19 December 2019 | We’re off to the coast! Going to one of the many small islands of the Rosario and San Bernardo Corals National Natural Park, about 40 km away from Cartagena, namely Isla Grande.
Back in Cartagena, Santi had been working for hours to pass the theory part for his Open Water diving certificate. He passed the final exam around 2 am, and we left the hotel for the one hour boat ride at 6 am.
We had chosen Diving Planet as our diving guides (and instructor for Santi), who organized our transfer to the island by boat. Overall, we had a great experience with all the diving club and diving people; guides, instructors (Yoan, we miss you), and all the others that participated!
Although we’d planned to stay only one night on the island, we quickly realized that this little paradise deserved more time and dives. So, we decided to book 1 more night in our simple and cozy little hut!
Diving course
Santi started in the swimming pool with his instructor Yoan before discovering the beautiful and colorful corals of the Caribbean sea. He quickly became as skilled as Anais (and in some parts more). The Diving Planet team took care of everything for the their divers! Carrying tanks, setting up the equipment, picking up people. Santi, of course, got a different experience, since he had to learn, he got some more work to do; the equipment will not set itself up. Still, all of our dives were safe, nicely organized, and absolutely beautiful!
After his Open Water Diver graduation, we dived together, this time as diving partners! Santi had progressed a lot since our last dive in Cape Verde.
Diving in Isla Grande is a bit like being in Finding Nemo, the movie! Colorful corals and fishs everywhere, constantly surrounding you! Not bad for a first dive as a certified diver (hopefully we don’t get too picky for our future dives).
On the island, there are only paths and no public light so the nights are pitch black. The locals know the narrow dirt paths by heart and walk around at all paces without any lights. Thanks to one of our diving guides and diving mates, we found our way to a cozy restaurant next to the beach called Sol y Papaya (they do great breakfast as well).
The following evening with our experience and flashlights we even walk to “the village” located on the other side of the island to celebrate Santi’s graduation with beer and pizzas. The village is where most of the locals live, and it’a a small citycenter-like spot with dirt paths running through the simple houses, bars, restaurants, and shops. It was super nice to get away from the tourist area for a while and experience what could have been a normal evening in the village. We spent our evening there with Yoan and two co-divers (coincidentally) from Amsterdam.
Isla Grande was an awesome experience that shuttled us from the hectic Cartagena, crowded with tourists and constantly selling you something, to a calm little island. We need to mention though that all the staff from the diving club were surprised by the shortage of tourists – it was December after all. We didn’t mind the extra space and a spot in the transparent beach water for yourself.
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