Lending a helping hand on behalf of Project AWARE

This past Saturday, October 2nd, 2010, the entire Diving Safaris team

The Diving Safaris Cleanup Team

headed down to Playa Hermosa to unite with 50 or so other volunteers from businesses such as Terra Nostra, Playa Hermosa Association, Villas Sol, Swiss Travel and Condovac.  The goal of the day?  To try to undo some of the human damage to beaches and surrounding areas by picking up all the trash we could find.  On a yearly basis, Project AWARE and Ocean Conservancy encourage groups from all over the world to participate in an International Cleanup of beaches and water ways.  Here in our little spot of the world in Costa Rica, we divided up into 10 teams to cover 10 different zones within the Playa Hermosa area.  In the past, cleanups in the area have focused mostly on the beach itself neglecting the inland areas just behind the beach.  While garbage found on the beach can wash up from the ocean itself, much of the garbage gets washed down from the hills that surround Playa Hermosa and into the creeks and rivers, ultimately washing out onto the beach, during periods of heavy rain.  This is the rainy season.  Water is constantly flowing this time of year – September and October in particular – out of the sky, down the hills creating waterfalls, into the rivers making them fuller and faster…where does it all go?  Most of it back into our glorious oceans.  Unfortunately now, due to human development on these lands, these fast flowing waters come with an unpleasant additive – trash.  Why?  Where you find humans, you will find trash.  It´s almost unavoidable.  Since man is the only one that uses man-made products and man-made products are what create trash – it makes sense, right?  Animals and fish don´t create trash.  Any ¨trash¨that they might make is absolutely bio-degradable and returns to the natural cycle of life.  Humans should take a lesson from this…and we´re trying, as more and more products are made to be bio-degradable and world-wide recycling efforts are increasing…but is it too late??  Not necessarily, if more people throughout the world band together like we did, we can reverse the damaging effects humans are having on the Earth.  This is the mental attitude all of us had as ten groups set out to find their designated cleanup zone.  Diving Safaris was joined by some of the local residents in the area who even brought the dogs to join in on the clean up.  Our zone appeared to be a harmless little street behind Villas del Sueno.  At first glance, the street looked relatively clean, and as I distributed the various LARGE plastic bags, I thought to myself ¨This is going to be quick and our bags are probably going to be relatively empty¨.  As my team raced off down the street to start the cleanup, I watched them pick up item after item, ranging from empty beer bottles, cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags, pieces of a broken plastic chair, diapers (gross!), metal poles, a car antenna, lighters, cigarette butts and packaging, food wrappers and containers, a fan blade, rugs, shorts, an unused condom still in it´s package (better than a used one I guess!), electrical cable several meters long, PVC pipe, a broken energy-saving light bulb…..and the wierdest thing of all: a sad-looking dented birdcage that was found in a little river that crossed under our street.  A significant amount of the larger items found came out of the small section river that we could access in our zone.  Case in point.  We saved that birdcage from ending up in the ocean where it could have ultimately trapped and killed a living creature.  As the second hour of the cleanup began, the bags became too heavy to carry so we made use of our two vehicles equipped with pickup/trailer beds and had them ride along-side us as we finished the last section of the street.  At the end we turned around and headed back along the street, scanning for any missed pieces of garbage, before we headed back to our central meeting point to begin the garbage count.  Team Diving Safaris picked up the following:

• 1/4 bag plastic drinking bottles
• 1 bag heavy plastics (PVC pipe, plastic chair, etc)
• 1/2 bag mixed plastics (cutlery, dishes, food wrappers, bags, etc)
• 1/4 aluminum cans
• 1/4 glass bottles and other broken glass
• 4 bags of non-recyclable garbage

=> Total estimated weight = 58.75 kgs !! And that was just us!  Imagine that times 10!  That´s a lot of garbage…

Stuff found that can by recycled

Non-recyclable garbage

After all the groups brought their garbage together and it was sent off with the appropriate truck – garbage, glass recycling, plastic recycling, etc. – Gina, the main organizer of the day, closed off the morning with a thank you to everyone who participated and reminder to everyone that we CAN make a difference when we come together and join forces like this.  We were then all invited by Condovac, a resort at the end of the beach, to enjoy a hot lunch prepared by their chefs that included a mixed pallela-style shrimp rice, french fries, salads and fruit juice.  Very delicious! Our entertainment during lunch was watching 100 or so swimmers getting

Enjoying our yummy reward for a job well done!

ready in their bathing gear (including many Speedos!!) and swim caps for a 1500 meter swim competition that was about to take place.  We wrapped up our lunch just as swimmers of all shapes and sizes raced off down the beach, practically running each other over as they got into the water.  What a site!

Overall, it was a successful day and even the weather held out for us!  A big thanks to all who participated.  I hope we can all do it again next year…or maybe even sooner than that.   Stay tuned for an upcoming underwater cleanup!

Tracy

The Diving Safaris Cleanup Team

The whole Playa Hermosa Cleanup Team

Local residents – human and canine – come out and support

Getting organized before the start of the cleanup

Stuff found that can by recycled

Non-recyclable garbage

An example of the kinds of things that were being found. These things fal linto the “construction materials” category.

Some of the smaller trash items collected

Logging all the data

Reporting our data to the head organizer

Close up of DS from the group shot

Enjoying our yummy reward for a job well done!

Still enjoying lunch

A clean beautiful Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa

Mystical Diving

Diving in red tide can be very interesting…When heading out to the dive sites this morning the ocean smelled quite fishy and as soon as we were about 10 minutes out the water turned milk chocolate brown, like the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory river.  In places it was separating and was a pretty blue with streams of brown.  At Tortuga, our first pick for the day the water was a rich chocolate color at the surface but as soon as we dropped down about five feet the water was clear and a pretty blue color, but dark.  Right away we saw a white-tip reef shark swim by,  the eels and an octopus were out hunting.  In the places where the red tide was separating the sun light could shine through and it was very mystical.  At Punta Argentina, our second dive site, conditions were the same but the cleaning stations were quite occupied as a school of spade fish and ten huge milk fish were busy being cleaned by the butterfly barber fish.  We saw several southern sting rays racing by and many schools of grunts.  We were in a clear spot and then it got dark and when I looked up a huge cloud of red tide was above us, it looked totally cool.  One of our instructors said she decided to go through the wall of red stuff and found a clear patch with a sand bed that had at least six white-tip reef sharks swimming around.  So they sat there in thirty feet of water  for like ten minutes watching as the sharks circled them.  So, like I said diving in red tide is very mystical.

Bobbie Jo

A Whale of a Day

In my almost 10 years of diving, I have never had quite as many amazing, breath taking dives in one year as I have had this past year. 2010 has been a year of adventure, discovery and learning. I have never achieved so many things in so little time… I have seen things I had only dreamed about before. I love my life, I love my job and most of all, I love my office because it just so happens to be one of the coolest, most interactive, non-stressful work places in the world. My office is the ocean. Today my colleagues included four huge, powerful bull sharks, torpedo fast rooster fish and best of all, four humpback whales. But I am not here to simply tell you about a surface sighting, for I did not just see whales, I looked into their eyes.

It all started as a funtastic outing out to the Bat islands. A place well known to divers for its diverse marine life, which sometimes includes bull sharks and mantas. It was a calm day and the boat was full of divers with high hopes. It was a very fun boat, for it was also full of long time divers, six of which were diving professionals. We had a lot to talk about. But of course being divers, we mostly talked about 1, diving, 2, eating/food and 3, traveling. We were stoked for what lay ahead.

At our first dive site, Big Scare, we were a bit sad that after 25 minutes into the dive, and closely reaching our max bottom time, we had yet to see any sharks. But at last minute, the ocean decided to reveal some of its inhabitants as a small, but very sleek, bull shark glided by us. It was just a glimpse, but it was close enough that i was able to see its pupils. As I tried to get everyone’s attention, it faded into the murky water.

Once back on the boat, the other guide and I talked about perhaps doing our second dive at Big Scare, in hopes of seeing some more sharks. When asked for their opinion, all the divers said they came to see sharks.  So it was decided, we were were doing our second dive at Big Scare.

As we put on our gear after our surface interval, I glanced up just in time to see a dorsal fin pop up and fall below the surface of the water. At first, I was a bit skeptic and thought for sure it was not a dolphin. My mind had me convinced it was a shark. As I told all the other divers, and repeated to say “no, it was not a dolphin”, lo and behold, a dolphin jumped out of the water.  It did this several times. I must say, I am glad I was wrong. Shark fins at the surface are not a good sign. But dolphins are, at least in my opinion. I believe they are a sign of good luck for all divers, for every time I have had an out of this world diving experience, I have always seen dolphins on the surface, first.

The swell was high as we entered the water. It was like a bubble bath, for the foam on the surface was a good half a foot thick in some places. As we descended, we were covered in darkness as the waves and foam covered the surface, blotching out the sun. About five minutes into the dive, the first shark was sighted as it swam over our heads. Not too long after, we sighted another and yet another. As we swam along, a school of jacks and various other fish raced by, swimming for their lives as three huge rooster fished swooped down on them, hungry for some sushi. My heart was racing because close behind them was another bull shark.

Back on the surface, we rushed to get back on the boat for just minutes before we surfaced, the captain and another guide had seen three humpback whales breach just meters away from the boat. We eagerly searched the ocean for any sign of whale footprints in the water. But whales being whales, they can travel very fast.

And as we headed back home, we heard a familiar and very exciting noise -a whale had just spouted. Most of the time, whales breach far away from the boats, so seeing them underwater is rare. However in this case, three adult humpback whales breached a couple of meters off the side of our boat. We were ecstatic as we put on our masks  and jumped in the water to see if we could just get a glimpse of these giants passing by. I got more than just a glimpse, for swimming underneath me was not just one, but three whales. Two of which were a mother and calf. As they happily swam by, I momentary got a glimpse of their eyes. Some people say that as you look into the eyes of a whale, you will feel them looking back, deep into your soul. I was too excited and I must say a bit spooked to have felt this, but when I looked into their eyes, it was so surreal that even while I was there, I could not believe what I was seeing. I have lived in Costa Rica for 13 years and I have never seen one of these magnificent whales underwater, before. It was like a dream come true, and even though I still have so many things I want to see, I feel like I just accomplished one of my biggest “to dos” on my list.

So be it schools of fish, crystal clear water, mantas, sharks or whales, or even something as small as a nudibranch, every day in the water, no matter what I see, is an amazing day. I love my job because it allows me to observe these amazing ocean dwellers.  When I jump into the water and fly away… well it is a feeling that I can’t really even describe. Diving is my happy place.

Happy diving, divers,

Karie J Gibbs

Casper, the Friendly Manta Ray

Today was an exciting day at the Catalina Islands. With tales of bull sharks, black tips, mantas and more, todays group of divers were excited to jump in the water. Alas, no bull sharks no black tip sharks were seen, but no one left disappointed, for Casper the friendly manta stopped by for a visit, entertaining everyone as he circled the divers while swooping tiny plankton in to his giant mouth.

This is a manta that is well known by dive shop owner, Bobbie Jo, who says she has encountered this playful giant many times before in the past. He or she, we don’t know, but this manta is huge, with ramoras almost a meter long. Its back is solid black and on its belly it has a ghost like spot -hence the name.

While Casper swooped, dipped and circled the group, down below, you could see six pregnant white tip reef sharks snoozing in the sand. And off to the side, almost crying to get attention, were three eagle rays, darting in and around everywhere. If eagle rays had voices, Bobbie Jo is pretty certain they would have been screaming “Look at me, look at me”.

Karie J Gibbs

Bull Sharks, Bull Sharks and Bull Sharks

Just got the report back from our staff who went out to the Bat islands this morning. And this was their exact words “Holly Bull Sharks”. It was like everyone was doing underwater disco as they tried to point out every one of the many sharks that swam around them.

Everyone had a blast.

NIIIIIICE

Karie Jo Gibbs

At the Drop of a Hat

Like I was saying in my last blog post, conditions here change dive site to dive site, day to day, hour to hour. Sometimes they change so fast that your mind is left spinning, trying to comprehend how they can change so fast. So true to my prediction, the water on Sunday was crystal clear and warm with tons of sharks,  spotted eagle rays and more. Apparently the changes were so abrupt that even the southern sting rays were left a bit confused, because we found one sleeping in the sand in 82 degree water.

Until next time,

Karie J Gibbs

Sting Ray Highway

One of my favorite things about diving in the Pacific has to be the fact that every day is full of surprises and change. It is never boring here. Conditions change dive site to dive site, depth to depth, day to day. One day it will be cold and murky and the next warm with 100+ foot visibility.

Over the last three days, we have been diving quite frequently at two of our local dive sites, Tortuga and Argentina, and the conditions have changes drastically every day.  On Thursday, the water was murky but not that cold. We saw dozens of eagle rays, sharks, octopi and huge schools of fish. On Friday, the water was warm and clear. We saw sharks, rays and of course, many fish. Then today rolled around. The water was murky on the surface, yet surprisingly clear down below. But the water was freezing, with a 10 degree difference between thermoclynes. But for us who have been diving here for years, we know that cold water is not always bad. Sure, we wont see any sharks cause, lets face it, white tip reef sharks are wusses as far as cold water is concerned. Our snorkelers saw them today in 10 foot water, basking in the warmth of shallow waters. Today Argentine was full of large southern sting rays and they were moving, fast. It was like a highway down there, but instead of cars, this road, or should i say sand channel, was full of rays. There was quite a bit of current, so we just let our selves drift with the rays, and laughed as they dashed all over the place, and then stared in awe as these huge creatures gracefully glided inches above the sea floor.

Who knows what these sites will be like tomorrow. Maybe it will be crystal clear again? Maybe we will see a whaleshark. You never know. I wake up everyday wondering what I will see next. What the ocean will show me today. Everyday is a new day, with new adventures.

Until next day, happy bubbles,

Karie J Gibbs

Playing with Mantas

As I said before, this year has been a spectacular manta year. Way past our usual manta season, we continue to see these gentle giants time and time again. Both at the Bat islands and at the Catalina Islands.

Today I geared up and headed out to dive the Catalina islands with two other divers. It was a beautiful morning, though the sea was quite choppy. 20 minutes into our first dive at the Wall, we spotted a manta. As it fed, it swam right up to us, close enough to see the details of its eyes. As we watched in awe, another manta joined in and the two danced around us, teasing us as they swam close then far away.  Alas, our air supply ran low, so we had to surface, but we were very excited for our next dive.

Our next dive was at the Point. It was quite murky and the current was very fast, but as soon as we got down to 60 feet, the cloud of plankton let up and we could see endless amounts of blue, blue water. The contrast was amazing as we swam along and come across some white water that was overhead. Down below the water was clear and blue, to the right it was white and to the left it was brown. And through this beautiful mix of colors and thermoclines came a manta. Just a lone one this time, but it was a very curious and playfull one. As we drifted with the current, the manta stayed with us, gliding around, coming within feet of our faces. And then, just as fast as it had a appeared, it faded in to the blue.

As we swam against the current, which I must say, we VERY strong at this point, I looked to my side and there that manta was again, swimming about a foot above the sand, following us. It stayed there for a few more minutes, again swimming around us and just giving us the best manta dive possible.

When I see mantas, I can’t help but get all giddy and excited. No matter how many I see, my heart still races and I am just stunned. And I don’t think I will ever get to see enough of these amazingly graceful, beautiful giants.

PICTURES TO COME

It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

Just when you think it can’t get any better, Mother Nature surprises you and shows you that she still has a few surprises in store for you. It seems like every time we go out to the Bat Islands, we are wowed beyond being wowed and the most incredible part is that you know the minute you say that you just had the best dive of your life, the next one is going to be even more amazing.

Reckon that shark put some sort of shark charm on that fish? Seems to me he is taking a nice swim with his lunch.

And thus bliss hit all the divers, as an angel swam by

So beautiful...

Fish, fish and more fish.

We are going back out to these wonderful dive sites tomorrow, so more news and pictures to come, I am sure.

Again, if you are interested in going out to the Bat islands, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail today. 506-2672-1259 info@costaricadiving.net

It’s Bull Shark Time

I have been diving in Costa Rica for almost 10 year, I have only dove elsewhere on two occasions, and even though I have done well over 400 dives in this area, I still find the diving here to be simply AMAZING. Our conditions change all the time, with each season bringing in new adventures. This year has been the year of the pelagics and bull sharks. After an incredible manta season from December through May, we are now being graced with a bull shark and Bat islands season like no other. But not only are we seeing bull sharks, this year, we are also seeing mantas.

This year I have gone out to the Bat Islands several times, having some of the best dives of my life, but the dives I did on Thursday, July 22nd left me with a manta/bull shark high that I am still on.

I went out with a small group on Thursday, with only three customers and one of our future divemasters, Jorge. It was a beautiful, calm morning, with turtles popping up everywhere on the way out and dolphins playing around us. And since I see dolphins as a good luck charm, I knew that the Bat islands was going to be amazing for us today. And boy was I right.

As we descended at the Big Scare for our first dive of the day, we were surrounded by fish. The water was calm, a little cold and not quite the blue that it usually is, but it only added to the suspense, especially as a shadow of a shark was seen through the plankton.

Once we reached our max depth of 95 feet, we continued to swim and scan the water surrounding us. At any moment a bull shark might show its self, so we were very vigilant. But as we neared our max planned bottom time for that depth, and we still had not seen any sharks. As we swam to a shallower depth,  there they were. A small bull shark was swimming around us, and as we watched, three others joined him. Each shark bigger than the one before. They were swimming all over the place. Close enough to us that even through the poor visibility, we could see their gills. WOW. And as we pulled away to do our safety stop, there was a manta. We could only make out its silhouette, but by then, I was ecstatic.

Most of those who know me, know that mantas are my favorite fish in the ocean. They are graceful, gentle giants. When I see one, I simply melt. So you can only imagine my reaction when I saw one of these plankton feeding giants gliding amongst the bull sharks. Bull sharks alone are quite the sight to see, what with their huge girth and size, but to see these two amazing species at the same time was breath taking.

Only a picture can explain how happy I was when we reached the surface,

So happy

Our next dive for the day was Black Rock. A dive site well known for its schools of eagle rays, giant eels, and of course, mantas. Our hopes were high for another manta sighting, especially since we knew they were in the area.

The water was rather cold and murky as we reached our max depth, but the amount of marine life that surrounded us more than made up for it. The water right next to the rock was clear, but just 10 feet away from it, the water was brown and cold. There was a huge thermoclyne. The biggest eagle rays I have ever seen dipped in and out of view,  mixing in with the huge schools of grunts, jacks and spade fish. And as the dive came to an end, a huge manta swam up from below us, gliding upwards and showing us its beautiful back and while hovering vertical in the water, it gazed at us, before going on its way, fading into the blue.

Simply Amazing

If you are interested in joining the Diving Safaris team at the Bat Islands, please contact us at 506-2672-1259 or you can e-mail us at info@costaricadiving.net.