Costa Rica Travels
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica, and it ended up being one of the most memorable experiences of my life. A couple of my friends and I had talked about doing this trip for years, so finally seeing it all come together felt unreal. From the moment we landed, there was this mix of excitement and anticipation knowing what we had planned ahead of us.
As soon as we got there, we didn’t waste any time. We headed straight to Playa Hermosa and jumped in the water to surf. It was the perfect way to start the trip, warm water, good waves, and that feeling of finally being there after talking about it for so long. After that session, we went back, unpacked our gear, and got everything ready because the next three days were all about spearfishing offshore for yellowfin tuna.
The first day on the boat was honestly a rollercoaster. We left early and drove about 85 miles offshore, which already felt crazy just being that far out in the open ocean. Once we got to the spot, the captain would line us up and suddenly yell “dive, dive, dive!” and we’d jump in without hesitation. On one of the first drops, we went straight down and were immediately surrounded by a pod of dolphins. It was one of those moments that didn’t even feel real. We had been told that when dolphins show up, tuna are usually right behind them, and sure enough, seconds later, massive tuna started flying past us. Some of them were pushing 150 pounds and looked like cars speeding by underwater. It got your heart racing instantly. We all tried to get into position for a shot, but they were just out of reach. After multiple dives and close encounters, we didn’t land anything that first day. We were definitely a little disappointed, but at the same time, we knew we were right there and it could happen at any moment.
Day two felt different right from the start. Everyone on the boat had this mindset that it was going to happen that day. While trolling early on, we ended up hooking a huge blue marlin and fought it for about 30 minutes. That alone made the day feel like a success. But then came the moment we had been waiting for. When the captain called for us to dive, I was already in position. I hit the water and dropped down, and suddenly I was staring at a wall of tuna. Instead of rushing, I stayed calm and let them move naturally. One of them came just close enough, gave me a clean opportunity, and I took the shot. The second it connected, everything changed. I came up to the surface and started celebrating, but it wasn’t over yet. It took about another hour of fighting the fish and getting a second shot in before we finally got it on the boat. It was easily one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.
After that, we went back and surfed right outside the house to end the day, which honestly felt like the perfect balance of everything we love doing.
The next few days were full of nonstop action, surfing, fishing, freediving, and filming everything along the way. One of the highlights of the whole trip was bringing the tuna we caught to a local sushi restaurant. They prepared it for us and brought out three huge platters of fresh sushi made from the fish I had shot. It was unreal. There was so much food that it basically became our breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next couple of days.
Overall, the trip to Costa Rica was something I’ll never forget. Being able to surf every day, experience offshore spearfishing like that, and land a fish of a lifetime was incredible on its own. But doing it all with my four best friends is what really made it special. It’s the kind of trip we’ll be talking about for years, and something I’d do all over again in a heartbeat.