure to call ahead to affirm there were no issues with our reservation. The Barcelo was very beautiful. We got checked in and then I turned in our rental car. The pool area and gardens at the Barcelo made you feel like you were not in the middle of a bustling city. That evening we relaxed in some hammocks by the pool, and reminisced about our time in Costa Rica.

The next morning we had to head to the airport early to catch our flight. Leaving was very disheartening. All good things must come to an end–but! the memories last forever. Until we meet again Costa Rica, Pura Vida!