My family is one of those families that not only get along well, but also do everything together. Naturally, this has given way to the planning and execution of many, many family vacations over the years. We’ve gone camping in the woods, hunting in the plains, skiing down mountains, and sailing the Caribbean on a cruise ship – so many great memories. Well, my favorite memory is from a family trip to Costa Rica, especially the adventure I had on a Fishing Charter at Los Suenos Marina in Jaco Beach!
It was a beautiful, crisp winter morning when I left my cozy apartment in the city and made my way to the airport to meet up with the family and go on our family vacation. We had been planning this particular vacation for a while, a couple of months, and boy, was I excited! After having done some extensive research online, I came across and contacted a full-service agency called Jaco VIP in Jaco Beach, that offered amazing all-inclusive vacation packages. After a brief conversation revolving around what I wanted and what they offered, we immediately began planning the vacation. I had heard about Costa Rica, and had never been! Well, this would be my opportunity – and no doubt, the family would love it! Just as I retrieved my passport from the check-in desk, I was lifted right off my feet and carried off in chants and cheers – my brother had arrived. After a few minutes of youthful wrestling, I heard my mother’s voice scolding us, and we stopped in a hurry – Mom and Dad had arrived. Before long, the whole clan was present and accounted for, and we made our way to the gate to take our flight.
After a few hours in the plane, we finally landed in Costa Rica at around noon. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was simply spectacular. The sun in my eyes, sweat dripping down my back and the humidity already sticky on my skin, we made our way into the Air-Conditioned Mercedes Benz Sprinter van that had come to receive us, and transport us to Jaco. The vacation package we had purchased included the service of a personal concierge, a very friendly and pretty girl, whom my two brothers immediately noticed and took it upon themselves to impress with their wrestling moves. She giggled, shook my hand and asked me whether we had had a pleasant flight. I thanked her and asked her about the weather, and whether the forecast predicted any anomalies. Luckily, it turned out that it was the dry season in Costa Rica, so the weather was expected to be nice pretty much all the time. After an hour and a half in the van, we got off in front of the gorgeous Vacation Rental in Jaco Beach we had booked for the weekend – it was huge! Before long, the whole family made themselves at home.
I woke up from my nap in the late afternoon; man, that king-size bed had been amazing! I found my mother and grandparents poolside sipping on cocktails, the children messing about around and inside of the swimming pool, and my brothers throwing around the old pig-skin on the beach out front with my father. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I went inside to check on things, and saw that my uncle was talking to the Private Chefs and Bartenders, bossing them around. I quickly intervened, got him away from them, and thanked them for having come. Before long, exotic cocktails started going around, the air smelled of grilled meat and a long table was placed and set up by the pool. The Chefs served the food, homemade burgers and chili dogs – delicious! After dinner, we relaxed by the pool with beers until midnight and called it quits – for the following morning we would be having an early start!
The next morning, we were all up bright and early to the seductive smell of pancakes, eggs and bacon – the Chefs had been at it! After an amazing breakfast, we thanked the Chefs and headed out in our van. We drove over to a nearby marina called Los Suenos Marina, from where we’d be sailing out on our fishing trip for the day. We were greeted by the captain and the mate, very friendly guys, and without wasting any more time, we speedily sailed into the blue. The sun burning my cheeks, the wind messing up my hair and the salty whiff of the ocean in my nostrils, I felt completely and totally free. Before long, we stopped at a spot where the water was calm, and so began our fishing adventure. My father caught a Yellow-fin Tuna, my uncle caught a Blue Marlin, one of my brothers caught a Mahi-Mahi and the other one caught a boot – oh boy, did we have a laugh! Disillusioned and tired, just when I was about to give up, since it had been hours without a single bite, something bit! The mate yelled out in excitement, “FISH!”, and with that my heart started beating faster. After a long struggle, we managed to get the Roosterfish onboard – I was so happy! Of course, the idea was to take all the fish we had caught back to the house to eat it all that very night! Dinner would be legendary!
Upon arrival at the house, at around sunset, a group of Chefs greeted us at the door, took the numerous fish we had all caught, and disappeared into the kitchen. I went up and showered, changed, and by the time I came back down to the pool deck for cocktail hour, the air smelled of food! I was starving! Before long, we all sat down on a long, very neat table. Plate by plate, the fish we had caught arrived, each dish looking for delicious than the other. I took a whiff of all the food in front of me, snapped a mental shot of this perfect moment and chugged my beer before dinner. “Hm,” I thought, “I’m so glad we came here!”
