0.2 Leagues Under the Sea

April 2009

As part of my spring break escape in 2009, I took a Princess Cruise to the Panama Canal via Aruba and Columbia (see prior post).  Having let my swimming skills lapse and not being a snorkeler, I chose to make my descent to the ocean floor in a submarine.  In the 1980s, someone took the technology of submersibles used in checking off- shore oil rigs (maybe they needed more of those in the Gulf Coast...) and applied it to creating commercial mini submarines to take tourists to the bottom of the sea.  These U.S. Coast Guard- approved Atlantis submarines hold about 50 passengers arranged so that everyone has a porthole to see out of--very nice.  They have them in several Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, and a few other places now.

A transfer boat took us out to the submarine off the southeast coast of Aruba where we "walked the (short) plank" in open waters onto the submarine, climbed down the hole, and claimed a porthole.  I had a momentary pause when I wondered what I had gotten myself into as the door closed and was secured.  However, the descent was smooth and exciting as we neared our depth of  130 feet and moved among the coral reefs and sponge gardens of the Barcadera Reefs.  We saw the most fish and a couple of eels among the remains of two sunken boats, but nothing really big and scary.  They had bright lights on the sub to illuminate the sea life, and although we could see them in color, the way the light was refracted through the water and the glass gave the photos a bluish hue.

My hour of scanning the sea floor passed quickly, and soon we were bubbling our way to the surface.  After planking our way back  to the waiting vessel, we stayed and watched the next group disappear beneath the surface.  At the end, I was awarded a Dive Certificate stating that I "completed a voyage beneath the sparkling waters of the Caribbean and is hereby bestowed the tile:  Atlantis Submariner."  It's not on my list for framing, but it was fascinating to see the hidden world under the sea.
Click here for slideshow:
Under the Sea
Music:  Under the Sea, The Little Mermaid.