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Tiger's Path

Tuesday was our last day in Colombia. The plan originally was to pull anchor in the morning, and set sail for Panama. However, because we didn't get to work a full day on Friday (due to bad weather) the plan was changed to have a small group work a half day at the clinic site in Buenaventura. On Tuesday we woke up to foul weather. Santiago, the clinic site leader, went to about five people telling them that it was crazy to try and get people ashore. The chief mate radioed the captain, and the captain talked to the commodore, but still the orders were to go ashore.

The utility boats must travel nine miles, about four of it over open ocean, and then the boats pass through the Tiger's Path before reaching the calmer waters of Bahia Malaga. The Tiger's Path is the name that the local people have for the area where the river exits the bay and interacts with the ocean. This is a very rough water area, and when the current is flooding (water moving back into the bay) it can be particularly dangerous. The 10-15 foot seas, with mushroom waves that can push a boat right over, and a fierce rip current, give you an idea of why they call this the Tiger's Path.

The boat that headed ashore just after 7 AM yesterday with Santiago and about 30 other nervous people, was going at the absolute worst time of the day. Before they finally reached Bahia Malaga, over have of them were sick and vomiting, and the boat came literally within inches of capsizing. Once they got to Bahia Malaga, the plan had been for them to take helicopters to Buenaventura, but because of the bad weather, the helicopters were grounded. So after waiting six hours, they finally were able to make it back to the Comfort on helicopters. Nobody worked at all. The boat crew braved the rough seas and brought the utility boat back empty.

The Seebeas, guys who are happy-go-lucky and tough-as-nails, took a Colombian 38-passenger speedboat in the morning also, going to La Sierpe where they had spent the week building a clinic. When they arrived at La Sierpe, they radioed back to the ship, explaining how bad the conditions had been, and that they had been in fear of losing their lives.

During our stay in Colombia, I crossed the Tiger's Path ten times. Some days were better than others, but two of the rides were very rough. On my last day, coming back to the ship, the chief mate was at the wheel of the utility boat. We had just finished crossing the Tiger's Path, and most people in the front of the boat were standing, holding on to the rails of the canvas canopy, because they kept getting thrown off the bench seat by the waves that were tossing us around. Many of us were wet from the spray, and laughing as we rode the steep waves. This was the last time we would have to make this trip, and we were giddy with relief. The chief mate stopped the boat, and had us look back at where we had just come from. He pointed out the waves and the rip current, explaining why the ride had been so rough. It was impressive to watch, as even a half mile out at sea I could clearly see the ebbing waters of the bay interacting with the ocean.

In the end, everybody was thankful to safely have all our crew back on board, with all gear, and all Colombian patients off the ship. Colombia has been a tough country for this mission.

Posted by David at August 29, 2007 07:12 AM