We were up pretty early this morning for our day out on the water. We planned a Caño Island snorkel trip through Bahia Aventuras.
We originally booked the tour with Bahia Aventuras ($140pp) for an all day event, from 7am-4pm, with breakfast and lunch included. When we got to the Bahia Aventuras office, they told us that they would be teaming up with another company, Dolphin Tours, for this trip (we found that many of the boat tours to Caño Island usually require a 6-person minimum). We began our journey from Marino Ballena National Park, which is in Uvita. The ride to Caño Island is about 63km (nearly 40 miles) from shore, so with some stopping and siteseeing, the boat ride takes over an hour each way!
Caño Island is one of the best snorkeling spots in Central America and we couldn’t wait to see the underwater wildlife. Beyond the protected waters (3km in all directions), the island itself used to be a burial ground for pre-Columbian chiefdoms. After speaking with our guide about the pre-Columbian stone spheres here, he mentioned that park rangers recently found two more spheres in the past week!
Along the way we saw dolphins and a yellow-bellied sea snake that our guide said was one of the most poisonous snakes in the world…yikes!
We happen to be in Costa Rica during humpback whale season…so we definitely kept our eye out for whales, but unfortunately didn’t see any. Our captain slowed down at one point because he thought he saw a blowhole…but still no sight of whales.
We approached the island and our guides pointed out the ranger station, which is the only building that stands on the island…just imagine that for a moment! He also mentioned that you wouldn’t find much wildlife on the island other than birds, insects and small rodents…but underwater is a whole different world!
We jumped into the water and when put our masks on, his words came to life! There were so many colorful fish that we’ve never seen before. We’re used to seeing Atlantic/Caribbean reef fish and coral, so this was a treat. We swam around following different groups of fish, but our guide was also helpful in pointing out different things he saw and would call the group over to give everyone an opportunity to check them out.
After about an hour, our guide rounded up the group to get into the boat for our second snorkel stop. The captain brought us a few hundred meters south to another spot for round two of snorkeling. This area was a bit sandier giving us more opportunity to see sea turtles and rays…and we spotted both!
It was amazing to be swimming with so many types of fish that we don’t typically see in the Atlantic/Caribbean. We even saw two different types of puffer fish that we’d never seen before!
After our snorkel time, our guides brought us to a nearby island called Violeta Island where we had lunch. Our guides set up a buffet style table that included vegetarian options. We were the only ones on the island, so enjoying a nice lunch prepared by our guides was a really nice way to end our trip.
After lunch, we all boarded the boat again to make our way back to Uvita, which took about 45 minutes. Along the way our guides slowly drove the boat by different islands that were home to hundreds of migratory birds. We even saw two sea turtles mating on the surface of the water!
When we arrived back to land, we hopped off the boat, walked back to the main office where we parked our car, and made our way back to our hotel for some R&R. The sun and ocean really exhausted us!
After some much-needed rest, it was time for dinner. We’ve been craving fresh sushi and have been waiting to visit Uvita to fulfill this craving. Why you ask? Mystic Sushi was one of the best sushi experiences we’ve ever had… and we’ve had plenty of sushi in our life!
That delicious dinner was just what we needed after a long day out on the water, and it was the perfect way to end our time in the Uvita/Dominical area. We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow as we make our way to the southernmost part of Costa Rica, the Osa Peninsula. On our way, we plan to visit our first (and Costa Rica’s only) cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site, the pre-Columbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís…so stay posted!