On surfacing I asked Carlos if he was alright and why we aborted the dive. He answered that there was too much current. I asked him about the 5 min safety stop and he shrugged. At this point it seemed we were moving slowly SE of the dive site, but only 300 m from the stern of the main boat. No need for concern yet. Carlos and two of the guests put up their safety sausages (visual aids) to alert the boat where we were and we awaited to get picked u by one of the zodiacs. However, we were in a different place to where anyone expected to see us come up and about a half hour early. There was no one on dive watch on this boat. Several silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) were curious about our presence, so started circling the group. One of the guest was a little nervous about their boldness, so another guest and I (anxious for a chance to get a bit more in for our last dive) went down about 10 m to play with the sharks and show they weren't being threatening. We stayed around the feet of the other three while they were signalling the boat. After about 15 - 20 mins I thought it was a little odd that no one had come to pick us up yet so I surfaced. On surfacing first I saw that the other three were still contentedly holding onto their sausages, but on turning around I saw that we were at least 3 - 4 km from Malpelo, and the dive boat was just a point on the horizon. I urged the others to try and swim with me back in the direction of the island and boat, because if we could not see them they could definitely not see us. Carlos disagreed with me and asked that we conserve energy and wait to be picked up. Immediately myself and another guest, Jorge, left the group and started swimming. It was about 1630. I yelled back that Id let the boat know where everyone was (moving steadily SE of Malpelo..). The current was a bit stronger than I had thought and Jorge had some trouble making progress against it. We quickly split up and he later rejoined with Hernan, one of the guests. I just swam. I tacked 45 degrees into the current to try and make better progress. Just before dark I used to rest of the air in my tank to try and swim harder and get close enough the rock that I could hear the waves so I wouldn't rely on light to get back. With no air left I took a moment to get rid of the tank and weights. I hadn't stopped to do it before as every moment without swimming was a further distance from the boat. At 1930 I could see I was ~500 m from the boat and I was sure that I was going to make it and I could drink a beer and tell them where the other four were. I couldn't understand why no one had looked for us yet down current. But all of a sudden the boat started moving. In the opposite direction. Into the current. and then they turned their lights off and I couldn't see them any more. I got back to malpelo at 2000 and waited approximately where the boat had been moored thinking that surely they would come back. Or at least do a lap of the island. No sight of anything for over an hour. I was getting tired as I had to swim constantly against the current to not get pulled away from the island, and there was a 3-4 m swell. I remembered that on the other side of the island there was a ladder. This was the only way up onto the rock, and surely there would be a radio and maybe even water at the top. So i swam there. I got to the ladder about 2200. But it was raised. I swore so much. I couldn't understand why the boat had left and gone into the current, and hadn't left anyone else at the island and didn't think to make sure the ladder was down. All I had to do was get up and then Id be safe and Id be able to get in contact with someone to tell the boat to turn around the other four were the other way, and then water, and beer, they were still on the boat. I was so thirsty. This was the first moment that I thought maybe I wouldn't survive this. I didn't have energy to fight against the current all night and all sides of malpelo were vertical rock faces covered in barnacles and being smashed against by 3 m waves. I tried anyways. I spent several hours trying to climb the rocks to get up to the ladder. But it was a dark night and I couldn't see anything and I was getting grated across the rocks each time i tried. My wetsuit was completely torn and cold water was coming in. My hands and legs were bloody and I was getting worried about all those previously adorable sharks that had escorted me for my swim back to the rock. I gave up climbing for a while to swim around the island looking for a better place to climb up, or hold onto or any signs of a boat. About 0200 in the morning I tried again to climb up to the ladder. This time exhausted and desperate. Finally a huge set of waves took me and smashed me into the side of a tall rock face about 50 m from the ladder. I put my hand out to protect my face and my hand entered into a small ledge. The wave passed and I was left hanging onto the side of the cliff. Involuntarily in a moment of adrenalin I pulled myself up and I was dry and sitting on a ledge on the side of the rock. I spent the night there fantasising about waterfalls and beer. At 7 am i was getting poked by a crab. I sat up and was covered by about a dozen crabs, two lizards and lots of bird ****. I grabbed the biggest crab and was excited to rip off his claws and drink the liquid inside. And then i happily imagined myself drinking my morning pee out of my dive mask. Only then did I notice that there was a boat moored just in front of me. Less than 100 m away. So i put down the crab and dive mask. I jumped up and down and blew my whistle at the boat, but they seemed confused. I put on my gear and jumped back in the water and started swimming to the boat. At this point my desperation must have been evident so they came and picked me up. It was another dive boat from Panama. I was so happy to see them. They gave me water, a hot shower and espresso. It was amazing. Oddly, they had no idea there were divers missing in the area. I told them about the other four and they immediately advised the authorities. They assisted the Colombian armada for the next four days trying to find the missing four divers. I felt bad that the other tourists onboard wouldn't get the dive trip they signed up for in Malpelo, but they were amazing and eager to help everyone find the others. Two days later they found two of the guests, Jorge and Hernan. I had rejoined my dive boat at that point and was told that they were initially waiting for night time to look for our lights. But no one thought to bring a light on a dive that started at 1530 in the afternoon. Also, the next day they found Carlos' GPS left on his bed. Apparently he always takes one. I was brought back to land via one of the navy ships on Tuesday the 6th of Sep. Laura an amazing friend of mine from Medellin was there waiting for me and we got a lift to Cali where Lis and Kristen were just arriving from Boston to see me. We had an amazing week. Sadly, last weekend they found the body of the other guest. Carlos has still not been found. I am so grateful to still be here, but it is a very bittersweet feeling at best. I cant imagine what it would have been like to spend all that time floating around in the ocean. My night was already too much and I would not have had the mental tenacity to survive even a second one. I feel so sorry for the families of Vanesa and Carlos. They were both such good people. It all just really sucks so much. To make all matters just a little bit worse, the dive boat I was on tried to tell their families that their deaths were my fault after they found the other body. I was the only foreigner onboard and they said things like I forced them to dive or that I insisted on changing the dive site. Luckily because three of us survived, the truth is winning. The dive operation will eventually have to deal with the potential negligence that led to this incident and the delay in rescue effort. Now all this doesn't even feel real anymore. The memories just sit somewhere in the back of my mind, like an old nightmare. Mostly, I just feel numb. Lis and Kristen left Colombia yesterday. I miss them so much. I have missed my flight twice now to Brasil. I just bought another one for tomorrow afternoon. I will try not to miss it. I have done some interviews with Colombian media. They will hopefully be released after I leave. Ill do my best to stay in better touch with everybody once i have found a place and time to settle a bit. I want to go home, but I need to find out where that is. Thank you everyone who has taken the time to write me your kind words. Im really grateful to know people like you. There are a lot of assholes in the world. Its amazing when you can surround yourself with the people who aren't.
