Cruising with Mr Mac: Santa Catalina: Providencia’s Little Sister

Friday, January 25, 2019

Santa Catalina: Providencia’s Little Sister

The colorful view along Santa Catalina's waterside sidewalk

Providencia is not alone out there in the Caribbean Sea, but closely accompanied by tiny Santa Catalina (often referred to as just Catalina), which lies off the northern tip of Providencia. The two islands are separated by a (very) narrow strip of water that is spanned by Lover’s Lane, a low (high winds from the east splash waves onto the decking) and colorful bridge. Catalina is adorable, and we often spent time there. A sidewalk runs the entire length of the southern/southeastern end of the island, past little restaurants and bars, homes, and posadas (guest houses). And what beauties they are, colorfully and imaginatively painted, and surrounded by tropical trees and vegetation. Gazing into the shallow water alongside the opposite side of the sidewalk, we often saw a couple of small eagle rays swimming and sifting through the mud. At less than one foot across, these little guys were a far cry from their grown kin out on the reefs, which can boast of wing spans of up to eight feet. At the eastern end of the sidewalk is a cannon and a view out over the lagoon toward the reef. At the western end are steep stairs up to a lookout watched over by a statue of the Virgin Mary. Just above are the sparce remnants of an old fort (Fort Warwick), and beyond are steep stairs down to a beach. Across the beach starts the path out to Cabeza de Morgan (Morgan’s Head), an outcropping that resembles – you guessed it – a head (but only from the water). We tried several of the little restaurants along the sidewalk – good, sometimes great, always inexpensive food and drink, including an island specialty, corn ice cream (which tastes a lot better than it sounds). Pablo Escobar apparently owned a property (now a ruin) atop Catalina – some friends found their way there when they visited the island – but we never discovered the path to it.