Drowning on playa palmar

Never turn your back on the Ocean! It happened to me once in Tofino BC. A friend and I were body surfing in wet suits, had our backs turned in thigh deep water. We got hit with a "Rogue Wave" which came from a totally different direction and was twice as big!

Others have noted the relative safety of ocean swimming on La Ropa compared to open-sea beaches like Playas Palmar, Larga or Blanca.
That said, I almost drowned right in front of the Embarc on La Ropa a few years ago.
Under certain conditions, waves at that spot can come at you from two directions: normal frontal waves from the bay opening, but also from the side, towards La Madera. If it happens to coincide with a "mar fondo", watch out. In my case I was fortunate there was a rope extending out from the shore that I was able to grab. Although I'm a decent swimmer, I had panicked, rather than simply letting the strong side current carry me a few hundred yards down the beach, toward Paty's. Lesson learned.