No one starves at Casa Vieja Lodge. If you somehow managed to do so, it would be your own fault, because they’re pushing hefty quantities of gourmet food at you at every turn. What makes it especially nice is that at dinnertime there’s incredible variety – no more tiresome rotations, but rather fresh four-course meals based on what the chefs found to be of the highest quality at the local markets.

It starts with breakfast, served at 6:00 under the thatched roof of the bar area. The coffee cup that was delivered to your room with the wake-up call never goes empty. You’re presented with an artful plate of fresh fruit. Finally, there’s an a la carte menu of made-to-order items – get whatever you want and customize it to your liking. They make the bacon extra crispy (without being burned) exactly the way I like it.

As you eat breakfast you can wander over to the menu board in the corner, where the night’s offerings are listed, with verbiage taken straight off the boats: The “Teaser” (soup/appetizer), the “Hook” (main dish) and the “Release” (dessert). If there’s something that doesn’t fit your diet, or your tastebuds, let them know and they’ll offer up an alternative or three.

On the boat, you’ll get a hot lunch if you’re on one with an enclosed cabin – better catch a mahi or tuna in the morning or else you’re “stuck” with hamburgers or chicken. There are also chips and some sort of salad or prepared side dish. In case you can’t make it to lunch, the mate/s will also chop up some fresh fruit. There’s also a box of cookies and chips to snack on through the day. I may eat a couple of packs of the airy wafers in between bites. I’ve been known to put them down to grab a rod, and then forget where they went. Luckily there are more.

In the brief interregnum between returning from fishing and your 7 o’clock dinner, there are poolside appetizers – chicken wings, sushi, steak tacos, mahi fingers, guacamole. Actually, not just poolside – the servers will place them on a tray on the deck and you can stay in the water while you eat. Please try not to get chicken bones, drool or guac in the water where we all swim.

Then finally it’s onto the dinner, if you still have energy and appetite. Remember that menu board from the morning? Now it’s printed out and put in your place setting. There’s still time to change your mind or amend your order, but you probably won’t want to. This is a place where you could be happy just enjoying the cuisine, even if the fishing was terrible – fortunately, you don’t have to make that choice.