The seas kicked up pretty well overnight, so I nixed the boat dive and we did a shore dive instead. It was a great last dive--very long something like over 1 hour 15 minutes. We got to explore the Prince Albert wreck some more, and had a spotted eagle ray come very close, probably 5 feet away.
We found out later when we talked to the people on our boat that we did the right thing skipping the boat dive. They said the current was terrible on their dive and no one enjoyed it.
But we had a fantastic last dive. Originally we were thinking of doing 2 tanks that morning, but after that mammoth long dive we decided we'd had enough and it was Salva Vita time :)
In the afternoon, we did an island tour. We went to the eastern tip of the island, then to an iguana preserve. There were igunas everywhere! They liked to be petted too. There were several other rescue animals too. Parrots and red mccaws. Also a couple of species of monkeys, and a Honduran critter that looked kind of like a raccoon.
Then we went to the Carambola Botanical Garden. Very peaceful, relaxing place. The proprietor has two little kittens that followed us around on our tour and were totally cute.
Then we spent an hour in West End. Neat funky, single dirt road town fronted by bars and dive shops or a combination of the two. The water was totally FLAT, but there was no breeze, so it was very hot.
Our last dinner tonight was steak and lobster. I thought it was excellent, but Jim didn't care for it much. Later that night we had the farewell party on the cay with free rum punch. They had a singer, and the fire dancers performed. It was the same troupe that we saw a couple of years ago at Anthony's Key, but now they have a little girl who does a routine with a hoola hoop, no fire of course. (she's very cute)
This has been a great trip, but we're ready to head home. The boat dives were starting to blend together, there is one site we can't remember the name of for the life of us.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Day 6 August 26, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
Seas picked up a little today, but not too bad. Dove a site called Neverstain Bight. All the dives here have been wall dives where we went along the wall for the first half of the dive, then ascending to the top of the reef to go back to the boat.
The walls are dramatic, but there's a lot more fish on top.
The food here is pretty decent, but not wonderful. More home cooking buffet-style. I wish they had more fresh fish selections. But they do a good job with what they have.
We had every intention of doing a night dive tonight (since this is the last chance to do one), but we lost our motivation after the afternoon dive. I feel kind of guilty not doing one; I don't think there is anywhere else where it is as easy to do a night dive as here.
The walls are dramatic, but there's a lot more fish on top.
The food here is pretty decent, but not wonderful. More home cooking buffet-style. I wish they had more fresh fish selections. But they do a good job with what they have.
We had every intention of doing a night dive tonight (since this is the last chance to do one), but we lost our motivation after the afternoon dive. I feel kind of guilty not doing one; I don't think there is anywhere else where it is as easy to do a night dive as here.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 5 August 25, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
Jim's first words this morning were "oh crap, another day of sunny skies and flat seas." :))))
Today we dove Calvin's Crack, a great dive. Just what it sounds like: a giant crack under the sea. Lots of light in it though. It was quite long then we went along a wall and finished up on top of the reef. LOTS of seahorses on this dive
We did the drop off dive at Newman's Wall. They drop you off on a flat area so it's a little misleading--you're wondering "where's the wall"????? But you keep heading in the correct direction and there it is. FANTASTIC visibility today. Really nice.
After lunch we got back on the boat to do Golden Chain. AWESOME AWESOME dive. Great wall, with overhangs, and draping sea fans, sponges, etc. then areas of staghorn coral and cabbage leaf coral. Fascinating topography. Never seen anything like it. We saw 3 lionfish on this dive--the most so far. We skipped the drop off dive. My ears were getting sore after this dive.
Most of our dives have been over one hour. We're diving nitrox, it is definitely lenghthening our bottom time. I also am not feeling tired and fatigued as much after the dives. (later after dinner and a couple of drinks is another story :) )
We're sitting in the club house right now at happy hour listening to a live band. They're actually pretty good. We're thinking about getting their cd.
This has been a GREAT trip so far!
Today we dove Calvin's Crack, a great dive. Just what it sounds like: a giant crack under the sea. Lots of light in it though. It was quite long then we went along a wall and finished up on top of the reef. LOTS of seahorses on this dive
We did the drop off dive at Newman's Wall. They drop you off on a flat area so it's a little misleading--you're wondering "where's the wall"????? But you keep heading in the correct direction and there it is. FANTASTIC visibility today. Really nice.
After lunch we got back on the boat to do Golden Chain. AWESOME AWESOME dive. Great wall, with overhangs, and draping sea fans, sponges, etc. then areas of staghorn coral and cabbage leaf coral. Fascinating topography. Never seen anything like it. We saw 3 lionfish on this dive--the most so far. We skipped the drop off dive. My ears were getting sore after this dive.
Most of our dives have been over one hour. We're diving nitrox, it is definitely lenghthening our bottom time. I also am not feeling tired and fatigued as much after the dives. (later after dinner and a couple of drinks is another story :) )
We're sitting in the club house right now at happy hour listening to a live band. They're actually pretty good. We're thinking about getting their cd.
This has been a GREAT trip so far!
Day 4 August 24, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
Woke this AM to sunny skies and absolutely FLAT seas. Best of all. . . . . today we dove Mary's Place! Roatan's "signature dive" and I can't imagine better conditions than we had today. 2 crevices to swim through and a wall. Very cool dive. Great visibility. Skipped the drop off dive.
The afternoon dive was the Mr Bud wreck. A VERY deep wall (gave me the heebie jeebies!) Lots of life and stuff to look at. We did a drop off on the Coco View wall and had a little misunderstanding. Jim said to go straight back to the shore, and I was leading so I took off. We were fighting the current so I felt like I was working really hard to go nowhere. Then we stopped for a minute and he led the rest of the way. I was really tired when we got back. He said he was very surprised and how fast I started out. Oh well, there are worse problems to have :)
Dinner tonight was a bar-b-que on the little key they have. They had some student folklorico dancers who performed. Little kids to teenagers. They were good. I was impressed that they have something like that on Roatan to keep old traditions alive.
Another night to collapse in bed!
The afternoon dive was the Mr Bud wreck. A VERY deep wall (gave me the heebie jeebies!) Lots of life and stuff to look at. We did a drop off on the Coco View wall and had a little misunderstanding. Jim said to go straight back to the shore, and I was leading so I took off. We were fighting the current so I felt like I was working really hard to go nowhere. Then we stopped for a minute and he led the rest of the way. I was really tired when we got back. He said he was very surprised and how fast I started out. Oh well, there are worse problems to have :)
Dinner tonight was a bar-b-que on the little key they have. They had some student folklorico dancers who performed. Little kids to teenagers. They were good. I was impressed that they have something like that on Roatan to keep old traditions alive.
Another night to collapse in bed!
Day 3 August 23, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
I think we're going to be waking up early this whole trip, which works well. The cabana gets light as soon as dawn breaks (5AM to 5:30).
Today the seas were calmer and we took the morning boat trip to Pirate's Point. Wall dive.
We did the drop off dive at Coco View Wall.
Patty, the owner of the dive shop, gave a buoyancy clinic, which was interesting. Especially since she gave a buoyancy test to see if your overweighted. At the end of your dive (800-1000 psi ideal), expel all air out of your bcd. If you sink, you are overweighted, if you rise you are underweighted. After practicing, Jim and I were both able to drop a couple of pounds.
After lunch we did a shore dive. I didn't want to go out on the boat because the seas were kicking up again. We found the airplane that is wrecked next to the Prince Albert. Not much reason to stay there once you've found it though. There isn't much growth on the wreck, it's in a very sandy area and there is a LOT of sediment in the water. The coral is wrecked all around (because of the sand and the sediment I presume). The phrase I thought of to describe it (and I'm not kidding) is nuclear winter. It's utter devastation. Then you break through all the crud to Newman's Wall with MUCH better visibility.
Before dinner, Doc the local guru who's been here since the early 1970's, gave a lecture on the history and geography of Roatan. That was interesting. He came down here on what was essentially a disguised treasure hunt, and liked it so much he's been here ever since.
After dinner, we read for while and then totally conked out. :)
Today the seas were calmer and we took the morning boat trip to Pirate's Point. Wall dive.
We did the drop off dive at Coco View Wall.
Patty, the owner of the dive shop, gave a buoyancy clinic, which was interesting. Especially since she gave a buoyancy test to see if your overweighted. At the end of your dive (800-1000 psi ideal), expel all air out of your bcd. If you sink, you are overweighted, if you rise you are underweighted. After practicing, Jim and I were both able to drop a couple of pounds.
After lunch we did a shore dive. I didn't want to go out on the boat because the seas were kicking up again. We found the airplane that is wrecked next to the Prince Albert. Not much reason to stay there once you've found it though. There isn't much growth on the wreck, it's in a very sandy area and there is a LOT of sediment in the water. The coral is wrecked all around (because of the sand and the sediment I presume). The phrase I thought of to describe it (and I'm not kidding) is nuclear winter. It's utter devastation. Then you break through all the crud to Newman's Wall with MUCH better visibility.
Before dinner, Doc the local guru who's been here since the early 1970's, gave a lecture on the history and geography of Roatan. That was interesting. He came down here on what was essentially a disguised treasure hunt, and liked it so much he's been here ever since.
After dinner, we read for while and then totally conked out. :)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Day 2 August 22, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
We both slept very well, but woke up early. We had 3 power outages between 5AM and 530 (I woke up before then even). The power came on nearly immediately though. The sea calmed down a lot overnight. Still higher than usual, but we don't have to do boat dives if we don't want to (I LOVE that!)
We had breakfast and then had the resort and dive op briefing. CoCo View was started something like 25 years ago, and designed to be a liveaboard on land. And that very much what it's like. The only thing that limits your diving is your nitrogen loading and your body.
After we got the logistics on how the dive shop works, we went on an orientation dive with a buoyancy check, skills presentation (basic mask clearing), and then a divemaster led dive of the two walls accessible from the resort plus and good sized wreck. The coral right in front of the resort is pretty beat up, but further away it's in good condition.
After lunch, Jim and I went on our own shore dive (I decided not to do the boat dive after two women who had been on the AM trip said it was really rough). Jim and I had a great time too. Our dive was over and hour. Water temp was in the mid-80s.
A great first day! Right now we're sitting in the club house during happy hour drinking Monkey La La's and listening to the parrot say "hello, hello, hello,", then he SCREAMS "HI!!!" It's pretty funny, but I imagine you have to be here to appreciate it.
The resort has several animals running around. 3 dogs, 2 parrots, a gorgeous scarlet mccaw, and I've heard there's a bunny too, but we haven't seen it.
The seas haven't built up as much this afternoon, so we signed up to go on the 2 tank AM dive tomorrow. Looking forward to it!
We had breakfast and then had the resort and dive op briefing. CoCo View was started something like 25 years ago, and designed to be a liveaboard on land. And that very much what it's like. The only thing that limits your diving is your nitrogen loading and your body.
After we got the logistics on how the dive shop works, we went on an orientation dive with a buoyancy check, skills presentation (basic mask clearing), and then a divemaster led dive of the two walls accessible from the resort plus and good sized wreck. The coral right in front of the resort is pretty beat up, but further away it's in good condition.
After lunch, Jim and I went on our own shore dive (I decided not to do the boat dive after two women who had been on the AM trip said it was really rough). Jim and I had a great time too. Our dive was over and hour. Water temp was in the mid-80s.
A great first day! Right now we're sitting in the club house during happy hour drinking Monkey La La's and listening to the parrot say "hello, hello, hello,", then he SCREAMS "HI!!!" It's pretty funny, but I imagine you have to be here to appreciate it.
The resort has several animals running around. 3 dogs, 2 parrots, a gorgeous scarlet mccaw, and I've heard there's a bunny too, but we haven't seen it.
The seas haven't built up as much this afternoon, so we signed up to go on the 2 tank AM dive tomorrow. Looking forward to it!
Day 1 August 21, 2010 Roatan, Honduras
We arrived pretty uneventfully and got checked in to CoCo View. We flew from Pasco-Denver on Friday and stayed overnight in a hotel on Friday. Then, the two last flights to Roatan
CoCo View seems really nice so far. We have a really nice over the water cabana (but it's not like the overwater bungalows in Tahiti or the Maldives). There are four units in each building and we got an end unit which is nice. They are very spacious with a large deck and unobstructed view of the ocean. Hopefully the sand flies don't eat us alive so we can actually enjoy the balcony!
A storm blew in this afternoon and the seas are very rough. None of the boats went out (only the 3rd day this year that has happened). Hopefully tomorrow it will calm down. We have the orientation and checkout dive in the morning and our first boat ride in the afternoon. The nice thing about here though is you always have the option of shore diving if the boat rides are going to be rough.
We had a buffet dinner that was very good (garlic shrimp). The house wine is out of a box though :)
I'm pretty sure we are going to sleep well tonight!
CoCo View seems really nice so far. We have a really nice over the water cabana (but it's not like the overwater bungalows in Tahiti or the Maldives). There are four units in each building and we got an end unit which is nice. They are very spacious with a large deck and unobstructed view of the ocean. Hopefully the sand flies don't eat us alive so we can actually enjoy the balcony!
A storm blew in this afternoon and the seas are very rough. None of the boats went out (only the 3rd day this year that has happened). Hopefully tomorrow it will calm down. We have the orientation and checkout dive in the morning and our first boat ride in the afternoon. The nice thing about here though is you always have the option of shore diving if the boat rides are going to be rough.
We had a buffet dinner that was very good (garlic shrimp). The house wine is out of a box though :)
I'm pretty sure we are going to sleep well tonight!
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