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Published: December 22nd 2006
Dec. 21 - Sunset
Beautiful sunsets over the water in Roatan. This was my first full day on the islandHey friends and family!
I'm currently in an internet cafe, being charged by the minute... eeek!
I just wanted you to all know that I'm safe and having a wonderful vacation so far in Roatan.
My hotel is literally 10 steps from the dive shop. They're owned by the same people. I have a room in the main house. The upstairs of the main house is where the owners live with their kids, and then our rooms downstairs are just rooms off of the wrap around porch that goes around the entire house. My room is small and simple, but perfect for what I need... and only $12US a night! The smell reminds me of the wood cabins at Bimini... oh the memories!
The showers are cold and it's a shared bathroom but I've never had to wait for anyone. There is also a shared kitchen and I went grocery shopping, in order to cook most of my meals, as the restaurants here are WAY more expensive. Being as it's a very tousisty place, everything is more pricey.
The diving has been awesome. My first full day on the island (I arrived at 6:30pm or so on Tuesday
Dec. 22 - Half Moon Bay
This is the small bay that my dive shop and hotel was located on. We were on the other side of the road but had a beach and such still. night) I thought would be the start of my advanced certification but it turns out they were doing a day trip that day to a place further away on the island. They asked if I wanted to come and I just got thrown right back into things. I was convinced by one of the instructors (Andrea) who told me that she'd been here 8 months and had never been to these sites. The first one was nothing too special. The second one though, was a wreck with a big ship and an airplane. Pretty cool stuff. The coolest part was the HUGE school of fish that we saw. I've never seen so many fish in the same place at the same time. It was like a wall of fish. The coolest part too was our 3 minute safety stop before going up, we were hovering over this HUGE circle of fish. Totally cool. Oh and lunch was hilarious. We just pulled the boat up to the side of a restaurant on the water, docked on the side, got off onto the patio, and had lunch. So cool.
Yesterday I did my deep dive and went up to 105 feet...
Dec. 22 - Native Sons Dive Boats
These are the boats that Alvin (the owner) built himself. They're the fastest on the island, making this shop one of the only ones who can do far distance dives. pretty cool. Took an empty water bottle down with us to see the pressure. It was flat.
Today I did two dives in the morning. First was my Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive. We worked on buoyancy by swimming through this floating square many different ways, hovering in many ways (including upside down - COOL feeling) and then did a dive. The second one was Navigation, so I had to do a few things with a compass.
Tomorrow they're doing another day trip. This one is to the complete opposite side of the island, so it's another rare opportunity. I'm pretty pumped about it. I happened to come a great week for diving, with awesome weather. I already have a tan! Plus Andrea (One of the two instuctors - both are teaching me) keeps calling me a natural and saying how easily I do it. That is SO awesome to hear, especially since my divemaster in Utila said the same thing. Oh I love diving.
Meeting some really nice people too. Went out to the bar with the dive staff on Wendesday night to hear my instructor Ryan play live music. It was fun. The other instruction Andrea
Native Sons and Chillie's
The signs for the hotel where I stayed and Dive Shop with whom I dove tried to get me up there too... lol. She still claims I "owe her" a song. Also had this guy Christian buying me drinks all night so I didn't pay for any. He works for the dive shop driving the boat. He's from La Ceiba. What is it with me and Honduran Men? He said "I know you have a boyfriend, but he's not here right now, and you really are beautiful." Oh dear.
I guess that's the main highlights of the trip so far. I have hardly taken any photos, but I'll be sure to do more in the next couple days.
It still doesn't feel like Christmas. Maybe that's a good thing. I can simply live in September weather all year 'til I return home.
Thinking of you all right now... have a GREAT holiday!
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DAD XXX OOO
non-member comment
MERRY CHRISTMAS, BOO
Be safe, Sarah. Don't put yourself in any compromising positions. Use your head. Keep a keen eye on your credit card(s). Looking forward to seeing your posted photos. I'm so happy for you and for the experiences you're sharing. God bless. And Merry Christmas. We are very proud of you. Love, now and always, DAD XXX OOO