You would think that having a husband who was raised on an island would mean that when we visit said island some water time would be forthcoming. We have visited the beach a couple of times but really that has been it. We have been running around visiting family members and also visiting friends and their family members, so there hasn’t been as much beach time as I had hoped for. Last week, however, we got the chance to go out on a boat for a trip to a grotto that can only be reached by sea. About four months ago our friend Pedro came to visit us in Rhode Island and we had a great time with him. His brother Ricardo has a scuba diving business in La Palma and Pedro arranged for him to take us out to visit the cave.
I am a pretty strong swimmer and I love swimming, but I am extremely afraid of deep water and scuba diving holds zero attraction for me. This is also why I have never been out on a boat in the ocean, apart from a short day trip on Prince William Sound in Alaska, and that was like being on a lake. So when Pedro offered to take us out on his brother’s boat I thought we were talking about, you know, a boat. Well, it turns out it was a Zodiac, which looks to me like a glorified blow-up raft with a motor. I was skeptical; this is the Atlantic we are talking about, after all. But it turned out to be completely up to the task. Some pictures of trip and the cave:
After we went by the cave Ricardo took us to see Pirate’s Bay, where these dwellings are built into the side of the cliff. There is a gorgeous pool here and someone has actually run electricity down from the top of the cliffs above. Talk about an exclusive community, only reachable by sea!
On our way back Ricardo told us we would have to wait a minute because he had to run an errand on the way back. It turns out that his family keeps wine in a cave under the ocean! Apparently the water pressure and the darkness speed up the aging process of the wine. Who knew? So he strapped on his diving gear and disappeared for about 10 minutes. When he came back he started handing bottles of wine up to us on the boat. As non-wine drinkers we thought this hilarious, but also very cool.
On the way back we passed the entrance to the Caldera del Taburiente, which forms the northern part of the island of La Palma. When this volcano collapsed, it must have been quite a show, although I am not sad that I was not there to see it!
On our way back we were going pretty fast and it really felt like we were flying, albeit a bit bumpily! For about fifteen minutes I forgot about everyone and everything and enjoyed the sun and the wind and the water. Now I understand how the ocean can hypnotize you. It was also a huge relief to know that I don’t get seasick, at least for the couple of hours I was out there.
First step, boat trip, next step scuba-diving?
Hm, maybe next year.
