Playa Blanca, a Sea Urchin and the Colombian Navy - all in one day!

 

For my last big trip while still in Colombia, I flew up north to the port city of Cartagena. Most people associate Cartagena with the scandal involving President Obama's secret service detail and some prostitutes prior to his visit last year, but there's much more to this beautiful city. Since it borders the Caribbean sea, it's filled with small and uninhabited islands surrounded by crystal clear water perfect for snorkeling. Since I had scuba dived last weekend, I decided to give snorkeling a try.

To get to Isla Baru (the island where Playa Blanca is), you have to get to the port at Cartagena around 8:30 am and fight hordes of locals, fishermen and other tourists all trying to get onto the many speedboats heading out to the various islands. Once on board, it's a smooth 30 minute ride to Playa Blanca, stopping at a few other islands along the way to drop people off. The tour offered two choices - you could spend the entire day relaxing on the beach at Playa Blanca or take the same boat to an even more remote island for a few hours of snorkeling. I opted for the latter.

After another 20 minute boat ride, you arrive in the middle of the sea, with just a few very small islands visible. Yet, the water is only 5-10 feet deep. I had just bought a waterproof cover for my iPhone so I was eager to get some good shots of the coral reef and hopefully some fish. The small group had gone into the deeper part of the coral reef but I wanted to take some pictures. Unfortunately, the iPhone camera button doesn't work underwater so you have to use a camera with a timer. While I was trying to set the timer on the iPhone, clear water out of my diving mask and breathe through the snorkel all at the same time, I accidentally let my left foot brush up against part of the reef (we weren't given swimming fins) and an excruciating pain ripped through my middle toe into the center of the foot. I shouted for help and the guide swam over. I told him I thought I broke my toe. He lifted me onto the boat and took a look, saying it wasn't a break but a sting from a semi-poisonous sea urchin so he said I needed to see a medic.

He took me to a close island (3-4 minutes away) where thankfully there was a nurse who was working on a luxury ship and had agreed to see me. She confirmed it was an urchin bite and monitored my vitals for about an hour to make sure the poison didn't spread. She gave me some local antibiotics and a pain killer but the sharp pain lasted for nearly two hours before it became bearable. Fortunately by the end of the day, I was able to walk fairly comfortably again and even went jet skiing.

Finally, shortly after boarding the boat to get back to Cartagena late in the afternoon, the Colombian Navy pulls our boat over. Officers with guns and cameras and video cameras secure the boat and one of them comes on board. Instead of passengers getting nervous, they actually started yelling at the officers, telling them they needed to get back to Cartagena! After about 1/2 hour, and an exchange of paperwork, nasty words from the passengers to the officers and more videos being taken, they let the boat go and we arrived home safely. It was definitely a day I won't be forgetting very soon!

Click here for more photos from this memorable day.