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Colombia - Quita Sueņo Banks

December, 2007

 

    We left Lo Cay (Providencia) at 5 am on Thursday, December 6th (who says we never get up early any more) and had a nice ~7 hour close haul sail to the Banks.  We arrived around 2 pm with enough light to weave our way through a few coral heads but still a long distance away from the shipwrecks.  Quita Sueņo means Quit Dreaming in English as we approached the Banks the warning came to life for we could see the various shipwrecks which dotted the banks.  Since calm weather was predicted for the next three days, we chose to stop, explore and snorkel.  Not to mention, anchoring on the Banks gives you the sensation of being anchored in the middle of the Caribbean Sea because there's no land around for protection just the large horseshoe shaped reef formation. 

    There was no one within sight for miles, so we were thrilled at having the Banks to ourselves.  To our surprise, this was not the case.  Not long after we dropped the anchor, a fishing boat motored past and gave us a friendly greeting.  We quickly got dressed and greeted our new neighbors.  Instead of three days at Quita Sueņo, we spent two weeks.  We moved the boat closer to the large reef and shipwrecks and made sure the anchor was dug in well.  Then we relaxed and enjoyed our solitude in the middle of nowhere. 

    We snorkeled, did various chores and Rankin spear fished.  He very skillfully speared a 6 pound 24 inch Dog Snapper and we had fish for the next couple of nights.  Snorkeling was very nice with visibility to ~40 feet, lots of fish and beautiful live coral. 

    We would wave to the fisherman when they motored by us in their skiffs, and helped out a few by providing them with some medicine and bandages.  One of the fishermen gave us a Snapper that he had just speared which was very generous.  We noticed that some of the men were taking the metal off the old shipwreck (see the picture below).  We speculated that perhaps they would sell the metal upon their return to Honduras. 

    We thoroughly enjoyed our experience on the Banks, however, it's definitely not a stop for everyone.  During our two week stay, the wind kicked up to ~40 knots and it was a bit rough not to mention worrisome with coral surrounding the boat.  We believe it was worth the stop especially in settled weather and would recommend it to other cruisers. 

One of the many shipwrecks on the Banks    Me!!    Rankin speared this large Dog Snapper

Rankin as we motor away from the wreck    Closer look at the wreck    Can you see the men on this wreck???

    After two weeks, we had a nice weather window to sail to Cayos Vivorillo & Cayos Cajones (Hobbies) and thought we'd better move along.  If you wish to continue the adventure, click here to read about our experiences in Cayos Vivorillo & Cayos Cajones (Hobbies) or take a look at What's Happening to get the latest scoop. 

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