If you want to visit one of Costa Rica's most pleasant little Pacific island beaches, but you want to do it the first-class way, you ought to take Calypso Tours' cruise out to Tortuga Island! You'll travel comfortably, eat well, and enjoy the warm sun and tropical breezes while somebody else does all the work. What's not to like??

If It's 9AM, This Must be Puntarenas
My adventure for the day started off in the Pacific coast port city of Puntarenas -- a dumpy little spit of land that I really can't imagine anyone wanting to visit for longer than it takes to catch a boat out of the place.

Some cruise ships stop in Puntarenas, but I'm not sure why -- it strikes me as one of the very few places in Costa Rica not really worth the time it takes to pass through. There are some artesania stands strung out along the beach; these stands seem to cater to cruise ship passengers. Most of the town looked run down. I was just intent on finding the dock where I'd catch a boat out to more scenic and pleasant places...

I was in Puntarenas to catch a day cruise on the catamaran Manta Raya to Isla Tortuga. The cruise was run by a company called Calypso Tours -- they use a dock located on the bayside of the point on Avenida 3 near Calle 33. Calypso Tours enjoys an excellent reputation in Costa Rica, and they like to boast about their "internationally famous" cruises through the Gulf of Nicoya and to secluded Pacific islands.

Calypso's trips have evidently been profiled in U.S. magazines like Gourmet and Forbes, though I've never seen the articles to see what they say. What I say is that the Isla Tortuga cruise is a good value -- Calypso's boat is modern, comfortable, and clean, the trip is fantastically scenic, the beach is clean and pleasant, and the food is outstanding.

On Board the Manta Raya
Cruising the waters of the Gulf of Nicoya on the Manta Raya is definitely traveling in style! The catamaran is big -- carrying up to 65 passengers in addition to the crew and guides. You can sit up top near the captain, getting a birds eye view as the boat sails past the many rocky islands that dot the gulf, or maybe you'd prefer sitting down below in the comfortable salon area. I preferred sitting out on bow, catching a few rays of bright sunshine and enjoying the salty wind blowing through my hair. If you're out on the bow, you can also lounge back in the nets that hang over the water, or even kick back in one of the two jacuzzis (seriously!)

Barely have the lines been cast off when the boat's bar opens for business. Calypso's guides claim that Arturo -- the ship's bartender -- makes the best daquiris and pina coladas on the Pacific coast. It sounded like puffery to me, but after sampling one, I'm afraid I've got to agree -- it was definitely one seriously tasty (not to mention big) drink!

I should mention that while the trip price includes snacks on the boat and lunch on the island, it does not include alcoholic beverages (other than wine with lunch -- which is free). The bartender has a passenger list and he keeps track of how many drinks you order, and you're expected to pay up at the end of the day. It's about $4.50 for the tropical mixed drinks, and about $2 for a beer -- not bad really, about comparable to bar prices I'd say.

Scenic High Points
The lower Gulf of Nicoya is a fantastically scenic place to be. Against the backdrop of low jungle-covered hills of the Nicoya Peninsula lie dozens of small rocky islands. As the Manta Raya slips past these outposts of land, the guides pass along little tidbits of local legend and lore. Some of the islands are wildlife refuges and are off-limits to boaters and tourists. One was identified as a nesting ground for more than 200 pairs of brown pelicans, and we could see the big birds diving into the sea for a quick lunch, or just standing on the rocks, watching us with almost as much interest as we watched them.

Another island had so many black frigate birds hovering overhead that it almost seemed like a cloud. The most interesting island was one that we were told served as one of Costa Rica's major prisons up until just a few years ago. It kind of reminded me of Alcatraz or something. We were told that the government plans to convert the island to some sort of tourist visitor center or something like that, but that nobody seems to know exactly when that will happen.

Relaxing on the Island
Isla Tortuga lies at the mouth of the Gulf of Nicoya just off the very tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. It's a fairly small island and the tour companies use only a small part of it. The part they do use is the beach on the sheltered northeast side of the island. It's a wide white sandy beach, and when the Manta Raya arrives it pulls up all the way to the shoreline and drops a ramp off the bow so that passengers don't even really get their feet wet. I was amazed that such a big boat could draw so little water that it could do this, but it does -- the hull couldn't have been more than 5-10 feet off the beach!

Calypso Tours has its own picnic area under the shade of several large trees. They have grills there for preparing lunch, a full bar, and an ample supply of beach chairs. The one thing they don't have is a bathroom. Nope, no outhouse either. In fact, there's not even a really good tree to duck behind. Let's just say that after sitting on the beach for a couple hours with a few cool Imperials, I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to take a nice long swim in the ocean -- sharks and riptides or no! Since the boat pulls up at the island by about 11 AM and doesn't leave until around 3:30 to 4, the lack of amenities can be a problem...

Now This is What I Call a Lunch!
I've really got to hand it to the guys at Calypso Tours -- when they do a barbecue on the beach, they do it right! Their lunch was among the best meals I had in Costa Rica -- a country usually known for not serving anything more exciting than black beans on a bed of white rice.

White linen table cloths were spread out on the picnic tables and we were invited to start lunch with salads and an appetizer of ceviche. Now I love a good ceviche, with good being the operative word, and this ranked among my top 5. There was absolutely no ketchup or tomatoes in it (I firmly believe that there is a specially nasty corner of he11 reserved for people who put ketchup in ceviche). The seafood tasted very fresh and the flavor of lime was intensely tart with nothing cutting it back. Outstanding!

Three huge bowls of fresh salads were laid out. One was made with a thick type of round pasta that I've never had before, and another was made with a wonderfully bitter tasting green leafy vegetable that I can't remember the name of (I gotta lay off those aluminum pots!)

The real treat was the main course: grilled marinated chicken breasts -- big pieces too, not the little skimpy things you get in some restaurants. The meat was perfectly cooked, tender and moist all the way through. It was served with mixed grilled vegetables and rice. A nice dry white wine was served with the meal at no extra cost.

For desert, there was a sweet rice pudding with milk.

I left the table comfortably stuffed and ready to lay back in the hammock for a couple hours, doing what God intended for people on vacation to do...

Pueste del Sol...
Boarding call interrupted my hammock nap, but I was able to continue the snooze while stretched out in the nets on the bow of the Manta Raya as it made its way back to Puntarenas. It was almost 5:30 by the time the boat pulled up to the docks, and nature was showing off with one of the most spectacular sunsets the Pacific has ever seen. It was a fitting end to a wonderful day trip.

If you get a chance to visit the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, I definitely recommend the day trip to Tortuga Island run by Calypso Tours. If you want to find out more information about Calypso Tours and their cruises, check out their web site at www.calypsotours.com. Til next time, I'll see you on the beach...I'll be the gringo in the hammock with a cool beer in my hand and a smile on my face...




Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb