Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68594
I Fishing By Larry Chesney t was the off-season, so the fishing was splendid as opposed to its usual spectacular. The massive schools of billfish were summering elsewhere, so we were left to battle smaller, more colorful, better- tasting species such as yellowfin, mahi- mahi, African pompano and roosterfish. We knew the fishing on Costa Rica's southern Pacific shore was legendary year- round, but we quickly discovered there's a lot more to do there than just wet a hook. Kathy and I decided that after our July wedding we'd honeymoon somewhere exotic, but not particularly pricey or luxurious. While at SCI-Reno in 2010, I met Laura Cipolla, the director of marketing for Osa Resort, which was still in the planning stages. I was assured Vida serves as the tiny nation's mantra: "The Good Life." To Costa Ricans, Pura Vida can mean hello, goodbye, thanks or everything's cool. But in a much greater sense, Pura that the Osa Peninsula and the villa where we'd be staying was the perfect spot for our honeymoon – comfortable, clean and safe, with just the right amount of luxury and pampering to make you feel as if you truly are on vacation. K athy Chesney and her Costa Rican guide with a bull dolphin. Their main targets, however, were big roosterfish. Costa Rica, roughly the size of West Virginia, is known as "The Jewel of Central America." Fueled by popularity, government promotion, political calm and pure uniqueness, the country is expected to draw some 2.3 million visitor in 2012, mostly Americans, Canadians and Europeans. For us, with a direct flight from Charlotte, the trip down was the proverbial hop, skip and a jump. After our smooth flight to San Jose, the capital city of two million, we were greeted at the airport by Ronald, an Osa employee who drove us to a hotel where stayed for the night before flying out the next SPOR TIN G CL ASSICS 195