Gone Fishin’
Pulling in a fishing net at playa El Laguito
Tierra Bomba is the closest island to Cartagena, just 15 minutes southwest of the coast by lancha (boat). It is huge, and you can see it from the beach in Bocagrande, specifically from playa El Laguito and playa Castillogrande. One of the first few times I went to El Laguito I learned that Tierra Bomba is a fisherman’s village, and that while any Isleños who live there commute back and forth between the island and the city for school or work, many spend their days working at sea as pescadores (fishermen).
I had been to the beach many many times without ever really noticing any fishermen at work in the bay between the shores of Cartagena and those of Tierra Bomba, but one day while I was at El Laguito with friends I noticed some men fishing on the water. Later on, I saw them pulling a net onto shore, and seeing this instantly brought back the childhood memory of pulling in a net with my family one summer in Grenada, the island where my father is from. I wanted to help right away, and when I asked, they said yes, likely because that net was suuuper heavy!
We pulled and we pulled and we pulled. We took turns swapping out to rest so that each person could take a little break, but there were always at least two people holding on. We pulled and pulled and pulled as an audience of beachgoers and seagulls began to assemble around us, all eager to see what was obscured beneath the waves in the net. We pulled and pulled and pulled as the fish in the net became visible and the seagulls that were sitting and waiting on the water started to steal them! I thought that was so rude, but it was a sight that gave me more strength and motivation!
Un pescadito and the net behind me
We pulled with the very last bit of strength we had, as the current of the ocean countered our efforts. As the net made it closer to the shore my heart sunk. There was barely anything in there; only a few little fish that the fishermen threw up to the seagulls that now swarmed above us in the sky. That was so funny to me, the seagulls behaving like puppies of the sea, waiting to be thrown a treat.
An onlooker mentioned that the catch was so low due to the waves being quite rough at that time and I figured that made sense. People often advise you to avoid travel in lancha after 3pm because the waves are choppy and can make for a bumpy, uncomfy ride. It was nearly sunset, so the waves were starting to pick up quite a bit, and I imagine this likely affected the fishes’ swimming patterns.
Like I mentioned before, I had gone to this beach frequently around the same time I went that day in the afternoon, and usually wouldn’t see any fishermen at work. It was objectively a terrible time for fishing, but a beautiful time for admiring the sky. As we threw the little fish up to the seagulls (and as I threw a few back into the water so that they’d get a second chance at life haha) I thought about how wild but also how beautiful it is how this work is so heavily tied to nature; to the wind, the waves, the sun, the path of the fish, the naughtiness and hunger of the seagulls. I really love the sea, the ocean, and the beach, and as I recall these memories to write this post, I wish I had sought out more opportunities to explore the open ocean. Maybe I will in the future.
In the end the fishermen welcomed me to take some fish home, but I didn’t because I had nothing to keep them in for the 30 minute journey home in the ever-present heat, nor did I want the task of gutting and cleaning the fish myself before getting to cook and eat them. It was a fun experience though, and I was happy to get to help a little. Those men work hard for the fresh catches that they sell both on the island and in Cartagena. I hope and pray they got a better catch another day!
No fish were harmed in the taking of this photo… I threw these ones back into the water!
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