Anchored. Robinson Crusoe Island, Valparaiso Region, Chile,

Having arrived and anchored in the bay the remote island of Robinson Crusoe yesterday late afternoon, Paul contacted the port agent to find out about scuba diving at Robinson Crusoe Island.

The ship's doctor - he wished he'd caught this fish!

The port agent got back to him this morning and, yes - there were dive companies, and we could go on a dive this afternoon.  Asking around some of the qualified scuba divers, in the end Judith from the Front Desk came as did Charles, the ship's doctor.

We have had a wonderful afternoon diving. The water was very cold but we had suitable thickness wetsuits on.  One of the divers from the dive company didn't join us.  He went off on his own with a speargun.  He arrived back at the boat around about the same time that we surfaced - he had managed to catch some large fish.  These he swiftly killed and let them trail from the boat as we headed back to the shore, keeping them cool and fresh.  Pity we couldn't have one for the chef on board to cook for us!

When we got back to the dive centre there was a young swan nearby, all on its own.  It seems to have been blown off course and, fortunately, landed on the island.  The locals have been keeping a watchful eye on it but it does lack company of its own kind - being the only swan on the island and many miles from home

Tomorrow is another day.

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Anchored off Fuerte Amador, Panama City.

Paul and I were invited by a guest to join her on a dive off Panama.  We ended up taking the ship's doctor, Charles, with us as he enjoys diving as well.

The scuba diving company arranged to meet us at Fuerte Amador - it was easier for us, going straight from the ship and meeting them there rather than taking a taxi into Panama City.  We were picked up and driven to their base where we were assessed for diving equipment (sizes, etc) and then we were loaded into a boat and headed out into the bay, towards islands not far from the ship.

Paul - feeling a bit warmer after the dive!

We didn't have wet suits on because the water was supposedly warm.  Well... we soon discovered that sometimes the currents brought along icy water (!!) and we regretted not putting on the wet suits.  We had booked two dives each and were somewhat disappointed.  There was plenty of fish and spiny urchins, etc., but the water was too silty (from water run-off from the Amazon River) and we couldn't see very well.  We even lost our diving guide at one point so, as a group, we sat on the bottom and waited.  We could hear him sounding an under water clicker but couldn't see him.  Eventually we saw him above us, heading to the surface, so we managed to attract his attention.  After that he made sure he stayed a bit closer to us!

Charles had problems with his mask during the first dive and ended up abandoning the second dive. The rest of us put on wet suits but we were still cold in the water so we agreed on a 30 minute dive - but ended up being down for about 45 minutes 😞.  When we finally surfaced the boat was quite a way from us.  It turned out that the pilot and Charles had spotted whales so they went to look at them. We climbed into the boat as quickly as we could and our pilot took us towards the whales.  We had lunch on the boat while watching the wales.  There were about 3 or 4 of them, making a huge circle. It was magical and turned a potentially disastrous day into a nice one.  We felt elated!

As we headed back towards Panama/Fuerte Amador, our diving guide and pilot kindly agreed to drop us directly off at the ship.  It was way better for them rather than taking us back to their base and then drive back into Fuerte Amador to the pier.  And more cost effective fuel-wise.

Ship security and the sailors were delighted to see us when we rocked alongside the ship.  It's not often the staff/guests rock up on a different boat other than a tender.

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The ship's doctor - heading out for a dive with us.

 

Anchored off Port Elizabeth, Bequia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines.

It was a beautiful day when the Prinsendam anchored off Port Elizabeth. Paul had done a bit of research a few days earlier and discovered that there are scuba diving sites on the island.  Needless to say, he though it might be well worth going.  We asked other staff if they would like to dive with us, and make up a boat trip.  Also we would get a discount for a group dive/multiple dives.

In the end Paul, I, Judith from reception and one of the singers made up a group for a morning dive. Although I didn't have my diving licence card with me, I was able to show my dive log book as proof as to how many dives I had done and when the last one was.  The company (Dive Bequia) was very patient with us - well aware that we had to get a tender across to the pier and then meet up at their dive office.

We had a lovely morning, diving off 'The Almond Tree', seeing crayfish, shrimps, fire coral and more. The water was warm enough to wear a shorty wet-suit.

Paul had to go back on duty after the first dive, as did Judith, so they were dropped off at the pier and we were joined by Judy from the Shore Excursions department and Charles - the ship's doctor.  We had another nice dive, this time at 'Devil's Table'.  Paul is usually my dive 'buddy' but this time I teamed up with Judy who has her Dive Master's Certificate.  I was nervous diving without Paul even though Judy is a very experienced diver, so it took me a while to relax.  We saw puffer fish, frog fish, needle fish and much more.  We came across the wreck of an old submarine and had a brief swim around it before surfacing.

After lunch, Judy and I went for one last dive with the dive company, off Brown's Bay.  It was a nice easy, relaxed dive with a group of 6 other divers.  Judy saw a family of 8 lobsters hiding in between the coral and managed to signal me to come and see them.  Well, it seemed like a 'family'.  There were lobsters of varying sizes!  It seems silly, but I think I may not eat another lobster again (even though they can taste delicious if cooked and dressed well).  I pity that guy sitting on my plate...☹️

All in all we had a great day even if we didn't get to see much of the island itself.

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