I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but…

There is this magic island. No cruise ships, no golf, no television, no umbrellas on the beach. Natural island life without the hoards, the yachts, without the traffic, just  fresh fish for lunch and reggae at dusk. Authentic delights of the Caribbean without the plague of trampling tourism. Just rolling green hills and peaceful, winding island roads taking one from beach to beach.

It’s called Providencia or Old Providence – It’s deliriously beautiful, drifty and breezy. Coconut palms, Indian corral, mango are indigenous, and Ceiba trees flourish up on the mountain, post hurricane.  Volcanic rock, unlike it’s bigger and noisier neighbor San Andres, which is coral and a drooling example of mindless tourism.

After the November, 2020 hurricane everything must be brought in except the sand. Even the coconuts are struggling to make a return.  But the fish are still here. What a time to go to this chilled island and what a better time to spend a few dollars with these mellow people whose world just recently collided with near devastation. The big news: Providencia is back.

The island is increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes and climate change. Over 2000 homes were destroyed by Iota and the government response was typical. Rebuild what were once classic structures with cheap housing that all looks the same. The lodging, however, has come a long way toward reclaiming Eden.

“The hurricane only lasted a few hours and destroyed the lives of many residents,’ said Wily Robinson, a fisherman who has seen over 4 such storms in his 68 years on Providencia. “The government went through the motions of helping us but in the end dropped the ball one again.”

He added that the Colombian government would rather they weren’t here. The people are more closely linked to Jamaica, some 600 sea miles away. Jamaican Patois,  is likely to be heard far more than Spanish or English.

And last night I found what I believe to be the legendary Catbird Seat of 30’s radio sportscaster Red Barber and humorist James Thurber. It was located on the falling away porch of the Sunrise Vista, a small barraca bar perched precariously seaside at Rocky Point. If this ain’t the famous Catbird Seat then it is easily the Caribbean Catbird Seat.

The Caribbean, just below the Catbird Seat

“Lean over too far and you’ll crash off yonder rocks and end up in the sea, said a fisherman and world traveller named Michael. You’d take this rickety old couch with you too! Let’s go for a ride on my boat instead. I’ll need a hand if the engine craps out…There’s Wahoo and Yellow fin tuna off in deep water just waiting for us pay them a visit.”

After countless pulls and a few quiet curses the engine starts and here we go…Michael knows what he’s doing. We take a spin to try the engine and soon it runs smoothly. Tomorrow he will head out on open water toward Jamaica in search of his catch. After a few more turns I must leave to have dinner at my friend, Idonna’s, who just could be the finest chef on the island. She might be cooking Red Snapper, Grouper or Barracuda or maybe she’s grilling Horse-eye Jack. They all live in the waters near the island.

She promised Black Crab Soup but we ran short of time and I had to settle for a bowl of the iconic Providencia delicacy elsewhere at Divino Nino at Southwest Bay. Her Rondon, a seafood and pork stew with root vegetables is known all the way to Panama. She vowed to make the dish for me when I return to the island in 2027.

In Providencia – sweet food doesn’t have anything to do with sugar it means homemade and delicious. Grilled fresh Pompano,  patacones, coconut rice and ice-cold Aguila beer make the statement on the pretty wooden porch or at a table in the sand.

YES, we have no bananas

Lo siento pero no hay mangos hasta el barco llega de San Andres viernes.

Ah yes the proverbial Friday boat.

Mangos are harder to come by here, when years ago they ruled the place in abundance.

“Come back Friday in the morning,” she said in a mix of Patois, Spanish and English.

I left the little store disappointed. I climbed into my Mule and started the engine intent on purveying a fat little papaya or even a slice of pineapple. Then I heard her yell—

Wait! I found two!” She came running out of her store…

I very had secured the last 2 mangos on Providencia!

She was happy. I was happy. I offered her one of the mangos but she said she could wait unto her ship comes in from San Andres. For a moment in time we were both in mango heaven.

The last 2 mangoes till Friday. Wow! I guess I should feel guilty but I still don’t. I was so jealous of my pillaging the I went back to Rocky Point and ate one entire Mango with a few shots of rum and a can of beanie weenies that I jumped on while in town. Just because one is visiting an exotic culture does not mean he should skimp on healthy repasts.

Damn these people are big. It’s a damn good thing they are smiling most of the time. My host at Posada Ashanty, Killy was 6’4 and at least 230. Uncle Cab driver was big and skinny at the same time. Wily was big too as I recall. Even the Rastas were giants, and why shouldn’t they be.

Lovely Caribbean people——Musicians, pescaderos, exceptional diving and snorkeling, semi-guided fishing trips, ridiculous sunrises and sunsets, excellent food and music. Another paradise to see, feel and remember forever. The notorious English pirate Henry Morgan, would agree. He claimed sister island, Santa Catalina, as his redoubt for more than 20 years. It is said there is buried treasure there but no one has found anything. Maybe he took it with him when he passed.

Closer to the Corn Islands of Nicaragua than to the Colombian mainland, fishermen used to pass Las Islas de Maize from Providencia  frequently but today there is no traffic due to disputes of island ownership and chaotic pettiness on the part of both sovereign nations …It’s basically the same Patois, bound by the salty centuries and by the horrific legacy of slavery.

Sadly one of the the last vestiges of traditional life on a Caribbean island – a culture at risk – is threatened. Residents here are keen to preserve it and juggle eco-tourism with daily family life on this rock. Go there and spend your money. The human value is phenomenal while your tarrying footprint is still washed out to sea.

– Kevin Haley