COSTA RICA PRIVATE DINNER
Four Seasons Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo off ers an alfresco dinner inspired by the evening sky above a secluded table for two.
Created with the help of astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz, the moleculargastronomy menu is called Taste the Stars and features the day’s freshest catch.
For dessert, the Galaxy is a glowin-the-dark sphere fi lled with chilled, local artisan chocolate and mango. An astronomer and a high-powered telescope are available for guided gazing.
Rooms from $250 per person.
Costa Rica Map Photo Gallery
After a spell of heavy weather, though, lots of dead kelp gets washed into the gullies to the north where it quickly goes stagnant. A sheltered dive site, or at least one protected from the main tidal streams and a good place to introduce a novice diver. There are a number of submerged hillocks’ only a couple of metres or so below the surface, forming deep channels and cul-de-sacs, with the surrounding depths between 8 and 15 metres. Some of those close to the main reef often contain stagnant seaweed at certain times of the year but many others are teeming with marine life. On the outside of the hillocks there are lots of rocks and small boulders, which go down a steep slope to a seabed of dirty sand at 20 metres plus. The area seems to attract fair numbers of small fish too, including little ballan wrasse. Visibility is usually only moderate, due to the lack of tidal movement, but can be good after a spring tide. An interesting dive with some very large boulders on a patchy sand and stone bottom, with a 4-5 metre submerged cliff face just out from the main reef. A strong current runs on the top half of the tide in the channel between the Bluecaps and Little Harcar, but on a spring tide it develops into a raging torrent. It is still possible to dive on the flood, as the current is mostly near to the top half of the water and you can find plenty of shelter, but on the ebb you may end up in the bay on the northern side of the reef.
