Gone Fishing

Finally! After half a year of working at the Los Sueños Marina, I got to go fishing! Now I see what all the fuss is about. These guys, who wake up at the butt-crack of dawn, slather on their sunscreen, and race to their fishing boats may be onto something! Deep sea fishing was seriously a blast! I was lucky enough to have my dad in town and he invited to take his kids out fishing for an experience that far too few get to enjoy. And as we cruised on our boat, the Dreammaker, out of the Los Sueños Marina with the "On a Boat" song playing full blast, and the crew giggled while us silly gringos got "jiggy with it", we were on top of the world!

We cruised for about an hour until we had finally reached our first fishing spot. Some of the family was a little nervous about the waves and the speed of light at which we cruised for what felt like forever. But once we dropped our lines and got two bites first thing, nobody thought twice about the bumps. The girls were up and our first catch of the day was a yellowfin ready to be eaten. One of the guys on the crew got to work right away expertly slicing up the tuna and displayed it beautifully on a plate with some spicy soy sauce for us to try. Freshest sushi ever!!! That was very cool!

Quickly after that, the girls caught two Wahoo. I am proud to say that the girls were the only ones who caught fish for eating on the trip! Later on, the boys almost caught two Marlin and my youngest brother pulled in a sailfish. They pulled him up close to take some photos and what a beautiful creature! The crew said he was one of the biggest sailfish of the season. We also had the privilege of meeting up with two different groups of dolphins that day: Bottlenose and Spinner Dolphins. Both groups were fairly large; over a hundred beautiful sea mammals swimming together, and they seemed happy to see us. The dolphins were definitely something special to see.

Later on in the day we stumbled across a turtle caught up in an old rope and some fishing line. Lucky for him we came along and set him free. He was one happy turtle as he waved goodbye and splashed overboard. We had seen some small sharks circling the turtle when we pulled him out. He surely would have been shark food.

I have to say, the simple experience of being out on the ocean and the spectacle of so many amazing creatures was a totally fulfilling experience. The gentle rocking of the boat left me in a near catatonic state after hours and hours out at sea and we all felt fairly demolished the next day from all the excitement. But, being able to come home and cook the food you caught that day is so completely satisfying, not to mention delicious! I would definitely recommend a fishing trip to anyone who has never been. Costa Rica Dreams can make your dreams come true! And if you're too tired to come home and cook, Jimmy T's Provisions will cook it for you!