17. Drake Bay - Isla de Cano 6 March

The next tour I booked was out to Isla de Cano.  If you have read the previous posts you will know that my friend Bob and I took a trip down to the island from Manuel Antonio.  The water was murky, visibility low and seemingly not much to see when you could, the guides not so good, the boat broke down, I drowned my camera...you get the picture...not such a good day.  But I am always grateful for a day on the water at the very least. 

The day looks spectacular and we didn’t need to leave until 7.45am , so a bonus sleep in.

Again the group is small with just the 3 of us.  Our guide is Orlando.  The boat trip takes about 45 minutes and is a little bumpy but fun.  When we arrive they check the tidal currents to work out where we start our first snorkel.  We stop the boat at rocks at the far end of the beach closest to Drake Bay.   The water is crystal clear, the first improvement on the previous trip.  Our guide, like Manuel was yesterday, is enthusiastic and appears to actually love what he is doing.  He starts taking us along, eagerly pointing out things as we go, coming to the surface to tell us about what he is showing us.  Improvement number 2 on the previous trip!  The fish are plentiful, colourful and big.  Improvement number 3. 

As we are swimming along, I try to stay close to the guide as

he has sharp eyes.  While he is looking in the opposite direction, I see ahead of us an enormous Pacific Manta Ray, the first I have ever seen snorkelling.  I was so excited I nearly drowned....:).  I tried to grab the guide's flipper to  alert hbut he was slightly ahead of me looking in the other direction.  Finally he turned and saw it...he nearly drowned as well...:). , We swam behind it for some time, being able to fully appreciate its beauty and grace.  As if that wasn’t enough, it turned and swam back toward us so that we could see it from the front as well.  This was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.  Not long after this, a dozen spotted eagle rays swam under us, as if in formation the way birds fly.  It was overwhelming.  So exciting.   If you read my facebook status for that day it went something like this..... "OMG OMG OMG Ive just come back from snorkelling and just saw my first eeennnoooorrrmmmouuuss pacific manta ray at Cano Island..not to mention a dozen spotted eagle rays...awesome...very leapy here..off to the bar to celebrate!"



Lying under a coconut tree

This was another excellent tour.  We finished snorkelling there, got back on the boat and they took us to a second site.  Again the water was clear and there was plenty of fish to see, also starfish and a stingray.  Not quite as spectacular as the first snorkel but that was extraordinary.  We went ashore to the beach and our lunch was served.  We then had some relaxation time on the beach.  Once again we headed off about 2.30pm to be back in time for happy hour.  Another day in paradise! 

Of course I dont have many photos of this tour as most of the action happened under the water...and we all know what happened last time I tried to capture that!