It didn’t take us long at all to get adjusted to the pace of Providencia. This was such a laid-back, relaxed island, that chilling out was easy. The weather was a bit rainy when we arrived, but that didn’t stop us from at least heading in to get a look around. Apparently, that day was a fiesta of some kind, so everything was closed and the streets were empty. So there wasn’t a lot to do except walk around. Which was fine in itself.
The one thing I found particularly interesting on that first day was the friendliness of the locals. It had been a while since I’d met locals who were genuine and sincerely simpatico. The people in Providencia have a nice and simple island life, and they want to share it with visitors. They´re not just jerking you around for your spare change. It was a refreshing change for me, that’s for sure.
There were a few boats that I knew from Honduras there, so it was good to catch up with some people. Not long after we got there, a local rasta guy named Malcolm came up to the boat to see if there was anything he can do for us while we were there. He was a dive instructor and said he could hook us up with some dives for not a lot of dinero. Both Sarah and I had discussed doing some dives in these waters, so we were up for it. He also invited us to come out with him that night, assuming that there was going to be some good partying because of the fiesta. Sarah and I opted in, but unfortunately, there was nothing happening, and we ended up having a few Aguilas at this funky waterside bar called the “Sugar Hole”. But it was still an interesting taste of local nightlife.
The next day, he came to the boat with a larger panga, and all the dive gear we needed. He and his partner, Severo, took us out to one of the nicest reef walls I’d seen in a long time. Didn’t see a lot of fish on that first dive, but that changed on the next dive. We went down to an inverted wreck just off the island in about 50-60 feet. It had been out there since World War II days. While down there, we saw two HUGE green morays, barracuda, some huge grouper and much more.
The next day, the girls decided to rent some scooters and ride around the island. As much as I wanted to go, I had to take care of some issues on the boat, so they went without me. Then, after they got back, we came up with a plan to go out that night. Again, Malcolm was there to show us around. It was again a kicked back night, so we decided to go to a pool hall and shoot some pool. That turned out to be a good call. We had a great time shooting pool for the next few hours, playing against some locals.
The next day it was my turn to do the around-the-island ride. I rented a motorcycle and spent most of the afternoon whizzing around Providencia. I found some trails off the road that led to a beach called Manzanillo Bay, and had a great time venturing there. Most excellent. Before I knew it, it was time to bring the bike back.
So I had been watching the weather lately, looking for a good time to head to San Andres. While it’s only about 60 miles away, there are lot of local weather patterns that can make the trip iffy. Thunderstorms and squalls roll off the Nicaraguan coast right for the islands. There was also a nasty low hanging out south of San Andres, and over the last few days, I watched where it was going. It headed south onto Colombian shores, and the weather opened up nicely for the rest of the trip.
I came up with the idea to do a night sail over. Because of the distance, we could leave about 10 AM and have an easy sail over to San Andres and get there by morning. The girls were up for it, so we got Andiamo ready and headed out.
There’s a pretty nasty reef surrounding Providencia, so getting out at night using the markers was a bit of a challenge. Once we made it past the reef, we essentially unfurled the sails, set the course on the autopilot, and that was it. With the 10-15 knot northeast wind coming over the beam, we pointed straight for San Andres. The conditions stayed that way the whole night. It was a fantastic overnight sail under mostly starry skies. I really liked the fact that I didn’t have to trim the sails or adjust our course one single time. Why can’t it be like that all the time??
Approaching San Andres was also quite a challenge. The “harbor” lies inside the east side of the island’s reef, which is highly unusual since most islands put their harbor on the leeward side of the island, which in this case would the west or the south side. Once you come into the channel on the southeast end of the island, you make your way back up to the north end of the island inside the reef via a well-marked channel. Definitely a first for me. We had a tough time finding a good deep spot to drop anchor, because the harbor is quite shallow in some spots. A fisherman in a panga came out to us to show me how to get to the deeper water. It involved going around this cay over to the other side. He patiently guided us in, and I happy enough to give him a tip for his help.
So now, we’re in San Andres. It’s a totally different island with a completely different attitude than Providencia. This island is very touristy, lots of hotels, shops and tourist traps. The island itself, however is quite nice, and there’s alot to see and do. It’s kinda nice to see some taste of civilization, with a Colombian twist.
On our first day here, we were on our way back to the dinghy from an internet cafe after getting caught up with online stuff. The really bad internet connections in Providencia caused all of us to fall a bit behind on emails and stuff (horrible, huh? I know…), And incredibly enough, I got to experience another “small world” moment.
As we were walking down the street, I heard someone calling my name, when I looked over, it was Rosie and Scotty!!! They’re the friends I’ve met up with in Utila, London, and most recently Costa Rica when I visited them last summer for a week. And now, here they were, in San Andres and we run into each other ON THE STREET. Unbelievable.
Turns out that they were in San Andres on their visa run (you have to leave Costa Rica every 3 months, stay out 3 days and then come back to get a new stamp, hence the term “visa run”). They came over to the boat, and we had rum drinks and got caught up. It was really nice seeing them. We hadn’t been in touch over the past few months. They were going diving the next day, so they couldn’t come out that night. The girls were also very tired, so I went into town solo to see what was up with the nightlife. It was a bit quiet in town for a friday night, but I still managed to find some fun places, and chatted with alot of locals. The chicas here are VERY friendly. Which is kinda nice. 
I managed to meet up with Rosie and Scotty again after their dive, and we had a few more drinks. They were leaving the next day, but were trying to see if they can stretch out their visit, to no avail. I told them about Providencia, and they decided they would try to visit there. We’ll see if they make it.
Then, last night I managed to get the whole crew off the boat for a night on the town. It turned out to be Theresa’s last night, as she decided to head back to Ceiba from here today, because she decided her time was getting tight before heading back to Germany. So we all made it count, and Sarah, Jenni and I ended up closing a disco club down at 4 AM. It was a fun, crazy night loaded with dancing, drinking and everything else.
So, we’re still in San Andres, probably will be here for a couple more days before heading onward to Panama, depending on the weather, which right now, looks really good.