Our Cuban archipelago is embraced by beautiful beaches and coasts. To the west of Havana, there is one that stands out for the great salinity of its waters, hence its name El Salado beach, located in the province of Artemisa.
This place will always have a special place in my memories, since it was there that I had my first experience in spearfishing.
Since my childhood, I was always close to a coast or beach, and enjoy that fascinating world that opens before your eyes when you put on a diving mask.
My parents used to take me there, because its waters are crystal clear and the coast is sheltered by many coconut trees. It also has a river that flows into the sea and some tourist cabins for the enjoyment of those who wish to spend a few days in contact with a natural environment.
One morning, my family invited my swimming teacher, who loved spearfishing. He carried a speargun with rubber bands and a line with a floating buoy to hold his prey.
We dove through the breakwater shown in the photo, and when we had swum more than 100 meters, a coral bottom opened up before our eyes.
The depth was about eight meters, and I felt a mixture of excitement and stress, as I had never swum so far from shore before. I began to see a large number of fish, which I remembered from seeing them in the aquarium near my house.
A few minutes passed, and I noticed that the fish that were swimming and eating in the marine sediment peacefully, among the algae and corals, began to move erratically, fearfully, disappearing before my sight.
A few seconds later, I saw a huge silver-gray fish, with an elongated body and dark spots. It was still at the bottom, with large eyes and a conical mouth with jaws that opened and closed with a terrifying look.
I was stunned with fear, I had never seen anything like it.
I almost threw myself on top of Felipe, my teacher, who was swimming near me. I showed him the animal and he told me it was a Great barracuda. He expressed it so naturally, as if that monster was a sardine.
He hyperventilated on the surface and went down to see if he could spear it. I didn't see what happened next, because I ran for shore.
Half an hour passed, I was telling my parents all about it, until he showed up with some fish he had caught.
I asked him about the threatening fish, and he told me that the picúa, the popular name for the Great barracuda, when it realized that someone was coming to meet it, swam away quickly.
I told him that it was huge, that it was more than two meters long. He laughed, ran his hand lovingly over my head and said:
—It wasn't that big.
It was about a meter long, but in the water, when you wear a diving mask, everything looks bigger than its real size and even closer.
Many years have passed since that experience. From that moment on, I learned more about this fascinating marine world, its flora and fauna. I became a doctor, a certified diver, and specialized precisely in Underwater Medicine.
Although El Salado beach is far from my home, I have gone diving with Scuba equipment using compressed air tanks.
It is still an attractive place for its Caribbean atmosphere and its seabed with a rich biodiversity that invites contemplation; but above all, to mention its name is to remember the image of that Great barracuda that made me leave in disbandment.
Thanks to those who read me.
Photos by me
Text divider. Free use from @ikasumanera and @eve66
Text by Andrés Brunet
@abrunet
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