Scout - 1/10/2013 8:53 AM
You’re right - good info is very hard to find. The best place to start is www.DiveOldProvidence.com - in fact, that’s about as far as you need to go.
OPI is a highly protected island - pretty much all development is controlled by a branch of the United Nations, and the government of Colombia is very serious about preserving the island and its coral reef. As a result, OPI is very quiet with very few tourists.
A few years ago, writers from the sport diving magazines went there on a promotional junket; their writeups are very positive and posted on their websites. A few books have been written about OPI: "Crab Antics," "Oscar," and "Adventures in Marine Biology" are the easiest to find. Treasure hunter Sir Bob Marx visited in the ’70s and wrote up his trip in "Argosy" magazine. President Roosevelt stopped by in the 40s, and a flora/fauna writeup sometimes shows up on eBay." "Seaward’s Narrative" by Jane Porter is a fictionalized account of an Englishman who washed up on OPI in 1733.
The island was an English puritan settlement in the early 1600s, but they were kicked out by the Spanish. The pirate Henry Morgan used OPI as the staging site for his raid on Panama - part of his fort is still visible.
Take my word for it - OPI should be on your bucket list.