Little did I know that the best day in Columbia was yet to come. One of my favorite songs is Enya's "Caribbean Blue" (Great music video to google & watch if you haven't seen it) & my day with Cartegena Diving Planet was beautifully Caribbean Blue. Jennifer was my "guide" & took these great pictures of me snorkeling. I met Diving Planet at 7:40 a.m. & they shuttled me to the marina where a 30-passenger boat was waiting to take me to Isla Grande (near the protected Rosario Islands). Their diving center is co-located with the Cocoliso Resort on Isla Grande (45 km & a 45 minute boat ride from Cartegena). We had 2 snorkel/SCUBA dives -- one at 10:00 a.m. and one at 12:30 p.m. Each snorkel trip lasted 1.5 hours (I can SCUBA dive but prefer snorkeling because of its simplicity/longer time in the water). Imagine perfectly clear water, WARM water, gillions of species. The 10:00 a.m. trip was comprised of Jennifer, me & a couple. The 12:30 p.m. trip was larger & in rougher water... but still beautiful. I even saw a cuttlefish (!), jellyfish, loads of parrot fish (forgive me for eating one with Tara when I was in Loreto), and a lovely black tang with florescent blue spots. After 2 dives, I was treated to a lovely salad (after explaining that I was the only vegan in Columbia) under the palms. I returned to Cartegena around 4:30 p.m. Louise & I spent a lovely last evening eating dinner in the Santa Clara Hotel courtyard (listening to frogs & smelling jasmine), watching tango dancers, jugglers and mimes perform in the streets, and feeling the tropical pulse of Cartegena. I'll return, but next time it will be on a sailboat from Colon, Panama.
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