Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
After negotiating check in and security at San Pedro Sula (which involved an empty check in desk with a pile of lonely rucksacks left sitting behind it, finding someone who would return from their siesta to open the check in desk thirty minutes before take off, and then having my mosquito repellent taken off me as it could be a dangerous item) my heart nearly stopped when I saw the size of the propeller engined plane that would take me from mainland Honduras to the little Bay Island of Utilla, 40 miles off the coast. With only 12 seats and an open cockpit, where the pilot relaxed with his arm out of the open window, I had to laugh when I saw the axe hanging on the wall, for use in case of emergency (for use after potential assailants murder the pilot with mosquito repelant)...
This journey has all been about new challenges and facing my fears, flying being a big one (bizarely enough for such an avid traveller) but the absurdity of the situation and latin american health and safety helped alleviate my nerves, despite the fact I could see the propellor whirling inches away from my nose. After a long slow journey down the runway, we were soon sailing up into the air over the green fields of central Honduras, with rivers cutting green ribbons through the landscape below, against a backdrop of bluey hazed mountains ringed with clouds. Flying at such low altitude over the azure caribbean sea was amazing; the view of the colourful reef lying just below the waves soon had me with my nose glued avidly to the window, and my head full of thoughts of what life would be like beneath the waves, any thoughts of plane crashes soon forgotten.
My first afternoon on Utilla was spent exploring the tiny little town, finding new friends at Utilla Dive Centre where I would start my PADI the next day, finding a curry house for beer and curried lentil dhal with aforementioned new friends, and getting lost. Despite the size of the town (more of a village really), after leaving the apartment in bright daylight, I managed to lose my way home, ending up walking for an hour scanning the dark lane where I was sure I lived for recognisable landmarks, eventually returning to the dive centre and finding my instructor, and having to eat humble pie and ask for him to take me home. As you can imagine, the introductions in my PADI class were entertaining the next morning, and Frank (the instructor) will now not let me live this one down.
From day two on, I have spent every day in the water, learning to dive and exploring the stunning reef which surrounds Utilla. THe PADI course ended with me and my class dancing to Thriller underwater (in memory of the man himself, who died on day two of our course, making me realise quite how terrible American News is; a potential military coup brews in Honduras, but a week on, we are still hearing only how Michaels family blame his physician...while the President of Honduras is ousted we hear only speculation of whether MJ´s body will be returned to Neverland...). Anyway, back to the diving. After swimming through hoops backwards underwater, making human towers twelve people deep, ballroom dancing on the bottom of the ocean and playing ultimate frisbe on the sea floor, trying to avoid the dirty players who attempted to steel oposing team members regulators, I am pleased to say I passed the Open Water Course. I went straigh onto the Advanced course, which felt a bit too quick, but was necessary for me to begin the volunteer work at Utilla Centre for Marine Ecology, where I will be working for four weeks, surverying the reef and collecting data which will be used to determine the health of the reef and the fish stocks.
The PADI advanced course was fantastic, taking me down to explore sunken wrecks covered in sponges and algae, drift diving along currents, swimming through caves and peering into crevices where Moray Eels lurked, and swimming through underwater coral mazes using underwater compasses to locate the boat which bobbed above us on the surface. The night dive was another challenge I decided to face; sailing out of UDC at dusk and falling nervously backwards off the boat into a darkening sea while the jaws theme tune played on repeat in my head, I was soon gliding through pitch black water with only a small torch illuminating the way. The reef at night takes on a completely different atmosphere, hilighting the senses and showing the colours of the coral more vividly in the light of the torch. The brightly coloured fish I am used to seeing in abundance during the daytime all disappear and the creatures of the night come out to play. After having experience at using the dive equipment during the Open Water course, and as breathing underwater became second nature, I felt more able to start exploring my surroundings and concentrate on the scenary, and fell in love with the weightless freeness and peace of the world beneath the waves. With only hand signals to convey meaning, I am able to retreat into Rachel´s world, marveling over the bizare and amazing creatures which inhabit a world so different to the one we live in. Vivid parrot fish and angel fish swim amongst giant purple vase-like sponges, while fan shaped gorgonians, looking like lilac leaf skeletons wave gently in the sea ´breeze´. On a few dives I have been lucky enough to spot sea turtles grazing on the reef, and yesterday a huge spotted eagle ray drifted languidly past. Curiosity makes me peer into crevices where lobsters laze and anemones cling to the coral.
Yesterday afternoon was spent bobbing around in the bay attempting to work out fish sizes, and then lazily floating near the jetty, before taking a Fish ID test, identifying groupers, snappers, parrot fish and surgeon fish. This morning took us out on two dives where I practised my buoyancy techniques, floating above the reef while attempting to identify the different forms of hard coral. Brain coral is by far my favourite, with it´s intricate labyrinth like patterns. I identified fire coral the hard way, and now have a very sore wrist! Putting on my wetsuit very early this morning, I was rudely awakened by a cockroach which ran down my arm and out through the sleeve, making me scream and jump about on the boat and everyone else laugh.
More to follow, I need to go an put on my hopefully cockroach-free wetsuit and go and do some surveys...
- comments