18:06.49N  65:25.60W

13/2/2012

Just next to Esperanza are some bays that are renowned for their bioluminescence. The water is thick with plankton, and on moonless nights any disturbance in the water is lit up by these tiny creatures sparking. We’d seen it before as Salila ploughed through the water offshore, particularly crossing Biscay, but never close to land.

So we went round to Puerto Ferro, which had a narrow, reef strewn entrance and is a delightful enclosed bay with mangrove swamps coming down to the water. There were only a couple of other boats there, none of which seemed occupied, and to begin with I was a little nervous given the tales of local criminals and drug lords. But we were fine, and late in the day a guy arrived by kayak to take up residence on a small well used boat.

It was the quietest night I have ever had at anchor. There was no wind at all, no traffic or light pollution, and no moon till 2100. So after sunset we experimented with the pondlife; no one felt like jumping into the bay for some reason so the boathook was employed. And sure enough the water is alive. As we moved it through the water it was like a fairies wand with a stream of sparkling behind it. Not quite as spectacular as advertised by the local tour guides, but interesting nevertheless. Unfortunately  it’s impossible to photograph as the light levels are so low, apparently a professional photographer with a ton of kit tried for 3 nights, and got nothing. So the advertising pics have been slightly “modified”