Lost in paradise
A Quebec couple is looking to connect with a P.E.I. couple who shot video of them snorkelling in Holguín, Cuba, in May 2015
Friends of Marc-André Boivim and Nadia Dubois of Mascouche, Que., don’t believe them when they say they were surrounded by thousands of tropical fish while snorkelling on vacation in Holguín, Cuba.
“At some points, I couldn’t see my girlfriend because there was so many fish around her,” described Boivim in an interview with The Guardian.
Even though it happened in May 2015, all the couple has is the memory of their trip.
After returning home from the Hotel Club Amigo Atlantico Guardalavaca, Boivim and Dubois discovered that all of the pictures they took with their disposable camera were fuzzy because the lens had been smudged with sunscreen.
Besides a couple of photos taken on their cellphone during supper, they have no evidence of their unforgettable trip in paradise.
However, there is glimmer of hope, and it resides with a couple in Prince Edward Island.
Boivim said the wife of a P.E.I. couple shot some video of them being swarmed by fish as they fed them bread the day before a big rainstorm, which had knocked out power to the resort.
“It was so calm that morning,” recalls Boivim. “There was no waves, nothing, and the light was coming in the water like crazy so the colour of the fish were amazing.”
They spoke to the P.E.I. couple the following morning and they mentioned watching the video footage of Boivim and Dubois.
Boivim said they didn’t ask for the video since they had their own pictures.
But Boivim and Dubois now consider that video to be priceless.
The past year and a half has been a challenge for the couple, since they are both battling depression.
Boivim said thinking about the happiness they felt while swimming with the fish is what helps them get through the bad days.
“To get out of that sickness, we always think about that trip,” said Boivim adding. “It was one of our best trips.”
Boivim and Dubois have an ad on Kijiji under the long lost relationships category in the hopes of finding the P.E.I. couple.
Boivim said it would mean the world to them to have the video from their trip, which represents a happier time for them.
“It would materialize the image we have in our head,” explained Boivim. “We are always afraid that since we don’t have those pictures to bring back those memories, we are going to lose them.”