OHMCR The Best Costa Rica Travel Guide

While Bill Beard and Michael Kay had pretty much set the path for Scuba Diving on one end and White Water Rafting on the other, Tomas Pozuelo bought the famous Okeanos Aggressor vessel in the 1980’s.

The bringing of this 110 feet vessel to Costa Rica helped put the country on the map as one of the top destinations for Scuba Diving.  The Okeanos Aggressor acquired the necessary permits from the government to carry out diving trips and research at the protected Coco Island.

The island’s magnificent marine life is considered one of the top ten diving destinations in the world due to its numerous schools of hammerhead sharks, white-tipped sharks, whale sharks, manta rays and tuna.  The Okeanos Aggressor up until today evokes images of scuba diving surrounded by hammerhead sharks at the Coco Island.

Soon after the Okeanos Aggressor made its debut at the Coco Island, two other vessels have joined the action.  The other two vessels are owned by Avi Klapper and include the Sea Hunter and the Undersea Hunter.

The Okeanos Aggressor offers around 35 annual trips departing from the port of Puntarenas in Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast.  Trips are offered in 8-day trips with 5 days of diving and 10-day trips with 8 days of diving.  When the weather allows it, guests are allowed to go ashore and enjoy the island’s unique volcanic-origin flora and fauna and swim in one of the island’s many waterfalls.

written by Carolyn Ramer \\ tags: Avi Klapper, Bill Beard, Michael Kay, Okeanos Aggressor, Sea Hunter, Tomas Pozuelo, Trip to Coco island, Under Sea Hunter

Long before Costa Rica became one of the top destinations for scuba diving within the Central American region, there was one visionary man who saw its potential and shaped it into an important diving destination.

Back in 1970 when Costa Rica’s main industry was bananas and coffee, tourism wasn’t even considered as a main source of income.  During this time, a Mr. Bill Beard visited Costa Rica and was impressed by the country’s natural beauty but was shocked to realize that scuba diving was practically unknown.  As a matter of fact, he wasn’t able to find a scuba tank during his visit.

Beard was eager to experience Costa Rica’s marine life and made a second trip this time with his own scuba tanks which he filled with compressed air at a local gas company.  Beard was able to find someone to take him out on a dugout canoe and adventured in his first dive off the Costa Rican Coast.  According to Beard, the experience was so amazing that and there were so many schools of fish that he didn’t even know were to start.

After his experience, it wasn’t a difficult task for him to realize the country’s potential for scuba diving and began his difficult journey of creating an industry where it didn’t exist.  Thanks to his determination and vision, Bill Beard is today recognized as the true pioneer of scuba diving in Costa Rica and one of the key players in bringing Costa Rica to the forefront as a dive destination.

Beard continued to pave the road for the diving industry in Costa Rica by training today’s dive masters and instructors in Costa Rica.  He also opened the first professional and full serviced dive shop in Costa Rica named Mundo Acuatico.  In the early 1980’s, Diving Safaris, owned by Bill Beard became the first beach-based dive center, getting its start in Playa del Coco, moving to Ocotal, and eventually settling in Playa Hermosa.

Thanks to Beard’s vision, Costa Rica’s Pacific and Atlantic Coast is today one of the top diving destinations within the Central American area.

written by Carolyn Ramer \\ tags: Bill Beard, Diving in Costa Rica, Mundo Acuatico