A Whale of a Time in Quepos, Costa Rica!
From getting skunked fishing to scoring huge on a Catamaran
After a horrible day on the Mucho Fisho with Capitan Boring, we changed gears fast and boarded the Ocean King for an absolute blast the next day! For about $75 per person, we went on the 100 ft catamaran which as its first act, featured whale watching.
For the first half hour, we cruised around the inshore areas off the coast of Quepos and Manuel Antonio. Just the day before, my son and I had spent five hours on choppy seas, fishing. At the end of a terrible day on the ocean and nearly $500 gone from my wallet, we caught zero fish. Not one bite. The captain was terrible and the fishing was nonexistent.
After we saw nothing for the first thirty minutes on the Ocean King, I was getting nervous. When you’re looking for elusive sea creatures, you stare and started until your eyes go dry. We were fraught with anticipation.
After a short bought with discouragement, we started to hear gasps, squeaks, and screeches of exhilaration. Someone saw something! Before we knew it, right off the port bow, we saw the mist of the blow hole break the surface of the water. We were right next to them. Unbelievable!
Before long, we had seen a number of different whales. Humpbacks. They are exquisite. Sighting after sighting. Then, after about an hour and a half dozen whales, the first part of the trip was capped off when we saw a mother and baby whale swimming, diving, and coming up for air together. It was a heartwarming experience of a lifetime. I got some of it on film but the best parts are stored in my heart.
In terms of timing, while August is the low season and it rains a lot, it’s the time of year when most whale sightings happen. With it being winter in the lower hemisphere, they migrate north for the warmer water.
But this was just the beginning of the Ocean King outing.
After seeing the whales, the boat cruised into a calmer cove where we moored and prepared to settle in for a while. As the Captain cut the engines, we could see a couple of other similar boats already partying. Guys were doing flips off the boat, music was blasting, and there were a ton of people swimming in the water..lots of snorkelers in the water. The water slides were running off the back of the boat and the music was pumping loudly.
It’s sort of funny for us Americans, who are used to so many rules and regulations, to see a guy open a railing on the top of a boat that’s twenty feet above the water’s surface and just say to a group with a bunch of kids in it…“I have two things to tell you. One: When you jump in, jump away from the boat and swim away quickly so the next person doesn’t land on you. Two: Don’t get hurt because the hospital is really far away.” No life jackets, no release to sign, no counting the people to make sure they got back on the boat! Basically, ‘just don’t die and get out of the way’ are the rules.
After the twenty-foot jump, the water slides, and the jacuzzies, they served Mahi Mahi lunch and urged us all to get our four included drinks in before we set off for the marina. By the time the swimming was underway and I’d seen at least two boat roof diving-induced wardrobe malfunctions, the crew was having a blast and people were dancing. It was a great time overall, and everyone had a lot of fun.
The trip lasted about 4 hours or less. I’d 100% recommend the Ocean King to everyone. Good for families, singles, couples, you name it.
Pura Vida!
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