I have now concluded my time in Roatan. Things that feel strange now that I am back home: using a phone/driving for the first time in three weeks, functional showers, eating a real salad, throwing out all my dead plants, being able to flush toilet paper, saying hello instead of hola, not waking up to the crystalline Caribbean, palm trees, and a tropical breeze. My last day on Roatan included the tagging and release of a new turtle and some tasty red snapper and wine with friends. Make that lots of wine. In total, I logged 39 dives on the island! I am so lucky to have been given this opportunity by my friend Noel, I hope to repay her someday with another adventure (I'm thinking somewhere with surf and/or hiking). She showed me the type ... read more

There’s something about a night dive that is incredibly energizing, maybe it’s the adrenaline of looking over your shoulder into a black abyss of water where only earlier that day it was crystal clear, unknowing the known. Maybe it’s just finishing the dive without suffering any mishap such as getting lost without a flashlight, which is pretty feasible. Maybe it’s the knowledge that the predators come out to feed at night, they zoom in and out of your pathetic flashlight beam, if you’re lucky you may catch the attack. It could be the excitement of searching for animals that are only active at night such as the octopus, almost like a treasure hunt, who will be the first to sight it? Hanging on the mooring line during my safety stop after diving Missing Link at night ... read more

Today’s first dive was at Half Moon Bay Wall (different from yesterday, but same name). The visibility was probably the worst I’ve seen yet since diving in Roatan. Other than a bunch of lionfish, there wasn’t nearly as much life on the reef wall. I did see my first jackknife drum though (a funky looking fish). The second dive was at Missing Link. Visibility was much better here and there were tons of schooling fish along the reef break. All I could see looking up to the surface were hundreds of fish, it was mesmerizingly beautiful and could have sat there and watched for hours. Four large grouper were lurking below, darting in and out of the schools, chowing down. Schools of curious white margate swam alongside, constantly within arm’s reach. At one point, a school ... read more

Today’s first dive was a wall dive named John’s Spot. We sighted a large grouper and a spotted eagle ray swimming along the reef wall around 110ft. The highlight at this site were the large, colorful filefish. The second dive was at Too Tall Too Small, known for large overhangs on the reef wall. We came upon a juvenile hawksbill turtle chillin on the reef wall so we decided to try and ambush it. I came around the front and saw what I thought was a good opportunity to chance a capture so I grabbed it with both hands and I had it for about five seconds before the thing realized what was going on, at which point it started flailing wildly and we both collided with the reef overhead. As debris rained down on my ... read more

This morning we dove French Cay Bank, a reef dive with some wreck debris at the beginning. The highlighted sightings were two giant, elegant angelfish and a large, lazy nurse shark hanging out on the sandy bottom in the shallow reef. Unfortunately I acquired a debilitating headache halfway through the dive and missed the second dive because of it. I recovered by the afternoon to do a wall dive called Inside-Outside. The visibility still wasn’t quite up to par, but we spotted a toothy barracuda hiding in the vertical reef wall and a large group of cuttlefish flitting along. We have noticed a strong presence of the demon-looking lionfish at nearly every site so far, which is rather disconcerting. Apparently they are good eating, but Noel and I have not figured out a way to kill ... read more