Costa Rica Blue

Just as video killed the radio star, so the Internet has tolled the death knell of books. Our shelves are full of wonderful dive books that we bought and treasured but probably haven't looked at for years, while we go online now to look at dive information at sites like, yes, Undercurrent.

Then there's the "fake news" angle. Of course, traditional books have publishers, which give a degree of veracity to the facts therein. Not so with self-published books, of which there is now a plethora, and you're never really sure of the truth of what you're reading. Be assured that is not the case with this tome by Avi Klapfer and Genna Maria Davis.

Klapfer, a former Israeli naval officer, has been operating the Undersea Hunter liveaboards in Costa Rica for as long as I can remember, and that primarily means trips to Cocos Island, the island of the sharks. After eight trips there spanning two decades, I can honestly say that Cocos diving always delivers, and the photos in this book are proof of that.

Originally conceived as a limited production run of books to interest regular passengers on Klapfer's boats (MV Sea Hunter and MV Argo), Costa Rica Blue is now available via Amazon to a wider audience. Avi and his co-conspirator Davis, an American writer based in Costa Rica, has set out to include everything any diver would need to know about Cocos and the other Costa Rican dive locations worth visiting.

Divided in two parts, the first describes in detail the marine life, while the second gives practical information about the diving and snorkelling. Unsurprisingly, information about Cocos Island comprises a great part of the book, but other dive locations in Costa Rica's Pacific waters are covered, and even the less auspicious Caribbean side has a chapter. The detailed maps are worthy, and each dive site is dealt with in the detail afforded only to someone entirely familiar with them.

Naturally, this 300-plus-page book is lavishly illustrated with seductive photographs throughout, from the smallest jellyfish to the largest whale shark. Costa Rica is an area of the world that is generous with opportunities for underwater photographers. If you've been diving in Costa Rica, this is essential reading for reliving your great memories, and if you haven't yet been, it will surely entice you to go. As a guide to diving in Costa Rica, this flexibound book is one of the best.

More information about Costa Rica Blue and its authors is at www.costaricablue.org

The book retails for $50 on Amazon, of which we're an affiliate, of, so buy the book at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0999886401/undercutheconsum -- we get a small percentage that way, while you still pay the same price.

-- John Bantin