Swimming In Light

In the morning I had taken a taxi to the harbour to wait for Margarita. From there we explored the markets and supermarkets of the area for a few hours to buy supplies and equipment for the kitchen on the island. Following the grime and dust of the city we jump onto Ever's boat who takes us out to the open sea. We jump over the waves with the heavy packed boat, it had been loaded with supplies for some of the shops, until we reach Islas del Rosario. We drop off a couple of crates of beer on another island before reaching the little hostel where Margarita was living. I thought it had been hot in Cartagena but here it was even more so. With temperatures of about 31C for most of the year it was definitely something I had to get used to after hitchhiking through Central Europe in the winter. And to be honest I felt completely brain dead for the large majority of the day due to the unusual heat. Not having electricity or flowing sweet water made it impossible for me to find a cool place. Also with such high amounts of salt in the air the salt started clinging onto my sweat making it a little uncomfortable. This was the first time of my life that there wasn't a steady supply of sweet water around, even in the bush in Kenya there was a flowing river nearby, and in my head it made me freak out a little. In the end the only oasis I found was underneath the awning that gave such wonderful shade in front of Carlos house. Carlos being the neighbour of the hostel that I was staying in with Margarita (and which, I might want to add, was still a little bit in construction). While resting in one of the hammocks that was so wonderfully located in the protecting shadow of the awning I get to meet some women from Bogota that were currently staying in the house that Carlos rents out for holidays. We spent some time talking and enjoying the view of coconut and guava trees in front of us until the dark started slowly creeping in. "Ah ok, so you are from Bogota. How much longer are you planning on staying around here?" I say as I use my feet to start swinging the hammock lightly. "We? Tomorrow we go to Cartagena and then we go to Bogota after." One of the women says, she is playing around with a 'despicable me' toy character. Which happens to also be a little speaker and was blaring out colombian rock - which transforms into ugly tinny sounds after leaving this cheap device. "Oh wow, so early." I say and look around to notice that dusk had set in. "Yes, we would like to stay forever here!" One of them answers and starts laughing as she sees the other playing about with the little toy speaker. "We want to go to the magic lagoon esta noche. You know it?" Another - who was lying back in another hammock - adds. "No, sounds interesting though." I reply intrigued, after all the 'magic lagoon' sounds like it could be special. "You want to come?" they invite me, "Bring swimming goggles!" "Ok, see you after dinner then." I say and then head back to the hostel to start cooking. An hour or two later I see the group of five walking up to my camp and start putting all my swimming things into a little bag. We start wandering through the dark, with hardly any stars visible due to some clouds. After some 15 minutes we reach a little pier that had been built among the many mangroves growing on this island. Slowly I make my way into the water, which seemed like a black mirror at night and with my fear of not seeing the bottom of the water I am swimming in it wasn't the easiest thing to convince myself to enter. Nevertheless I make it in and after swimming around a little bit I start feeling more comfortable. "Put on the goggles Noah, you dive." I hear a voice coming from the dark that surrounded us. I do as I am told and as I enter the dark water and start diving I see lights all around my arms. There were little fluorescent organisms in the water and with every movement I make whirls of the little planktons light up and surround my entire body with little dots of light. I could not get enough of it, this was magic indeed, I dived until my arms were sore and my eyes had been able to enjoy the pure beauty of the moment that was surrounding every move that was made. An experience which my words describe in its true fullness - a reason for you to go and experience this little island paradise yourself.