Providencia Isla

Overview

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Providencia IslaOld Providence was an old English colonial possession; about 100 km of what is now Nicaragua. Strange to say that Providencia Isla is not in Nicaragua’s jurisdiction but rather is a municipality of the San Andres y Providencia Islas “department” of Colombia. Tourism in San Andres revolves around the basic Caribbean beach vacation: white sand, friendly locals, nightlife, great seafood, and sun. Also, it's one of the shopping capitals for all of Latin America with Panama-style low prices in comparison to the rest of the Spanish speaking countries. Providencia’s tourism industry is very much different. Even smaller than San Andres, this tiny island is better known ...Read More

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Manzanillo and area

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Attraction

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After Hurricane Beta struck San Andres and Providencia islands, the damage severely interrupted Providencia’s small tourism industry. Decameron and other hotel chains decided to invest in the reconstruction efforts by consolidating several small “boutique” lodgings primarily in and around Sweetwater bay on Providencia into a tourist getaway. Thus far the result has been positive, since the small size of the lodgings prevents mass tourism from destroying the relaxing nature of Providencia. At the Miss Elma hotel one can talk with the property manager, Rosendo, about renting scooters for 24 hour periods for about USD $20. No driver’s license necessary, just a little knowledge of safe scooter dri...Read More

After Hurricane Beta struck San Andres and Providencia islands, the damage severely interrupted Providencia’s small tourism industry. Decameron and other hotel chains decided to invest in the reconstruction efforts by consolidating several small “boutique” lodgings primarily in and around Sweetwater bay on Providencia into a tourist getaway. Thus far the result has been positive, since the small size of the lodgings prevents mass tourism from destroying the relaxing nature of Providencia.

At the Miss Elma hotel one can talk with the property manager, Rosendo, about renting scooters for 24 hour periods for about USD $20. No driver’s license necessary, just a little knowledge of safe scooter driving and some common sense are needed. Providencia has one circular road that takes about 30 minutes to go around by scooter at a comfortable speed. Most, if not all, of Providencia’s beaches are accessible via scooter.

Playa Manzanillo attracts many visitors during the more social nights. Not to be missed is Roland Roots Bar at Manzanillo. This is a Reggae bar that serves cold beer at reasonable prices, plays the best reggae music on the island until the wee hours of the morning, and accommodates the visitor around the sandy area on comfortable tables. A central campfire is on at night burning old palm wood in order to keep mosquitoes at bay. We invited Miss Elma’s Rosendo to a couple of rounds at Roland’s for talk and learning about Providencia in general. I suggest you try this with the locals as sometimes they may be so relaxed in their ways that they may not even notice your presence among them! For a less nocturnal itinerary, feel free to drop by Roland’s during the lunch hours for some fresh seafood. The beach, after all, is right there…

Manzanillo’s beach itself is undoubtedly Providencia’s best beach to visit. The rather remote access on the southern edge of the island will keep the few visitors on the island at any given time to an even smaller sprinkling. An early morning visit to see the sunrise or a drop by a couple of hours later is the perfect way to soak up sun and breathe salty air. The beach was practically deserted until about 10am. It is said that at this same beach there are horse races along the water’s edge during the afternoon hours, but we were elsewhere by then. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 3, 2007

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Walking Santa Catalina

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Story/Tip

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Santa Catalina IslaAbout 100 meters due north of Providencia’s town floats Santa Catalina Isla. To get there one needs to cross El Puente de los Enamorados (Lovebird’s Bridge). Maybe its named so due to the necessity to occasionally lend a helping hand to your significant other since this bridge mostly is a floating bridge. You can hypothetically cross by boat, but it takes the fun out of crossing a floating bridge. Santa Catalina boasts several sites attributed to the famous Capt. Henry Morgan. In fact, Capt. Morgan rose to fame after participating in the taking of Providencia and Santa Catalina for the English from Spain. You know this story, colonial power A takes from colonial powe...Read More

Santa Catalina Isla

About 100 meters due north of Providencia’s town floats Santa Catalina Isla. To get there one needs to cross El Puente de los Enamorados (Lovebird’s Bridge). Maybe its named so due to the necessity to occasionally lend a helping hand to your significant other since this bridge mostly is a floating bridge. You can hypothetically cross by boat, but it takes the fun out of crossing a floating bridge.

Santa Catalina boasts several sites attributed to the famous Capt. Henry Morgan. In fact, Capt. Morgan rose to fame after participating in the taking of Providencia and Santa Catalina for the English from Spain. You know this story, colonial power A takes from colonial power B, then loses it in a bet to C, only to return to A. Capt. Morgan is the same privateer to be attributed with the creation of the fictitious pirate code featured in ever-so-popular Hollywood films of recent fame… and of course, the namesake of many American college students’ liverkiller rum.

Santa Catalina has no road, only a small settlement on the southern edge that serves those tourists that walk to Morgan’s head, his Cove, and his small fortification that can be reached by walking east. Walking west at the bridge will take you up a steep set of steps and back down to a very pretty rocky beach. A couple of hours to sightsee and possibly eat fried fish (yummy) are needed. Add an hour to refresh yourself in the seawater.

When walking towards the west you will find a small open air restaurant. Good fried fish here… and they even hand out information on the necessity to preserve the coral reefs that surround these small islands. Try the fried sardines that are literally fished out of the water about two minutes after being ordered.

Scuba diving is possible around Santa Catalina, but arrangements need to be made with your hotel or with local fishermen in order to dive the safe spots.

From Santa Catalina one can appreciate the beauty of Providencia. With a panoramic camera function, one can take in the near-Tahitian or Fijian quality of the hills and waterline in Providencia. Quite a sight. Read Less

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