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Published: December 24th 2006
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Barbareta Trip - Dolphins!
These were the dolphins we saw from the boat Ok so I totally can't believe it's Christmas Eve Day. Wow. I did find time to come back to this internet cafe though, so let me catch you up on what's been happening the past 2 days.
Yesterday was our day trip to Barbaretta. OH MY GOSH! What a day. Totally worth the $120 I paid for it. We left around 8:30am, set off in the boat (there were 9 of us plus Ryan, the instructor), and no more than 15 minutes later Mr. T. (a guy on the boat) and I spot dolphins! Alvin (the owner of the hotel and dive shop) slowed down the boat and we just waited. There were about 10 of them and they all swam up pretty close to the boat. Mr. T. and the German dude slipped in the water to see if they could snorkel with them but they took off. As soon as the guys were back in the boat, the dolphins came back. Oh man. So awesome. Wild dolphins. Funny enough, we had just passed a resort that has a pen with tammed dolphins in it. We wanted to stay all day watching, but Alvin reminded us that we had
Barbareta Trip - More Dolphins!
They came so close to the boat! a ways to go.
It took us about 2 hours to get to the other side of Roatan. It was awsome though because we got a tour of the WHOLE outskirts of the island. We went there on one side then came back on the other. It was a nice scenic tour.
The island of Barbaretta is actually just past Roatan. No dive shops ever dive here because they don't have the boats to do it. Alvin built his own boats so the hulls are not too deep and they go super fast, making trips like this not so hard for him. This was a rare trip though. Ryan's been here 2 years and never gone. As if I happened to come the week that they offered 2 rare trips and got to do both! Awesome.
There were no lines to tie off on so and things were quite rough out in the open, so entering was a little more tricky. The diving was good though. We say a HUGE green moray eel, a couple lobster, and lots of fish. The second dive had a rough start with us just seeing sand, but we resurfaced, trying to
Barbareta Trip - Boat Ride
On the way to the site. Ryan (one of my instructors) is in the yellow shorts get Alvin's attention to take us elsewhere. It was so funny us just bobbing there on the water. We kept making jokes about us being in a movie like 'Open Water' with the sharks. Eeek. Little did we know Alvin actually saw two reef sharks shortly after we entered the water. They're harmless apparently. I still woulda been a little freaked out though. We did end up going down and finding some beautiful coral. A really nice dive.
Lunch was the coolest part. We pulled up to this little island that looked like an oasis; sandy beach, palm trees, and so tiny. It maybe took me 3 minutes to circle the whole thing. I have awesome pics of it for when I get home to post them. We sat there on the beach, drinking deer and coke from glass bottles (out of a cooler), eating roasted chicken and potato salad. Unreal. I got an awesome tan. I just sat there in the sand, the water washing up over my feet, looking at the blues and greens in the water, and thinking 'is this seriously Dec. 23rd?'
The trip home was another 2 hours but nice scenery and the
sun starting to set over the water. Such a beautiful day. We all really enjoyed ourselves.
This morning I did my Fish Identification Dive for my Advanced Open Water. Jody and Derek (a couple from Barry) decided to start their advanced certification as well, so they did it with me. Ryan lead our dive. WHAT AN AWESOME DIVE! We had slates to write on underwater and an identification card to teach us the names of a bunch of the fish. We identified tons of fish which was really cool. It really made you appreciate what was down there. We then say a Sting Ray swimming along the bottom. I saw it first, and was freaking out that no one else saw it, waving my arms underwater to point to them. We also saw two hawksbill turtles (at different points in the dive). Lucky dive.
Today have just been hanging out. Made some lunch, wrote in my journal while sitting on the porch in front of my room, then went for a walk. I got an amazingly yummy papaya smoothie from a cafe, sat and drank it while reading my book. Now I'm here. The plan for tonight is
Barbareta Trip - Barbareta
The end of Roatan is on the right. There are two islands right next to it. Barbareta is the one in the back, behind the first to make a bit of dinner then head out on a night dive. Jody, Derek, and I convinced them to do one on Christmas Eve. Another woman named Annabelle (from Australia) is joining us as well. I'm so excited. We all take down flashlights to light the way, and then explore underwater with lights. Apparently things like lobsters, and octopi are much more active at night. Apparently you're lucky if you see an octopus though. They aren't all that common. Hopefully with our luck today, we will see one. I think we're then going out drinking at a bar, to hear Ryan play again. Andrea is swearing that I have to sing opera tonight at the bar. HaHa. Byron (one of the Divemasters from England) keeps bugging me about it too. Maybe I'll just have to do it. Totally a Christmas Eve like no other... one that I won't ever forget.
The plan for Christmas Day is to sleep in, do a dive at 10:30 in the morning, and then spend my day on the beach. I thought I would maybe meet up with Leah and her family down here, since they're in Roatan too but she hasn't been
Barbareta Trip - The Oasis Island
This is the island where we had lunch. Unreal! responding to my text messages. I'll maybe try calling her tomorrow.
I have today and tomorrow left on the island, then I leave Tuesday morning, nice and early. It's been a fantastic vacation. I haven't done much more than diving, although that was exactly what I wanted to happen. I had a nice social night out with the dive people, a couple nice day trips, and one night of sitting on the beach journaling and watching the sunset over the water. So relaxing. Getting lots of sleep too!
Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. The next time I write, it'll be after I'm home in Comayagua and will be able to post some pics for you.
Merry Christmas! Thinking of you all!
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Travelling Artist
Jeanette Hedley
Once again, sounds incredible Sarah. I'm so happy that you're enjoying yourself down there and have so much time to just soak up the beauty that's surrounding you. Merry Christmas friend.