Isla Providencia

The trip to Providencia was uneventful with the exception of our very first official boarding inspection. We were hailed and boarded by none other than our own U.S. Coast Guard. We were underway and told to maintain course and speed. A boarding party consisting of four entered our boat while still underway from one moving boat to another...impressive. I gotta say, these were the most polite and respectful officers (if not the only ones) I had ever met. They inspected the boat and our documentation and we passed with flying colors. The officer in charge said she had never seen a "cleaner, nicer or more organized boat" in all her inspections and that she had no doubts in our capability to handle a sea time emergency. Cool...thanks!!! We figured that if we had to be boarded, we were sure glad it was from our own. Hats off to the Coast Guard. If the four folks we met are any example, I for one am proud to say their ours!

Providencia was our first stop after leaving Panama. Our stay was short, but the day we went into town was fun as there was a local horse race on the beach and everyone seemed to be in a partying mood. I'd like to note here that the Port Captain, German was extremely nice and very helpful. Any of you who decide to make a stop here, should contact him first and not the agent as it states in the Rains book. German said that it is not necessary to contact the agent as it states in the book, but rather contact him directly for instructions. German speaks very good English and strives to give you as much local information and history as you'd like to have. Below are a few shots of the area during our short stay.

We didn't stay long at the harbor, leaving after only two days and deciding to head north to Low Cay. This was the first time DiveAdx crew was actually able to DIVE!!! Our only dive here was very shallow (30ft) and is wasn't a very big reef, but the coral that was there was absolutely perfect. Saw a free swimming spotted moray, lots of juvenile fish and the most perfect brain coral we'd ever seen. Everything was completely untouched.

Unfortunately, although Low Cay was really beautiful, it wasn't exactly as El Capitan had expected. There were no sand spits as anticipated and very little land to actually speak of. There was no good place to land the dingy as it was all rocky and coral so getting the dogs to shore each day became quite challenging for everyone involved. The scenery though just couldn't be beat.