UncleBuck
Well-Known Member
all i noticed were the wild root vegetables growing until you said that.
Costa Rica, One heck of a surprise . . . ~
- Thread starter GreatwhiteNorth
- Start date
Yeah, that's what I thought also. It had a leaf on the top of it when I saw it so I took a branch & moved it for the photo.
I wasn't about to touch that alien looking motherfucker.
Scoob said he was pretty sure it was a nut/fruit that had fallen from one of the trees. I'll take his word for it. Lol.
On that same hike both the Mrs and myself got hit by these medium sized black ants. The one that stung me hit me on the wrist & a spot the diameter of a golf ball went completely numb, well except for the burning part.
Mean little bastards !
joe macclennan
Well-Known Member
damn! I hate biting/stinging ants.
i'm pretty observant at times buck. sometimes...not so much
i'm pretty observant at times buck. sometimes...not so much
dannyboy602
Well-Known Member
Nice pix GWN. Looks like a good time was had by all.
ScoobyDoobyDoo
Well-Known Member
Trust me, i'm coming. already looked into flights. can get there in one day from NY to Chicago to Anchorage to You! Long day but better to get it all done in one shot. I'll probably have my tickets booked this week.
I'll be home in NY April 26th till May 11th if you wanna send any moose meat.
i'll PM you the address.
Winter Woman
Well-Known Member
GWN, I loved Costa Rica when we were there. The only thing was we couldn't stay as long as we wanted. Like I said before the people are warm and inviting. Loved it.
Scoob you are lucky to live there.
Scoob you are lucky to live there.
ScoobyDoobyDoo
Well-Known Member
Gonna hijack your thread for a sec GWN. All the cool kids are here anyway so i figured it would be a good place to post.
Been on an adventure for the last few days that started Sunday with a flight to Contadora. An island of the coast of Panama City. It's part of the Pearl Islands Archipelago. It's something absolutely breathtaking. I don't have the adapter for my camera memory card till i get back to Costa Rica but i have some cellphone pics i wanted to post.
Got to hang out with Bear Grylls and his production crew for a few days. They were staying in the only other house with access to a secluded, private beach on the western end of the island. Down to earth guy who is definitely 100% adrenaline.
So one morning i was up at like 5:30 down on the beach stretching cause i was gonna go for a swim. Bear came down to work out and we got to talking. We talked about my brother, life, his adventures, my adventures, etc... Then he asked me if i was going for a swim and i told him i was gonna try and swim to an island out in front of our beach (picture #5 above). He said "no way you're gonna make it buddy. Besides the fact you don't look like you are in tiptop shape, there are some pretty strong currents out there." I told him i may have packed on some pounds since losing my brother and father which are slowly coming off now that i'm back to working out and clean living and eating...i am a fish in the water. He said they's keep an eye on me with the jet skis. I figured it would take me 2 hours since i do 1 mile in 25-30 minutes back in Costa Rica with no real currents. So i measured it on Google Earth and it came out to 2.52 miles. I knew if the currents got to strong then i could bail off to the island to the right (picture #4 above) which was 1.62 miles from our beach. I charged my Gopro camera and set off.
Problem was i misjudged the currents and went to far right and got sucked into a back eddy created by the current swinging around the closer islands reef jetty. I was literally swimming in place for 15 minutes before i gave up and swam over to the shorter island. More pics and the video to follow when i get back to Costa Rica and get the adapter for my memory card. I figure i swam about 1.8-1.9 miles if you count the time i spent trying to fight the current around the point with little to no progress. Attempt #2 will take place in 2 weeks when i'm back on the island with my good swim googles. Was using a cheap $10 pair I bought on the island that actually broke when i took them off. My eyes hurt for 2 days afterward. All i had with me was a knife, my GoPro camera and a set of googles. No fins, no snorkel.
Intended Swim
Where I ended up
Been on an adventure for the last few days that started Sunday with a flight to Contadora. An island of the coast of Panama City. It's part of the Pearl Islands Archipelago. It's something absolutely breathtaking. I don't have the adapter for my camera memory card till i get back to Costa Rica but i have some cellphone pics i wanted to post.
Got to hang out with Bear Grylls and his production crew for a few days. They were staying in the only other house with access to a secluded, private beach on the western end of the island. Down to earth guy who is definitely 100% adrenaline.
So one morning i was up at like 5:30 down on the beach stretching cause i was gonna go for a swim. Bear came down to work out and we got to talking. We talked about my brother, life, his adventures, my adventures, etc... Then he asked me if i was going for a swim and i told him i was gonna try and swim to an island out in front of our beach (picture #5 above). He said "no way you're gonna make it buddy. Besides the fact you don't look like you are in tiptop shape, there are some pretty strong currents out there." I told him i may have packed on some pounds since losing my brother and father which are slowly coming off now that i'm back to working out and clean living and eating...i am a fish in the water. He said they's keep an eye on me with the jet skis. I figured it would take me 2 hours since i do 1 mile in 25-30 minutes back in Costa Rica with no real currents. So i measured it on Google Earth and it came out to 2.52 miles. I knew if the currents got to strong then i could bail off to the island to the right (picture #4 above) which was 1.62 miles from our beach. I charged my Gopro camera and set off.
Problem was i misjudged the currents and went to far right and got sucked into a back eddy created by the current swinging around the closer islands reef jetty. I was literally swimming in place for 15 minutes before i gave up and swam over to the shorter island. More pics and the video to follow when i get back to Costa Rica and get the adapter for my memory card. I figure i swam about 1.8-1.9 miles if you count the time i spent trying to fight the current around the point with little to no progress. Attempt #2 will take place in 2 weeks when i'm back on the island with my good swim googles. Was using a cheap $10 pair I bought on the island that actually broke when i took them off. My eyes hurt for 2 days afterward. All i had with me was a knife, my GoPro camera and a set of googles. No fins, no snorkel.
Intended Swim
Where I ended up
ScoobyDoobyDoo
Well-Known Member
just gimme a few days to get back to costa rica and get the adapter for the micro sd card so i can load the camera and GoPro images and video.
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
That, my fine Scotch friend, would be a very nice bull Dolphin!! (Mahi-Mahi) GWN, You get the whole school? Nothing like laying into a school of dolphin. Bloody mess, but beautiful fish!! So glad ya had a great time!!
You're a rare bird, Scooby....Thanx for being so.
Winter Woman
Well-Known Member
Man, I asked you to come to our place in beautiful Fort Myers. All kidding aside I think you went to the right place. Fort Myers is nice but not as nice as that.Mrs GWN and I decided well over a year ago to quit waiting and plan a Lifetime adventure for ourselves and many possible exotic destinations came up. We looked into Java, Fiji, Tahiti and several South Pacific vacation spots and after seeing pictures of Costa Rica posted by Scooby, (neither of us having been anywhere even close) we came to the decision to look into it.
I PMd Scooby asking for local knowledge of things for us to see and do in that beautiful country, plus I specifically asked for a recommendation on where we might stay, somewhere not touristy ~ off the beaten path so to speak that wouldnt break the bank.
He gave me an honest assessment of the usual vacation spots in the country, but then floored us with if you are looking for the opposite of the drunk college crowd you are more than welcome to stay at my house. I have to say at first I was really apprehensive and taken aback at the generosity of the offer (wed never met IRL or even spoken on the phone).
I remember thinking the usual negative shit like kidnapping, forced into being Coke mules, having our kidneys (or worse yet my ponytail) sold on the black market and the like, but after more research and subsequent PMs Momma and I decided to throw caution into the wind & booked tickets for the 5000 plus mile journey south from Alaska to a latitude lower than either of us had ever been (we went from 58 to 8 degrees !).
Preparations began months ago with much research on my part and immunizations and then some more immunizations (to make sure).
Passports were next on the list as were just a couple more shots only because I think the nurse just liked poking us !
Departure day finally arrived & were grinning like a couple of grade-schoolers at recess when we finally boarded our late flight as during our departure the snow and high winds threatened to shut down our small airport. But after two long days of travel (each direction involved 5 planes), we arrived in the small coastal town and Scooby was at the tiny runway to greet us and take us to the house.
The house itself is a stunning colonial style 4br masterpiece that is placed in an impeccably manicured botanical garden that just begs to be photographed. Add that to the constant parade of some of the most beautiful birds you can imagine. Scarlet Macaws, Chestnut mandibled Toucans, King vultures a dozen specie of parrots and then the hundreds of parakeets. Flycatchers, humming birds wood peckers, and a bazillion other birds Ive never seen before vied for my attention (read camera) before flitting out of view.
I believe I may just be the King of bird ass shots. Lol.
Our host departed on business the next day leaving us in the remarkable hands of the home staff. We literally had nothing to do except drink (Hey, its hot down here for an Alaskan boy & Imperial beer tastes pretty good with limon @ 8:00 am) and lay about the pool or explore the private gated compound. Traveling through foreign countries with weed is something Im not prepared to do and this was solved handily as a beautifully cured ½ oz or so appeared and stayed filled throughout our visit and proved ample plus some for our needs.
Meals were fabulous, we were not allowed to assist in anything, and calling the Caretaker a Central American Chef would be a serious demotion. That man is gracious to a fault with an unbelievable sense of humor and he literally would not let us out of his sight when we took forays into town.
We like him and his family. (Mouy-Grande understatement).
Scooby returned several days later and we were treated to a day of Offshore fishing that was simply spectacular 6 beautiful Dorado in the 30-40 lb range (we kept 4 to eat and share), 6 sailfish released, my best went 220 according to those on the boat in the know, which was most everyone except the Mrs. and myself. The grand finale was a beautiful 350 lb Blue Marlin that put on a great show jumping and tail-walking before finally trying to slug it out down deep.
Once she was worked back to the surface, Scoob put on his gear & got into the water with her. She was pretty tired by this time and he was able to work himself close enough on the leader (shes still jumping halfheartedly mind you) and finally with a swipe of the knife she swam free.
Long and the short of the situation is that we quickly became friends with a common interest in fishing, weed and the outdoors is he brash? You bet.
Is he self confident to a fault? No doubt.
Is he fake ? Not a chance the dude has heart and never once made us feel like we were anything less than long lost best friends.
Ill post more pics as I get through them we literally took thousands.
And no negativity in this thread please Id prefer the shit-talking stayed in politics.
Thanks for sharing our biggest adventure to date, and a huge thanks Scooby for helping it happen.
More pics to follow.
I spent many formative years growing up in S. Fla and Key West, plus we really wanted to see something off the charts different.
And we did.
Thanks again Scoob !
Winter Woman
Well-Known Member
Formative years. You must have fished a lot.
Winter Woman
Well-Known Member
BTW, how is your daughter?
chiefsirbong420
Well-Known Member
WOw. im jealous... seems like the vacation of a lifetime!!!!
did you eat the Ma-hee Ma-hee. dont know how to spell that fish but thats good enough lol
the water is amazing.... just pure beauty all around i see..
reminds me of the Jamaica trip i had in 06 for my mom's wedding.. talk about paradise!!
glad to see you have a wonderful time GWN!!!!!
kinda missed ya on my thread lol
best regards,
Chief
did you eat the Ma-hee Ma-hee. dont know how to spell that fish but thats good enough lol
the water is amazing.... just pure beauty all around i see..
reminds me of the Jamaica trip i had in 06 for my mom's wedding.. talk about paradise!!
glad to see you have a wonderful time GWN!!!!!
kinda missed ya on my thread lol
best regards,
Chief
She'd doing well, the first biopsy was inconclusive (and that's good news they said), they now have her on a steroid regime that appears to be working.
Thank you for asking - she's been on our minds a lot lately.
ScoobyDoobyDoo
Well-Known Member
No, Thank You! For being amazing people and great company. Honestly I thought i'd check you in and introduce you to the staff and make sure you weren't crackheads who were gonna burn my house down; then I was gonna leave and go fishing in Los Suenos.
But instead you turned out to be amazing people that I wanted to hang out with and I had an amazing time fishing and showing you around. I'm glad and proud to call you both my friends now.
ALASKA!!!! August 2014!
Unclebaldrick
Well-Known Member
Oh. Shit. I was gonna ask... But I am a crackhead who has burned down several houses.
Oh well.
Oh well.
dirtyho1968
Well-Known Member
Wow, Scoob is the man! Sounds like a great vacation was had, awesome.
ScoobyDoobyDoo
Well-Known Member
Still working on the video but i've got some good pics to share from the swim and the beach.
View from my bedroom at the house
Private Beach
Birds as promised!
Gear for the swim and the "launch"
View from my bedroom at the house
Private Beach
Birds as promised!
Gear for the swim and the "launch"