In May, Freedom Alliance hosted a small group of combat veterans at Los Sueños Resort in Costa Rica for the Offshore Experience.
Two of the four participants arrived from Puerto Rico: Jose, a soldier serving in Motor Transport who received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained while serving in Iraq, and his friend Jahn, a soldier serving in Supply who also deployed to Iraq and earned a Combat Action Badge.
The other two participants were a father and son. Eric and Alex served in the U.S. Marine Corps as mortarmen and arrived from Illinois. Eric was a reservist serving with the 24th Marine Regiment and fought in the 2nd Battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.
Alex followed in his father’s footsteps after high school and deployed to Afghanistan as the United States was withdrawing. He witnessed the suicide bombing on August 26, 2021, at Kabul Airport’s Abbey Gate, which killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans outside the gate. (The incident has recently been in the news as the Department of Defense has conducted a review, and new footage has been released by CNN—https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/08/asia/congressmen-letter-cnn-report-kabul-attack-intl/index.html—which shows a discrepancy between what was reported and what happened.)
In the early morning the day after their arrival, capuchin monkeys greeted the men as they left their condos—donated by grateful and generous Americans. They enjoyed this up-close experience of one variety of wildlife that abounds in Costa Rica. The rainy season had just begun, and the foliage was so lush and green that it could only be described as breathtaking.
After a hearty breakfast at Dolce Vita, one of several restaurants in the Marina Village at Los Sueños, the veterans walked to the marina, through the shadows of the giant sport-fishing yachts that line the docks. Captain Kevin Stafford and his crew invited them to embark on a day aboard the 62-foot Bayliss yacht Summer Girl, donated by the owner Mr. Tom Corr.
The previous weeks had been tough fishing. But Summer Girl has every piece of technology to give its guests an edge—from state-of-the-art radar to the Furuno omnidirectional sonar. As we left the marina and headed west, Captain Kevin spotted a floating pallet in the water about 10 minutes out of the bay. He knew fishing had been spotty, and so stopped to take a look…just in case. Sure enough, he spotted darting green shadows beneath the pallet, and the crew cast bait into the water. We spent about 15 minutes there and caught six mahi on the smaller side before continuing in the search for billfish.
The rest of the day was spent hitting many of the spots that consistently produce catches. However, we were unsuccessful in finding a sailfish or marlin. Nevertheless, the air-conditioned mezzanine couch kept the veterans cool as we cruised the ocean. Captain Kevin worked tirelessly all-day, and the fishing reports on the radio consisted merely of other captains venting their frustrations.
After coming back to the marina, the deckhands gave us two bags of fileted mahi, which we dropped off at the Hook-Up Restaurant, where we scheduled dinner. Los Sueños Resort supports our program with a deep discount at its restaurants, helping us keep costs low as we treat our veterans to world-class cuisine. The mahi was prepared three ways: fried fish fingers, blackened filets, and teriyaki bites, accompanied by fresh vegetables and crunchy French fries.
The next day, we once again walked the docks to find our next ride: the 64-foot Viking Nomad, donated by owners Mr. and Mrs. Andy Fasken. Their captain, Hans Alvarado, was a deckhand during the first Freedom Alliance event in Costa Rica in 2013 and has been our advocate ever since. Captain Hans welcomed the troops aboard and video-chatted with the Faskens so their guests could say hello.
It was an overcast day, and the seas were unusually turbulent, but that may have worked in our favor. Around 8:15 a.m., we spotted our first shadow behind the teasers as Hans called out. Alex was the first up, and deckhand Nils handed the rod to the young Marine. The sailfish put on a show, jumping around as everyone on board got a good look.
A mere 30 minutes later, the second sailfish got hooked, and Jahn not only got to reel in this large Pacific sail, but the deckhands also gave him the knife to release it!
For the rest of the day, fish continuously pulled at the teasers and stole bait; however, these were not the kind of fish we were after. About a dozen times, wahoo, which have razor-sharp teeth, cut the fishing lines or destroyed our teaser bait. In the afternoon, bonito fish (a pesky predator) pestered us relentlessly. But we snagged one, and Jose got to reel it in and throw it back before it was time to head back.
The following day, the weather cleared up, and the sky turned a deep blue. Jim Kitchell, owner of Costa Cat Cruises, donated five spots on his tour to Tortuga Island aboard the 39-foot catamaran Costa Cat II. The crew served fresh fruit and coffee as we departed Los Sueños to head across the Gulf of Nicoya to the paradisical island of Tortuga.
The island tour includes snorkeling, hiking, and a banana boat ride, all of which these guys participated in! While snorkeling, the waters were crystal clear, and schools of fish surrounded them. The hike was humid, but the views were worth the effort. A small buck even crossed our path at the vista. The men were all laughs after the banana boat ride as they recounted being thrown off. A lunch of marinated and grilled chicken breast was served with potatoes, veggies, and more.
The group met some fellow vacationers from Texas who, upon hearing about the Freedom Alliance program, donated $100 in cash for dinner the next night. They even gave the Costa Cat crew an extra tip in our honor.
The group gathered in the condo donated by Mr. Brennan O’Donnel after returning from Tortuga to begin the first of seven sessions, developed with the help of psychotherapist Dr. Edward Tick. Our session schedule was compacted, but the men handled it well, completing all seven sessions over two days.
On Friday morning, we opted for a local hike in Jaco, about eight kilometers from the resort, that steadily inclines up to a lookout point, from which the hikers can see all of Jaco beach. The journey continued deep into the jungle, where we spotted poison dart frogs and more monkeys.
That evening, Pamela Harlow, owner of Serenity Spa, donated hour-long massages. The spa is located at a boutique hotel that sits on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and we arrived just in time for sunset. While the Marines got their massages first, the soldiers toured the hotel, stopping to admire the infinity pools and grand ballrooms. When they switched, the Marines sat in the amphitheater to watch the light fade from the cloudy sky.
We ended that night with our final session in the program, and the group left on Saturday, with new memories, new relationships, and new, healthier ways to bear the burdens of war.
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