Rubicon Whitewater Adventures

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures in conjuction with associate outfitter Slick Rock Adventures conducts a variety of Adventure Sports in Belize.

Ambergris Caye Trip Report
Ian Anderson's Cave Branch Lodge

In an unspoiled area of the Caribbean Sea Belize offers spectacular reefs, verdant rainforests and idyllic tropical islands. In beauty and diversity of fauna the Belize barrier reef is second only to Australia's great barrier reef. Belize offers some of the finest diving, sea kayaking and mainland adventures in the hemisphere. We also explore spectacular Mayan ruins, raft hidden jungle gorges and explore mountains, caves and wildlife preserves.

Adventure sports provide an ideal opportunity to discover and explore the natural wonders in Belize. Rubicon through Slick Rock Adventures will be offering both mainland and island adventure activites including whitewater rafting, sea kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, mountain biking and a thrilling ride on an underground river. For more information check out Slickrock's website http://www.slickrock.com

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Cocos Islands

Cocos Island , lying isolated in the tropical Pacific, three hundred miles southwest of Costa Rica, is an ocean oasis. Its isolation is the essence of its magic. For decades the hideout of pirates and adventurers, Cocos Island is recognized today as among the last truly wild places in nature. Big animals and big action are on the menu for every dive. Because of strong currents the diving is rigorous and not recommended for beginning divers.

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Dive a Legend
Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are the second largest marine reserve in the world. Due to their isolation they remained undisturbed for millions of years and this resulted in the evolution of a number of unique individual ecosystems, with many species found nowhere else in the world. Skin Diver Magazine has rated the Galapagos Islands as The worlds best dive destination. Rubicon has researched many tour operators and we feel the Aggressor Fleet and Galapagos Adventures offers the broadest spectrum of diving and land experience programs. Because of extreme conditions, swift currents and cold water, Galapagos Islands diving is not recommended for beginning divers.

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Thailand

Diving Southern Thailand Trip Report

We were orginally going to Thailand to look at rivers to run in the North and possibly Laos. Unfortunately everything was too low so we turned our trip into a dive vacation to check out the best dive operators. I think we found some For more information contact: rubicon@sonic.net

Panama and Costa Rica

*Book a Panama Rafting Trip*

Diving, Rafting, and Spanish School

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures in conjunction with Aventuras Panama is offering Class III to Class V rafting excursions on the Chiriqui River in Panama.

Spanish by the Sea, Spanish by the River Panama and Costa Rica, Spanish School, rafting, kayaking diving and more: This is perfect for the Eco and “Adventure Sports” traveler who would like to learn more about the language and culture of Costa Rica and Panama. Spanish by the sea in Bocas Del Toro, on the Caribbean Coast of western Panama offers a broad range of activities including: jungle tours, scuba certification diving, sea kayaking and island hopping. Spanish by the River in Costa Rica offers a 5 day river camp which includes 5 days of Spanish class and 2 days of rafting the Pacuare. In addition Spanish by the river also offer river kayaking, cultural tours and volunteer opportunities. Contact Rubicon or Spanish by the sea for more information and booking.
Spanish by the River
Spanish by the Sea

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures

Trip Report:

The Galapagos Islands are an isolated archipelago of roughly 125 volcanic uplift islands. They straddle the equator and are located approximately 600 (1000km) miles of the coast of Ecuador. Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine rated the Galapagos the #1 diving destination in the world. The extreme currents and cold water contribute to the diversity in the marine environment. In addition, make diving a challenging experience. From Undercurrent: Galapagos Islands Update: On August 23, Ecuador’s President, Rafael Correa has supported liveaboards’ proposal to continue dive trips until December 31 and all Galapagos National Park dive trips through 2007 will operate. The GNP will issue new diving permits for 2008, but local fishermen will be given priority, which may mean fewer Galapagos dive trips. . . .No changes were made to Correa’s lifting of the ban of taking shark fins “caught accidentally.” hundreds of sharks are now being slaughtered daily.

I started my trip in Guayaquil. My plan was to spend a few days on the central coast of Ecuador prior to our departure on the Galapagos Aggressor II. The guidebooks said that Montanita, was the surfing capitol of Ecuador. It was OK but certainly not “epic”. Stayed at Charos Hostal and I would highly recommend this place (www.charoshostal.com). The next day I caught a bus to Puerto Lopez—the gateway to Machililla National Park and port for boats going to “Isla la Plata” an island approximately 15 km off the coast and part of the National Park. Isla de Plata is renown for large mantas and excellent diving. They call the island: “the poor mans Galapagos”.

Isla la Plata: Dived with Exploramar Divers Dive one. Maximum Depth 110 ft. my rented equipment didn’t include a computer but the instructor had one. We followed his profile dive and spent most of our time at 60 ft. Visibility was over 10 meters, close to 40’. The fish life was prolific and included cornet fish, stone scorpion fish, 3 turtles and two manta over 3 meters. The second dive was 25 meters, 39 minutes. On this dive we hit very strong currents. More trumpet and cornet fish, 5 large mantas 4 turtles, 5 or six morays.

After a full day of diving and whale watching I took the bus to Ayampe and stayed at La Tortuga Eco Lodge. They offer inexpensive cabañas on the beach. (latortuga.com.ec). It was a full days bus ride back to Guayaquil. We left the next morning to the Galapagos. Aero-gal few us to Baltra, where we were met by the Aggressor crew and shuttled to our boat. The first dive was that afternoon, a non-impressive “check out” dive. Dive Two (day 2) was Mosquera point. Visibility over 15 meters maximum depts. 70ft. Very little current, sea life included: 2 green turtles, 2 white tipped sharks one Marble Ray, a Mola Mola (sunfish). The topography was a rocky ledge.

Dive 3, same spot maximum depth was 56 ft. Same Marble Ray and fish but this time we played with a bull sea lion (not normally recommended).

Dive 4 and 7. Land Slide (I call this dive the amphitheater), Wolf Island, visibility over 80 ft (25 m). Fantastic dive. Strong currents. 4-6ft swells with consistent surge. We dropped to rocks and held on tight to watch the show. Hundreds of hammerheads, black tip, white tip, silky and Galapagos sharks. Large schools of eagle rays “floating” in the currents. Huge morays were abundant through out the rocky structure. Saw 5 green turtles.

Dive 5-6. Stark bay, visibility 60-80 ft. moderate currents. Saw several dolphins, more sharks.

Dive 8,9,10. Darwin Arch. 85 ft, visibility over 80 ft. moderate currents. Again, more hammerheads, Galapagos blacktip. Pod of dolphins. Eagle rays, Creoles. Several curious sharks came with in a meter of my camera. Prolific fish population. The week before six whale sharks was seen at this site.

Dive 11. Wolf Island Land slide. Again sharks rays prolific fish. My dive buddy was low on nitrox and wanted to go back towards the pangas. We hit the blue water current and were separated. Huge swells, strong surge and no boat or buddy in site. I was drifting farther away. My dive alert was useless. The wind made it difficult to keep my dive flag vertical (if needed all divers had gps tracking devices). I felt a “bump” on my fins. When I looked under the surface there were six silky sharks circling my feet. I temporarily fended them off with my dive flag; it was still a little scary until I saw Walter and the panga about 40 yards away coming to pick me up. I was very happy to get in that boat.

Dive 12-13. Cousins Rock; Visibility 70 ft. An old eroded crater made a nice rocky cliff dive. The many cracks and crevices were full of suprises. Including 2 seahorses and a frogfish. We saw two young sea lions chasing a shark.

Dive 14-15. Gordon Rocks. Visibility 50 ft +. Interesting dive site between two rocks. This area can get a strong surge”, especially if there is any swell. Many rays, octopus, and several sea lions were observed at this site.

On our last day we toured a private ranch which is open to the national park. Since there are no other competing grazing animals, there are hundreds of giant tortoises. We spent a couple of hours there.

For more pictures of this Galapogas trip, please visit our web album .

Galapagos Aggressor is a first class operation and one of two operators who have permits for land and dive excursions.

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures

Ambergris Caye Report:

Nine days in Ambergris Caye, we originally had plans to do ruins etc. It was so nice, we never left the island. We stayed at Rubies the entire time. An inexpensive more or less "travelers" hotel on the beach. The location for us was perfect.

The important Stuff: We went to the distributors and had two cases of Bilikin delivered to us. This cost came to about $17us per case vs over $30us per case if you were to buy Bilikin in the store. BTW, if you buy Bilikin, just buy the regular beer--it is cheaper and better. If you want to buy Rum to take back to the states etc. buy it at the Duty Free shop in the Airport. Most folks know this.

Diving: We dove with Bottom Time Divers. They were excellent and the least expensive on the island. Once they dive with you and know your skills they pretty much let you dive your own profile, I was impressed the way they worked with and encouraged beginning divers. Though I am primarily a cold water diver, I have been to many dive destinations all over the world, I have heard a lot of bad publicity about diving around Ambergris Caye--Bunk, Diving was excellent. For Blue hole Diving I would recommend Amigos Del Mar. Blue Hole is worth seeing once, lots of sharks but not much else.

Food: If you are a food or coffee snob, forget Belize. You will not go hungry, especially if you like stewed chicken, rice and beans. Price is not a reflection of quality. Los CoCos, inland from Hustlers was some of my best meals. The street vendors were excellent. The Lions club barbecue was cheap and good food too. Most of the coffee I drank was either Nescafe or Maxwell house.

People: The people of Belize are wonderful, "no problem" is the code word. No "macho" attitudes like you find traveling in Mexico. All the folks I met (from all over the world) were very nice. I hope Belize keeps its low profile, It is not a place for "pretentious attitudes" and I hope those types stay away from Belize.

One more thing: Belize is a wonderful place: come, kick back and enjoy yourself. Don't try to accomplish too much in a short time. What you don't do this trip, you can always do the next time. Belize is a place you will want to come back to.

Bill

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures

Diving Southern Thailand:

Thailand is such a wonderfully diverse country. It would be a pity to spend eight or ten days on a “live a board” then go home. Plan on at least a couple of weeks and do both land and sea.

In my very limited amount of time (15 days) I explored three different regions of southern Thailand.

Getting There

We made our 20+ hour flight from San Francisco via a layover in Tai Pei to Phuket. All transfers to our different locations were pre arranged. This is not always the best method to use; however, it was nice to see a sign with my name on it as we exited the airport. The ride from the airport to our hotel in Karon Beach was and “E-ticket” ride I could have survived without. Everything you have heard about Thai taxi drivers is true. This includes passing on curves, hills, tailgating inches behind the car in front – all the things one would get “shot” for in USA. The irony is, there is no road rage—but plenty of traffic deaths. I would recommend against renting a vehicle during your stay in Phuket.

Phuket Area

We stayed at the “Sea Breeze Inn”, where we immediately became “best friends” with the staff. You can get anything you want in this little neighborhood, clothes, jewelry, Thai massage (highly recommended) hair cut, many restaurants mini markets, tailor shops, pharmacy and even a dental office.

Diving: There are many Dive shops in Phuket area. There are also many dive boats. In both cases some are good and some are not so good. This is why I used a local dive shop that was also a tour operator. I looked at websites and other recommendations (scubaspots.com) for dive shops. I found several good ones. Sheldon Hey, who owns Dive the World Thailand responded immediately and in a professional manner. He answered all my questions and worked with me on an itinerary. He picked out the dive boats I used in Phuket and Phi Phi Island. He also arranged all my transfers (seven) in air condition taxis. There was often some confusion though everything worked out well. I later found out that all hotels will arrange transfers—this may be my next option.

Diving

My first dive was with a German operation named Sea Bees. They had a brand new dive boat: Excalibur. The trip consisted of four dives including one night dive. We dove the Phi Phi Islands and surrounding areas: Shark Point: typical south pacific corrals and fish. Interesting but not spectacular. Visibility around 50 ft. Maximum depth 80 ft. for 51 minutes. The best highlights were 2 cuttlefish, a seahorse and a sleeping leopard shark.

Dive 2: Phi Phi Island: Kho Bida Nok. This site was a little more diverse. Saw more cuttlefish, huge tube corals and lots of colors. The highlights were two mating leopard sharks and lionfish. Maximum depth was 72 feet for 50 minutes the visibility was much better, in the 75 foot range.

Dive 3: The next Rock over Kho Bida Noi. Though this dive site was less than 100 meters from our last dive site it was quite different. There were similar corals but the current was much stronger and the visibility was in the <50foot range. 66 ft for 53 minutes. We did see more lionfish and leopard sharks.

Night Dive: Kho Dok Mai, consist of a rock sticking out of the water half way between Phuket and Kho Phi Phi. Interesting wall dive with unique colors and different fish. We entered a huge cavern with a small cave (about 15+ ft straight in) enduring fairly strong currents. This was not a dive for the faint of heart or first night dive. Being a marginally experienced lobster hunter for this dive would be an appropriate prerequisite. Maximum depth 66 ft for 53 minutes.

It should be noted these were all computer non-decompression dives. We dove in small groups, 2-4 divers in each group. Jurgen from Belgium was my dive guide—excellent and the only one who spoke fluent English.

Khoa Lak

From Phuket, we went North to Khoa Lak. We stayed at Poseidon Bungalows. Lodging consisted of 14 small cabins situated along the rocky shores most with in a few meters of the water. Prices $10 to 20. Depending on size and location. Food price $1.50 –3. per meal-- very reasonable. Poseidon also runs the only livaboard dedicated to snorkelers. A 3-day snorkeling trip to the Similan Islands cost approximately $150.us.

Khoa Lak is the closest access to the Similan Islands and where you want to be for the liveaboards. A trip to the Similans, which includes Richelieu Rock (Surin Islands), and Burma Banks (Myanmar) would take a minimum of 5 days four nights. There are several to choose from. I recommend using a local tour operator such as Siam Dive n Sail, Dive the world Thailand, KonTiki, SeaBees or Sea Dragon. Any of these diveshops can set you up on a liveaboard to meet your needs. Kon Tiki and Sea Dragon offer one day trips to the Similans and Richelieu Rock. A liveaboard is the best way to experience these world class dive spots.

Since I was short on time and money, we did an overnight with Kontiki and slept at the national park campground on the Similan Islands. Our divemaster was a very competent young Swedish woman, Jessie, who not only spoke excellent english; she has over 400 dives at the Similan islands.

Similan Islands.

My first view of the Similans was similar to seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. For lack of a better word: awesome. Tranquil white sand beaches and Turquoise water with gin clear visibility, over 200 feet. This is the ultimate diving site in Thailand. Meadows of soft corals and sea fans combined with a prolific fish population are the main reasons this is a ‘world class’ dive destination. Pelagics in this region are seasonal. Though there have been plenty of sightings of Mantas and whale sharks, they are not common. I actually saw bigger fish farther south at the Phi Phi Island sites. For the non Scuba Diver, snorkeling the Similans is second to none. In fact, because of the drift currents on many of the islands, you can often see more variety of marine life in the protected shallow areas.

Similans Islands, The Dives:

East of Eden: Preeminent coral formations, I could only compare to Cozumel. Lots of small fish, rabbitfish, clownfish, one lionfish, garden eels, boxfish and others. Max depth: 62 ft, 50 minutes. Visibility 150-200 ft.

The Wall, don’t know why they call this the wall. The topography is a gradual slope with large granite boulders, sea fans, fire coral, prolific and diverse sea life. Max depth 60 ft 48 minutes. Water temp about 84 degrees.

Elephant Rock, Donald Duck Cove. Huge boulders sea fans and hard corals. Again, many small and colorful reef fish. Visibility here was not as good—approximately 70+ ft. Snorkeling and free diving in Donald Duck Bay (they say the rock at the point looks like Donald Duck??) was superb with depths ranging from 5-20 ft. There is a nice beach here and a relaxing lunch stop.

Turtle Rock; this was a fast drift dive for a short time until we went around the island. Not as many fish but saw several lobsters and a ribbon eel. This was a fairly deep dive (95 ft) and the visibility was much better than Elephant Rock.

Our last dive was Breakfast Bend. It was here I had a provocative experience with a banded sea snake (poisonous but not aggressive) that was wrapping himself around my leg and passing through my bc vest. This dive was a Similan classic, turquoise water, 200 ft visibility and copious fish population.

The Similan Islands offer an exceptional diving experience for both novice and experienced divers.

We played tourist for a couple of days and went to Ko Sac National Park. Interesting limestone formations and another site not to be missed. After a 3-mile hike to a waterfall we stopped outside the park and went on an elephant trek. (I am glad I did this so I don’t have to do it again). The next day, we rented kayaks and paddled 10 miles on a class 1-2 river (creek) that followed the highway. Saw a 10-ft. king cobra, gibbon, two wild elephants and a fist size spider, scenery was superb and trip worth repeating.

Krabi Area and Phi Phi Islands

From Khao Lak. We traveled by taxi to the Krabi village of Anong Beach. Swiss tourists mostly populated this area. Subsequently, we stayed in some quaint Swiss bungalows across from the beach called Wannas Place. At $30. per night this was a bargain. Just don’t get the bungalows way up the hill (a long hike).

The next day we dove with a Swiss operation, Anong Divers. They put us on a Kon Tiki Boat (Swedish) and we dove the Phi Phi islands. In my opinion, Krabi area is not recommended for diving out of because of the distance to dive sites which is reflected in the price. Your best bet here is to stay at West Railey Beach for a couple of nights then go to Phi Phi island, where you are only 15 minutes from most diving.

We spent our last two nights on Phi Phi Island. From Phi Phi, I took a “speed boat” to Hin Daeng; this site is considered one of Thailand’s best wall dives and a noble end to a remarkable dive vacation. Hin Daeng is also considered the place to see mantas and whale sharks—of which I saw neither. Hin Daeng (red rock) is an insignificant rock protrusion in the middle of the ocean. Underwater, the rock is mammoth. If you like wall diving you will love Hin Daeng. Saw bigger fish here including, large groupers, schools of big barracuda, several morays, lionfish mating, and all the normal tropicals. Visibility and depth of dive exceeded 100 feet with challenging currents. Definitely, need to watch your computer at Hin Daeng.

The next dive, only 100 meters from Hin Daeng was Hin Muang (purple rock). This is an under water reef covered with a variety of corals, and abundant sea life. Hin Maung is another deep dive with moderate to strong currents. The dive operator was Phi Phi Scuba, an Australian operation on Phi Phi Island. The next morning we took our ocean taxi to Phuket and after a six-hour wait at the airport flew home.

Diving in Thailand

(***** best * worst)

Experienced     *****
Beginners     *** Similans *****
Accommodations     ** to ****
Food     **** (if you like Thai food)
Money’s worth     *****

Travel Tips

Get air price information by calling the airlines directly—not via internet. Then go through an Asian travel agency, usually in a larger city. They buy most of the wholesale tickets and this is reflected in their prices. I saved over $100. on my ticket. The best time to travel to Thailand (weather) is December to March.

Plan on spending some internet time checking out dive operators and planning an itinerary. Use a local (Thailand based) operation not an American travel agency for booking your dives. Almost all dive operations are European or Australian managed. All boat captains are Thai.

Excellent diving equipment can be rented for about $12-15. per day, I choose to bring my mask, snorkel, fins and regulator and rented a bc and torch for about $3.00 per day. If you are going to do a lot of dives and are on a budget you may consider bringing your equipment, especially your computer. Thai folk like receipts keep all receipts or you may pay twice.

Rent a moped, but not in Bankok or Phuket.

Check out Tourist trips. Like sea kayaking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, side trips and trekking. Diving is great but not the only thing to do and see.

Spend a day shopping in Bangkok.

Take a cooking class.

If nothing else you have to get a Thai massage

Web sites

Photos by Jürgen Hertoghe

Rubicon Whitewater Adventures

Rubicon Adventures in conjunction with Central American Spanish School presents a combination of Class IV and V rafting , World Class Diving, (learn to dive programs also), Mayan Ruins and “Emersion Learning” Spanish Classes.

Spanish School, an Educational Addition to Dive Travel, 2004:

by Bill Mashek

A friend mentioned to me she was going to spend part of the month in Mexico for Spanish language school, primarily, because this particular school included surfing as part of the program. It was this conversation that inspired me to look into Spanish language schools in a country where I could dive, run rivers and or go surfing. Not only would I have a possible tax write off but also a chance to develop my (Spanish) language skills.

After spending several hours on the internet looking up language schools in different countries, I decided on Honduras. Honduras is a wonderfully diverse country. As stated in the Lonely Planet: Honduras is the original “banana republic”. It is a democracy with a developing economy. The national language is Spanish, however, English is dominant on the Bay Islands. It is a cheap easy place to travel. Honduras has incredible natural resources including, “world class” whitewater boating and some of the best (and cheapest) diving in the Caribbean.

Central American Spanish Schools seemed to have the most comprehensive program and a school on the island of Utila. They also were the only school to offer “medical Spanish” as my traveling companions. Viki, Dee and Lois were emergency room nurses and needed the Spanish for work. Rafael, the director, answered all my questions. He responded to my emails the same day I wrote them. Best of all the price was right. Cost was $185.00 per week including room and board.(room only on Utila).

La Ceiba

Our first week was in the coastal city of La Ceiba. La Ceiba is also the port for the “Bay Islands” and base for river trips in the Pinto Bonito National Park and Cangregal River. Every day we had different activities, including treks to the rain forest, river canopy (zip lines), dancing, and class on the beach. On Friday, we went to Oscar Perez’s Jungle River Lodge where we hiked through the verdant rain forest of Pinto Bonito National Park to a 600 ft high waterfall. The next day we went rafting down the precipitous drops of the Cangregal river gorge. I am a whitewater outfitter in California, Viki, a class V guide and Dee a Class V kayaker we were all impressed with not only the river but Oscars’ guides (Johnnie, Ricardo and Juan) and his entire operation. Unfortunately, Lois had torn ligaments and could not partake on our adventure. The next morning we caught the ferry to Utila.

Utila

Utila is the smallest and flattest of the three major Bay Islands, and is the closest to the mainland. The island is 9.5 miles long and 3 miles wide. Land transportation on Utila is limited to a few pickup trucks, a couple of unreliable taxis and a ton of old mountain bikes. Utila is not only renown as one of the best diving locations in the caribbean it is also known as the cheapest. From mid February through March one can almost be guaranteed a whale shark experience. Subsequently, the streets are lined with dive shops. Because certifications are so cheap, many shops have reputations as “dive master factories”. For as little as $500 (including lodging) one can spend a month on the island completing a dive master course. My 12 dives cost me $160.

I dived with Altons because that is the shop the school uses. They were fine. The dive masters were young, mostly inexperienced but competent and all were friendly. Dee did her certification course through Altons, they were able to work around her school schedule and she felt her instruction was proficient. I have heard very good reports about Deep Blue Divers.

Lodging and food in Utila are as cheap as Thailand. We stayed at the Colibri Hotel, a new hotel with the first pool in Utila. We had a large room with 2 queen size beds and hot water for $25. Per night. Most meals are under $3.00. A fancy diner will cost about twice that. For non divers, Viki and Lois spent an afternoon on Water Caye-(a small white sand island with palm trees and no sand flys) an afternoon snorkeling, a hike to Pumpkin Hill and explored some of the caves. There is also horseback riding, shopping and people watching. But be prepared, the bay islands are renown for some of the most aggressive no seeums anywhere. Bring lots of repellent.

Website links