Category Archives: Fishing

Adventure, Fishing, Travel, Vacation, Welcome to Yondering

Jungle Tarpon Lodge, and they DO mean JUNGLE!!!

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I had been dreaming of fishing the Caribbean, and catching a big Tarpon since I was a small boy.

At seven years old I got my first subscription to Field & Stream magazine, and had kept it by getting renewals for birthday presents until I was in my early twenties.  Adding such great magazines as Salt Water Fisherman, Fly Fishing, and In Fisherman rounded out my library throughout the years.

A Marlin Grand Slam is on my bucket list, as well as catching a bonefish on a fly, but what I really dreamed of was a big Tarpon. One hundred plus pounds of muscle, rocketing into the sky, shaking its head to try to throw the hook, hearing its gill plates rattling. That was a recurring dream throughout my teens and twenties. Then I moved to Montana. Go figure…….

But now I had my chance. Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is famous for many things, including lots of big Tarpon. I booked my fishing trip online, at the Jungle Tarpon lodge. The reviews were great, lots of pictures of big fish, and the running commentary on fish recently caught nearly made me drool…..  But I still had to get there.

The lodge manager and guide, Angelo,  IMGP2706JunTarLodAngWebwould meet me at Cano Blanco, and take me the rest of the way by boat. The first 3  hours went just as planned, then I got to Siquerres, for the last 32 miles of my drive. Lets just say I was glad I was driving a rental.

After a LONG…. drive, I got to the docks. From here its a boat to the Lodge.  Jungle Tarpon Lodge….. as in deep in the….. About 20 more minutes with the throttle wide open, in a 20 foot center console Boston Whaler got us to the lodge.  Lunch was served, My room was ready, and I settled in. IMGP2697JunTarLodWebNot much else to do but fish. The ad was right. It is truly the JUNGLE Tarpon lodge. No tv, no wi-fi, no radio, Nada. Zip. Zilch. So, we went fishing!

And the fishing was GREAT!

More next time……..

 

Adventure, Fishing, Road Trip, Travel, Vacation, Welcome to Yondering

The Road Less Traveled…..

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After Baldi, I was ready for the next leg of my journey.

I’d be fishing the Caribbean, viewing some monkeys, toucans, crocodiles, and whatever else came my way.

I booked a 4 day stay at the Jungle Tarpon Lodge online. They would have picked me up in San Jose, but I wanted more time to see the country.

At Baldi, I was pretty close to halfway across the country between the Pacific and Caribbean, so I figured about 4 hours to get the rest of the way. Having already experienced the roads, I padded my travel time a little. Good thing!

The last 32 miles on road 806, were a dirt road. And it really isn’t the road less traveled, as I passed banana plantations for miles and miles, which send their product out on semi trucks. It was a well traveled road; it just looked like it was only maintained once a year. It took me over two hours to make the last stretch of this drive.

I got pretty good at dodging potholes myself, or my ride wouldn’t have gotten me back to San Jose for my flight home.

Have I mentioned the dust? No? Dust.IMG_2496

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The type of thick choking dust that slows you down to 5 miles an hour when you pass another car going the other way. The type of dust you don’t realize was making it into your car until you take a look at yourself in the rear view mirror and realize you look like you have been on a camel caravan in the Sahara desert. Yeah, that kind of dust….

I passed several villages on the way, and got smiles and waves from the people in all of the, just like I had throughout the country. Really friendly people, the Tico’s. Or maybe they were just laughing at the crazy gringo and pointing at what was happening to my new rental car. Who knows? I prefer to believe that they were the happy friendly folks I had seen throughout the country my entire trip.

Cano Blanco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the road was what looked like a fuel  farm. Gas  tanks, pumps,  parking, and a long wooden dock that sat right on one of the many canals, rivers, and streams that all lead to the sea.

I parked  and was thankful that Angelo, the lodge manager and guide, lived on Tico time. He knew it would take me a lot longer than I planned, because he grew up in one of the villages I passed on the road. He was waiting for me, with a cup of rich Costa Rican coffee in his hand when I pulled up, so we loaded up my gear in the boat, locked my rental car, and down the river we went.

Next up, Tarpon!!!

 

Adventure, Fishing, Food, Relaxation, Travel, Vacation, Welcome to Yondering

There’s No Place Like….Home?

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So, after changing some money, (yes I made that mistake too…) and getting my rental car, a full size SUV, I headed out to find my hotel. I stayed the first night at the Hotel Aeropuerto. The place is amazing! If you are looking to find some REAL Costa Rica, not just a Holiday inn with a banana tree in the yard, I highly recommend the Airport Hotel. It’s not the easiest place to find, I’ll admit it. I drove past it twice before I realized where it was. It is in Alajuelo, and while I don’t know the crime statistics here, I would say that this is not the best neighborhood. Having said that though, when I pulled in, there was a gate blocking the driveway. The guard at the gate checked my reservation, and handed me a small plastic parking pass. It’s not to park, its for getting out. Apparently at one time there was a car stolen from here. That won’t happen again. I was told not to leave the pass in the car, to take it with me. My car would not be allowed to leave without it. A novel approach!!!

Once I got into the hotel, I was pleasantly amazed. Being the tropics, it rains. A lot. instead of trying to keep all the water out, the hotel lives with it, as its friendly neighbor. The floors are tile. The walls in the lobby are open, with a lofted ceiling. The people are VERY friendly. Everything was a wonderful surprise after my initial shock at the gate. The rooms are large, airy, air-conditioned, and comfortable. Right outside my window are a huge mango tree, and several banana or plantain tree.  To tell you the truth, I don’t know the  difference, but it was nice to have such a beautiful reminder that I’m in the tropics!

Next time, the restaurant at the Hotel Aeropuerto….

Adventure, Fishing, Food, Relaxation, Travel, Vacation, Welcome to Yondering

Here we go!

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Well, the supplies are bought, catalogued, folded, spindled and mutilated, bags packed, lists made and printed in triplicate, passport copied, and its time to hit the road! The trip is to Costa Rica, but I’m traveling on my own. No tours, no guides, traveling without a net, so to speak. I looked at what Costa Rica has to offer, picked my favorite 4 or 5 things, and I’m hitting the road! Should be a real Kick in the Pants!

The plan includes fishing, diving, surfing, zip-lining, and a visit to Baldi Hot Springs; the biggest collection of hot spring pools I have ever heard of.

Baldi is twenty pools of varying size and temperature located on the side of a volcano, with water slides, hotel, and all manner of interesting and provocative food and activities.

Fishing will be on the Caribbean coast for Tarpon, with offshore trips in the morning, and river trips in the afternoons. A bonus will be the possibility of seeing a crocodile or two, possibly eating a fish I hook.

Surfing? Tamarindo. Beach break with soft sand, friendly people, and great food. No reef to get torn to shreds on, just a bit of sandblasting if I fall too often. Oh well, thats surfing! I haven’t been on a board for nearly forty years, so I’m taking a lesson the first thing when I get there.

The zip-lining will be in the form of a Canopy tour. According to their website, I will be taking 25 zip lines, with 11 of them going over waterfalls. I’ll also be doing the “Superman” zip line, where I lay out like I’m flying. I hope my videos come out!

Diving will be on an as available basis. Maybe Pacific coast, maybe Caribbean coast. I hope to get to the worlds second longest barrier reef, off the Caribbean coast of Central America, but if it should come up when I’m over at the Pacific? I’ll go there!

Should be a really interesting trip.

I decided to go it alone, because I want to get off the beaten path. I’m renting a car, driving myself, and hoping to find the adventure that I’m looking for, after too many trips with planned side trips, staged luau’s, and non-original performers. I’ll see the real country, eat the food wherever I find something that looks good, and meet the people that live there.

Stay tuned folks…it should be one hell of a ride!!!

Oso…..