But if you’ve ever wanted to know what it feels like to swoop, hover and move in 3 dimensions there is a way to experience that: Learn to dive.

Underwater you can move like a bird moves in the sky…you can hover, swoop, nosedive…actually you can also do a few things birds rarely do – like back flips, cartwheels and lie motionless on your back viewing fish above you.

The feeling of diving is an exhilarating sense of freedom and conversely deeply calming – a feeling quite incomparable to those we experience in our everyday lives. Imagine yourself moving in slow three dimensional motion, with the sound of your breath and the static of the water as accompanying rhythms.

Of course it’s not only about freedom of movement and different sensory perceptions: as most divers will tell you, it’s about discovering a different world. And that underwater world is beautiful, fascinating, stunning in its diversity and just off the beaches of this coast. You could say that the difference between snorkeling and diving is that the snorkeler remains an observer and the diver becomes a participant. Below the surface you become part of that underwater world and that is a thrill in itself.

It’s easy to become enthusiastic about diving before you’ve even tried it when you listen to Robin (Dive Master), Jessica (Dive Master) and Esteban (Instructor) describing diving with turtles, getting up close and personal with multicolored tropical fish, sponges and healthy coral reefs. Robin, Esteban, Jessica and Austin are passionate about what they do and they are the team that form Reef Runners.

Reef Runners was the first dive shop in Puerto Viejo, opening in 1997, so Reef Runners have been exploring the local reefs for 13 years now. One of two operating dive shops in this area Reef Runners has good relations with Punta Uva Dive and the friendly competitors regulate their prices to benefit both customers and operators. The current team run a tight ship at Reef Runners. Professional and efficient they are also approachable and friendly – and passionate about diving! Safety is paramount and equipment is new, maintained in good condition and regularly replaced. Robin, Jessica, Esteban and Austin all agree that the focus at Reef Runners is Customer Service with an emphasis on Quality rather than Quantity – which means that you won’t be one of the masses.

It’s 8.30am at Reef Runners on a Monday morning and the diving conditions are perfect: calm and sunny. The sea is like a bolt of blue silk laid out in front of us as we sip some coffee and prepare to leave for Uli Fish Reef.

There are 10 of us: 2 students taking the Advanced course with Austin (Instructor), 2 students taking the Open Water course with Esteban (Instructor), and a certified diver with his buddy.

The short boat trip is a pleasure in itself … Puerto Viejo from the water looks almost uninhabited. Kitted up, the divers disappear off the boat, returning with enthusiastic reports of great visibility (25 meters), colorful reef and myriad types of tropical fish. (Attention Divers: According to Robin, the best visibility on this coast is usually during May, end of August, all of September and most of October.) It’s been a good dive and we head back for a lunch of pizza and watermelon before the afternoon dive.

Chatting with Esteban and Robin back at Reef Runners (one of the prettiest views in town incidentally) I acknowledge that diving for them is a way of life, but what do they think makes diving special for the rest of us that do it occasionally? Esteban replies: “There are two answers to that: Land and Sea. Most places that offer good recreational diving are also beautiful places with much to offer visitors. And diving, you feel part of the environment you are in, rather than just a spectator. You move within that world rather than observing it from a distance.”

Reef Runners offers the diver plenty of choices:

• All PADI courses from Open Water up to and including Dive Master
• Recreational Dives for Certified Divers: 2 Tank dive including all equipment and lunch: US$ 90
• Discovery Dive: US$ 55

If you still don’t feel like getting up close and personal in the marine sense, Reef Runners offer other treats in and around the ocean: How about Dolphin-spotting off the coast at Manzanillo or taking a Sunset Booze Cruise followed by a beach barbecue? Naturally there are snorkeling trips to be had too: allow the experts to take you to the best spots and en-joy a boat trip too!

Drop by, have a look at their newly updated Tour book and have a chat – with a good soda right next door Reef Runners is a fun place to spend an hour or two.

If now, you’re even just a little bit curious about what it feels like to ‘fly’ underwater, be adventurous and try a Discovery Dive in the clear, warm Caribbean ocean.

Reef Runners can be contacted via their website www.reefrunnerdivers.com, by telephone at +506 2750 0480 or book online through Gecko Trail Adventures at www.GeckoTrail.com/tour.htm?tid=scuba

Article by Zoë Courtier. Zoë along with her husband Tom Keller are the proprietors of Geckoes Rainforest River Lodge. Two luxurious holiday houses with private plunge pools in a magnificent rainforest and river setting minutes from Playa Cocles. More information at www.geckoeslodge.com

The station’s location Hone Creek is just 5km from Puerto Viejo near the crossroads of the Limon-Sixaola highway.

A number of local hotels and vacation rental properties have reported receiving reservation request emails which don’t ring true.

The request is generally for a large number of people and rooms and is on behalf of “clients”.

Other signs of of a fraudulent reservation request include:

• The request is usually written in awkward English, often very formal with language like “Dear Sir/Madam”
• Usually they will just email the property directly but there have been some instances where they are getting more sophisticated and are filling in the property’s reservation form or filling in the reservation form from the reserve link for the hotel on Puerto Viejo Satellite.
• Often the dates or the details or the booking are not specified or vague.
• They will offer to pay for the advance reservation all at once with a credit card.

Here’s an excerpt of an email that a local hotel forwarded me:

Dear sir ma, I will like to book for rooms in your place for my clients who will like to stay for some days in your country for business purpose .so i will really appreciate it if you can kindly get back to me with a good and urgent reply.Below is the details of my reservation. Reservation details Room Type. 3 Standard single rooms. check in :20/ 1/ 2010 check out:27 /1/ 2010 Number of guest…3 people. Days of stay…7 days Guest Names. Mr John Cole Mr Andre Martin Mrs Sandra Smith Thanks and get back to me fast with the total cost of the booking so that isend to you my credit card details. Note that all payment for the reservation shall be charged before the arrival of my clients. thanks Waiting for your reply soon Regards Mack Jones

If you write back, they will give you a credit card number and ask you to charge the room charges to it.  Then they will contact you to cancel or change the reservation and ask you to refund them via Western Union or wire transfer, saying that the credit card they originally used has changed or some other excuse.  The problem is that the credit card number they gave you originally was stolen and the amount will eventually be charged back (reversed) in full to you plus fees from the bank.

To protect yourself, never refund clients in another form of payment other than the way they paid in. If they paid using a particular credit card, refund via that method. Otherwise you’ll find that the credit card amount gets charged back to you by the bank some weeks later and you’ve already sent them money via Western Union or some other method.

If English isn’t the first language of whoever is replying to your reservation inquiries, they may have difficulty spotting these requests.  I would recommend going over these guidelines with any staff answering emails and have them ask someone whose first language is English if the request looks genuine.

If it all sounds a little bit too good to be true, it probably is.

Algunos hoteles y casas de vacaciones han recibido correo electrónico solicitudes de reservas que no parece verdades.

Normalemente, La petición es para un gran número de personas y habitaciones y es en nombre de unos “clientes”.

Otros signos de una solicitud de reserva de fraude incluyen:

• La solicitud se suele escribir en Inglés torpe, a menudo muy formal con el lenguaje como “Dear Sir/Madam”
• Por lo general, enviaremos un correo electrónico directamente al hotel, pero ha habido algunos casos en los que son cada vez más sofisticados y están rellenando el formulario de propiedades de reserva o rellenando el formulario de reservas desde el enlace de reserva para el hotel en Puerto Viejo Satellite.
• Muchas veces, las fechas o los detalles de la reserva o no se especifican o son vagos.
• Ofrecerán a pagar por la reserva con una tarjeta de crédito.

Aquí es un extracto de un correo electrónico que un hotel local me transmitió:

Dear sir ma, I will like to book for rooms in your place for my clients who will like to stay for some days in your country for business purpose .so i will really appreciate it if you can kindly get back to me with a good and urgent reply.Below is the details of my reservation. Reservation details Room Type. 3 Standard single rooms. check in :20/ 1/ 2010 check out:27 /1/ 2010 Number of guest…3 people. Days of stay…7 days Guest Names. Mr John Cole Mr Andre Martin Mrs Sandra Smith Thanks and get back to me fast with the total cost of the booking so that isend to you my credit card details. Note that all payment for the reservation shall be charged before the arrival of my clients. thanks Waiting for your reply soon Regards Mack Jones

Si escribes de nuevo, se le dará un número de tarjeta de crédito y le pedirá que cargue la sala de cargos a la misma. Entonces se pondrá en contacto con usted para cancelar o modificar la reserva y le pedirá a la devolución a través de Western Union o transferencia bancaria, diciendo que la tarjeta de crédito que ha utilizado originalmente ha cambiado o alguna otra excusa. El problema es que el número de tarjeta de crédito que le dieron originalmente fue robado. Últimamente, el banco se invertirá la carga en totalidad y el hotel se ha perdido el dinero que había sido enviado a través de Western Union.

Para protegerse no reembolsar a sus clientes en otra forma de pago distintos de manera que pagaron. Si paga con tarjeta de crédito en particular, el reembolso a través de ese método al mismo tarjeta.

Yo recomendaría que revise estas directrices con todo el personal cuya incumba la responsabilidad incluye la respuesta de correo electrónico. Si no está seguro, deben preguntarle a alguien que es el primer idioma es el Inglés si la petición parece auténtico.

Si una repuesta suena demasiado bueno para ser verdad, probablemente lo es.

A high court ruling on Monday afternoon was what led to the suspension of the eviction and demolition proceedings on Hotels Suerre and Las Palmas. More than 120 officials from the police, fire and coast guard who had arrived along with work crews went home on Tuesday to await the court’s final decision.

But the ruling was a temporary injunction only while the court studies the issue more. The next step will be a public hearing for all involved parties set for November 27.

The high court originally ordered the demolition of the two hotels in 2001. But action on this has been suspended by 11 injunctions, two lawsuits, one habeas corpus writ and now Monday afternoon’s ruling.

More: Tico Times: Caribbean hotels saved by high court halt on demolition

With the owners, employees and supporters battling the action, the eviction and demolition of Hotel Suerre has now been called off.

At 2pm today, two busloads filled with police and a caravan of MINAE vehicles left town.

The saga continues…

La Nacion’s now out of date article from yesterday gives further background: Minaet desalojará hoteles dentro de refugio en Cahuita

Community leaders including the local tourism chamber of commerce (CATCAS) held emergency meetings with officials in the area and in San Jose and the proceedings against Suerre have been stopped.

Hotel Suerre employees and supporters took to the streets, in a caravan of cars honking horns, to celebrate the preservation of their hotel and their jobs.

Hotel Suerre was notified Thursday evening at 6:30 to begin vacating he hotel.  They have already begun to take all the steps to comply as best as possible with the order but do not feel it is humanly / physically possible to prepare the hotel in time for Tuesday.

It was apparently never clear to them that they were included in the original order put out last month.

They say that they signed an agreement in 2005 which indemnified them; and that they paid a fine that went towards infrastructure improvements in Manzanillo.

At Hotel Suerre, there are 20-30 employees that are losing their jobs and the hotel is booked this month for the Regatta – and all those reservations are being canceled.

New Palí store in Hone Creek on opening day. Local artisan David at Muebles Rustico across the street from the new Palí The new Banco Naciónal bank building

Today was the opening of the new Palí in Hone Creek.  They are known throughout Central America as the discount grocer.  Controlling interest of Palí along with 4 other Central American supermarket chains were bought by Walmart a few years back.  If today’s line ups and traffic jam to get in are any indication, it will be a huge success.

David, local furniture builder and wood artist who works right across the street, seemed happy with the opening.  It seemed more important to him that there would be more women to watch than the opportunity to sell more furniture.

Hone Creek was also just graced with a new office for the local water company.  It seems that Hone creek will be the central town for most supporting services to the area.  Large construction material provider, Colono is located right in the center and opened just over 1 year ago.

The new Banco National Building which is right next door to the Bank of Costa Rica has just been completed and is ready for occupancy.  In addition to the bank there will be some offices and retail also in the buillding.

As if one new Supermarket was not enough, developers are wasting no time in constructing a new Mega-Super right in downtown Puerto Viejo.  Prices will not be as low as discounter Palí, but will provide some competition for the current markets in town whose prices often seem aimed at tourists, making living and shopping in the community difficult for locals.  This can be a real hardship for the locals, when typical salaries run $400- $500 month.

And finally, a gas station.  Just down from the new Palí is a new gas station just going in.  It should be ready in a couple months.  Right now, the closest one is in Penshurt, 22 kms away, so advance planning and wasted fuel is required for a fill-up.  Local sources say it will have the same owner as the station in Penshurt.

Not all are thrilled by all these displays of capitalism, as the lively debate on the Talamanca News on previous development news has proven.

New gas station building site, Hone Creek.

New Mega Super site, Puerto Viejo.

CATCAS, the South Caribbean Tourism and Business Board, is announcing a general meeting for all members on Monday July 20. The meeting will begin at 2:45pm at the Casa de la Cultura in Puerto Viejo.

There is only one item on the agenda for this special meeting: discussion of a project to construct facilities for the association and authorization to seek financing for this.

Questions should be directed to Rolando Soto at turismocaribesur@yahoo.com.

With average $250 a night rates, its also in a price class by itself.

A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World association, they offer a pool, spa, rooms with lighting which can change with your mood, restaurant and bar.

You can make reservations inquiries here.

Pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words, so here are a few:

Reception and Lobby

Room

Pool