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| San Andres |
| Pirate Sir Henry Morgan's Western Caribbean Base of Operations CaptainChuck Takes You There Caribbean Travel to Pirate Islands! |
| Caribbean Travel Guide |
© PHOTOS BY CAPT. CHUCK
San Andres
Pristine Beaches, Unmatched Diving
` Sir Henry Morgan, England’s most celebrated Pirate,
knew his own mind when he chose this tiny island group for
his lair, the perfect hideaway for his gold flotilla.
In fact, as an introduction to this carefree island, you'll
recognize a huge, natural bust of his craggy features at
Providencia’s north point. Morgan’s Bluff. With low mountains
tumbling to the turquoise sea, hillsides clumped with coconut
palms and lagoons rich with fish, lobsters, and crabs, what
more could a buccaneer ask?
Right…isolation.
Well, there’s no other island around for more than a hundred
miles. It represents that rare place, the still untrampled getaway.
San Andres Island. I had never heard of it, either, but it’s in the
far west Caribbean Sea, on a line from Jamaica toward San
Jose, Costa Rica, then SSE to Colombia, 480 miles away.
About the closest solid land is Nicaragua, 120 miles west.
Little eight mile-long San Andres is a misplaced jewel of fresh
morning showers on green banana trees and white sand. It
boasts big jet service by Avianca, Satina, and Aerorepublica, via
Miami.
There are several Decameron resorts and a cluster of smallish,
straightforward hotels strung along the bustling boulevard that
skirts the beach. A few have pools, discos and restaurants (the
better ones are fully air conditioned), but for the most part
people who come here will spend their time across the street at
the huge, clean beach or on the water. No dress codes, few
telephones, and only one TV station.
From anywhere along the strip you can see sparkling little
Johnny Key, about a half mile out across the emerald clear bay,
just inside the barrier reef that rings the island –almost like a
stray pup that wants to come in.
Instead, people flock out to Johnny Key’s blinding white sand,
sun and constant reggae dance party. They buy green coconut-
frond hats and rum-laced coconut water; they rent canvas-pole-
cabanas and wave to their friends arriving in an assortment of
small colectivos, motor launches bob along with laughing
customers crammed gunnel to gunnel.
Yet, a Johnny Key trip isn’t the only way to feel soft sand
squirt through your toes. Along the boulevard, the main beach
is a hundred yards wide, a mile long, never crowded, and
dotted with palms and tikis for shade. From any of the hotels
you simply pad across the street in your flip-flops and towel,
through the careening motorbikes. That can be thrilling, since
everybody there is as dedicated to speed as we are.
Or instead, you can hang a right and amble along the Avenida
la Playa to a gaggle of shops and bodegas, quirky fast-food
emporiums named McPollo, Kokorico, or a dozen others; have
a T-bone steak for a few bucks at the Casablanca, or do
minimal shopping. Since everything in San Andres is imported,
I found few bargains except for certain liquors you might buy
at half stateside prices. Curiously, there is a shop specializing in
Oriental rugs. Fine Colombian emeralds are also available.
If you’re more inclined toward strenuous outdoor sports,
diving in San Andres is also virtually unsurpassed. Dive shops
offer trips on 40-foot twin diesels, fully equipped boats that will
handle up to 20 divers. Others offer four cabins and facilities
for comfortable longer-term trips to outlying islands.
The dive shop has PADI certified instructors and new, high
quality gear for rent, or as part of package deals.
At the 30 or more dive sites you can choose your depth, from
surface snorkeling to deep dives. The “Blue Hole” is actually a
steep wall with wide crevices that drops quickly 150 to 200
feet, then to the floor of the Caribbean, a mile down.
Fish: a thousand beau gregories, squirrel fish, schools of blue
tang straight down the wall in 50- 120 feet visibility. Big lemon
sharks and white tips are seen here; we didn't see any. The
barrier reef completely encircles San Andres with a full galaxy
of dive opportunities. There is a decompression chamber.
Rent sail boats at several hotels. San Andres was once the site
of the World Sunfish Championships; these small, easy sailers
may suit your needs.
A funky tourist train chugs around the island; there are
motorbikes, four-wheelers, or car rentals at the airport.
Deep-sea angling features the big ones – blue marlin, sail,
giant tuna – migrating with the current off South America, plus
a host of game fish such as wahoo, green dolphin, mackerel,
barracuda. On shore, snapper and grouper are served delectably
sauteed or deep fried by the local restaurants.
If you don’t dive or fish, you’ve found the ideal place for a
power tan. Best part, there aren’t 20,000 other Yanquis
crowding into your space while you’re at it.
Tourism is not new. The archipelago – San Andres and
Providencia, about 30 minutes away – is a part of Colombia.
Numerous Colombians come for R&R. The bilingual population
speak mostly espanol, and some creole. Because of the
Caribbean mixture, many natives are fluent in English, too.
Indulge your taste for seafoods; caracol, which the natives
call snails but we call conch; pulpo (octopus) at San Luis
beach, or the turtle stew at Club Nautico. Snapper in garlic
sauce (pargo al ajillo) is a definite don’t-miss. A trip to San
Andres must include rondon; fish soup with coconut, snapper,
conch, green bananas, onions and spices, boiled in coconut
milk, with corn dumplings. Plus aphrodisiac rice. Then there’s
also CafeCafe pizza.
Caution: Don’t drink the water.
Beware of salads washed with it.
Don’t miss Morgan’s treasure cave; Hoyo Soplador, a sea-
generated geyser; and Providencia, the neighboring Bali Hai-like
island only 20 minutes away by air. Morgan’s Bluff is the
nature-carved monument -- looks just like him -- which bursts
forth to mark his Pirate isle; his imprint forever.
If you have anything left for night life, strobe lights and the
latest dance craze up to highs that will transport you into your
own state of paradise – or paranoia. Dance all night long; you
may never want to go home. Now that’s tranquility.
If you find a place more laid back, more comfortable and less
crowded than San Andres, get there quick. There can’t be
many islands still like this.
######
www.sanandres.gov.co/
Pristine Beaches, Unmatched Diving
` Sir Henry Morgan, England’s most celebrated Pirate,
knew his own mind when he chose this tiny island group for
his lair, the perfect hideaway for his gold flotilla.
In fact, as an introduction to this carefree island, you'll
recognize a huge, natural bust of his craggy features at
Providencia’s north point. Morgan’s Bluff. With low mountains
tumbling to the turquoise sea, hillsides clumped with coconut
palms and lagoons rich with fish, lobsters, and crabs, what
more could a buccaneer ask?
Right…isolation.
Well, there’s no other island around for more than a hundred
miles. It represents that rare place, the still untrampled getaway.
San Andres Island. I had never heard of it, either, but it’s in the
far west Caribbean Sea, on a line from Jamaica toward San
Jose, Costa Rica, then SSE to Colombia, 480 miles away.
About the closest solid land is Nicaragua, 120 miles west.
Little eight mile-long San Andres is a misplaced jewel of fresh
morning showers on green banana trees and white sand. It
boasts big jet service by Avianca, Satina, and Aerorepublica, via
Miami.
There are several Decameron resorts and a cluster of smallish,
straightforward hotels strung along the bustling boulevard that
skirts the beach. A few have pools, discos and restaurants (the
better ones are fully air conditioned), but for the most part
people who come here will spend their time across the street at
the huge, clean beach or on the water. No dress codes, few
telephones, and only one TV station.
From anywhere along the strip you can see sparkling little
Johnny Key, about a half mile out across the emerald clear bay,
just inside the barrier reef that rings the island –almost like a
stray pup that wants to come in.
Instead, people flock out to Johnny Key’s blinding white sand,
sun and constant reggae dance party. They buy green coconut-
frond hats and rum-laced coconut water; they rent canvas-pole-
cabanas and wave to their friends arriving in an assortment of
small colectivos, motor launches bob along with laughing
customers crammed gunnel to gunnel.
Yet, a Johnny Key trip isn’t the only way to feel soft sand
squirt through your toes. Along the boulevard, the main beach
is a hundred yards wide, a mile long, never crowded, and
dotted with palms and tikis for shade. From any of the hotels
you simply pad across the street in your flip-flops and towel,
through the careening motorbikes. That can be thrilling, since
everybody there is as dedicated to speed as we are.
Or instead, you can hang a right and amble along the Avenida
la Playa to a gaggle of shops and bodegas, quirky fast-food
emporiums named McPollo, Kokorico, or a dozen others; have
a T-bone steak for a few bucks at the Casablanca, or do
minimal shopping. Since everything in San Andres is imported,
I found few bargains except for certain liquors you might buy
at half stateside prices. Curiously, there is a shop specializing in
Oriental rugs. Fine Colombian emeralds are also available.
If you’re more inclined toward strenuous outdoor sports,
diving in San Andres is also virtually unsurpassed. Dive shops
offer trips on 40-foot twin diesels, fully equipped boats that will
handle up to 20 divers. Others offer four cabins and facilities
for comfortable longer-term trips to outlying islands.
The dive shop has PADI certified instructors and new, high
quality gear for rent, or as part of package deals.
At the 30 or more dive sites you can choose your depth, from
surface snorkeling to deep dives. The “Blue Hole” is actually a
steep wall with wide crevices that drops quickly 150 to 200
feet, then to the floor of the Caribbean, a mile down.
Fish: a thousand beau gregories, squirrel fish, schools of blue
tang straight down the wall in 50- 120 feet visibility. Big lemon
sharks and white tips are seen here; we didn't see any. The
barrier reef completely encircles San Andres with a full galaxy
of dive opportunities. There is a decompression chamber.
Rent sail boats at several hotels. San Andres was once the site
of the World Sunfish Championships; these small, easy sailers
may suit your needs.
A funky tourist train chugs around the island; there are
motorbikes, four-wheelers, or car rentals at the airport.
Deep-sea angling features the big ones – blue marlin, sail,
giant tuna – migrating with the current off South America, plus
a host of game fish such as wahoo, green dolphin, mackerel,
barracuda. On shore, snapper and grouper are served delectably
sauteed or deep fried by the local restaurants.
If you don’t dive or fish, you’ve found the ideal place for a
power tan. Best part, there aren’t 20,000 other Yanquis
crowding into your space while you’re at it.
Tourism is not new. The archipelago – San Andres and
Providencia, about 30 minutes away – is a part of Colombia.
Numerous Colombians come for R&R. The bilingual population
speak mostly espanol, and some creole. Because of the
Caribbean mixture, many natives are fluent in English, too.
Indulge your taste for seafoods; caracol, which the natives
call snails but we call conch; pulpo (octopus) at San Luis
beach, or the turtle stew at Club Nautico. Snapper in garlic
sauce (pargo al ajillo) is a definite don’t-miss. A trip to San
Andres must include rondon; fish soup with coconut, snapper,
conch, green bananas, onions and spices, boiled in coconut
milk, with corn dumplings. Plus aphrodisiac rice. Then there’s
also CafeCafe pizza.
Caution: Don’t drink the water.
Beware of salads washed with it.
Don’t miss Morgan’s treasure cave; Hoyo Soplador, a sea-
generated geyser; and Providencia, the neighboring Bali Hai-like
island only 20 minutes away by air. Morgan’s Bluff is the
nature-carved monument -- looks just like him -- which bursts
forth to mark his Pirate isle; his imprint forever.
If you have anything left for night life, strobe lights and the
latest dance craze up to highs that will transport you into your
own state of paradise – or paranoia. Dance all night long; you
may never want to go home. Now that’s tranquility.
If you find a place more laid back, more comfortable and less
crowded than San Andres, get there quick. There can’t be
many islands still like this.
######
www.sanandres.gov.co/
| CD: Sailing Adventures Cruising the Carib! Hilarious True Sea Stories |
Download the Book
Click 'Home' to order!
The full text: 247 pages of fun,hilarious adventure,
sailing
the Bounding Main! Just $16.95
-OR-
CD only $12.00 free ship.
Order Your own Pirates Pearls & Paradise Today! Avast,
Me Hearties, Ye'll Love the Voyage!
Click 'Home' to order!
The full text: 247 pages of fun,hilarious adventure,
sailing
the Bounding Main! Just $16.95
-OR-
CD only $12.00 free ship.
Order Your own Pirates Pearls & Paradise Today! Avast,
Me Hearties, Ye'll Love the Voyage!