Stan, Cody and I took a car to Todomar CHL Marina where we boarded a 16-passenger speedboat heading to a reef in the Rosario Islands. There, the Cocoliso Island Resort occupies the entire Isla Grande and has a beautiful open-air restaurant and several lovely cabanas where couples can spend the night.
Several of our group were certified divers; several more signed up for a fast-track dive course and a brief deep dive; the remaining five of us were there to simply snorkel. Stan is a certified diver; Cody has taken a short course and dived before but I was just not ready to put on a tank and go 30-feet down.
After being outfitted with perhaps the best mask and fins I’ve ever used, we motored out to the reef. Snorkeling in this part of Colombia is very good; I hear diving is even better, A guide snorkeled with us as we toured and explored the reef for a full 55 minutes. The water was clear and the fish were beautiful. Cody found several gorgeous black spiny sea urchins all tucked away in a small open-ended coral cavern, Much of the coral we saw was new and healthy but large fields here and there were dead, partly due to climate change and warming of the waters. The primary and greatest damage, however, was caused by a hurricane in 2020.
After a brief rest, we boated out to another area of the reef. Water was not as clear in this spot but the underwater scenery was eery, like looking at the surface of a distant planet, a world we intellectually know is there all the time yet actually gazing at it is surprising and fascinating.
After a restful lunch at the resort, we started our boat journey back to the city. The wind here picks up to a strong gale in the afternoon, both on land and on water. The ride was much rougher than the early morning trip. The boat captain and his spotter decided to take a detour using a canal to the bay. The detour would add time to our trip but greatly reduce the banging and jarring we were feeling as we sped through the rough waves. Minutes into our detour the water became shallow, very shallow. I said to Cody, “we are about to run aground”; seconds later we did. We sat there for a bit then the captain revved the motors in an attempt to dislodge the boat. The spotter got in the water and pushed the boat as the motors roared; we all moved to the back of the boat to lighten the load on that part of the boat stuck in the mud. The two-man crew called on the youngest, strongest-looking man on the boat to help. Even with his help, the boat was still stuck. Captains on other boats yelled stuff to our crew as they passed us. Their passengers took photos of us in our stranded vessel. We felt sad. Suddenly Cody said, “maybe we should get out and help.” As if she’d shouted an order, all the men started entering the water. Cody joined in; she is very strong! One big heave-ho and presto! The boat was freed and off we went to the city.
As Mr. Gump often said, “life is like a box of chocolates . . .”
