The calm emerald sea of the morning made every splash visible as tuna, sea turtles and rays flopped about their morning activities. With extraordinary clarity, we could see into the depths in front of our catamaran and our guide was skilled at telling us exactly what type of fish we were sailing over. The boat was not what one could expect in a foreign tourist area of Latin America. (As a matter of fact, the less than 30,000 people who live in these islands pay a premium to live here and those prices are passed onto tourists.) Modern, spacious and clean, we were served a hot breakfast shortly after disembarking.

One of our guests is a ship captain and took the helm for the crossing.

Inside our catamaran, the Adriana.

Once the boat dropped anchor, we were transported by dinghy to a baron looking, hot, lava created landscape. We were introduced to the lava lizard that dances in an effort not to burn her feet, a rare lava cactus and surreal scenery where Mars appears to drop into an azure sea. Oh, and there were steps, lots of steps... Did I mention it was hot? It didn't take long and we were face first in that beautiful water, cooling down nicely to the colorful views below. The contrast between the dark lava landscape and the pinks and blues of the fish made it that much more striking.

Huge parrot fish and angel fish bobbed around in schools, geometrically perfect starfish and other fish that seemed to have mini blue led lights down their sides. And then... There were hollers and squealing from various snorkels ahead. What? Where? What's going on? SEALS!!! Two sweet seals swam by and around us, eventually hopping onto the lava towers beside us. What a treat! Sea snakes, trumpet fish and a small reef shark graced our presence before we swam to the beach, meeting the land lubbers on the shore.
Before long we were back drying off on the boat, eating a lovely lunch of fish and fresh vegetables and having a beer. There's only one thing to do after a long day in the fresh salt air - snooze in the open air all the way home.