Blogs from Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 10

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On Wednesday we finally tagged our first turtle. Without the assistance of Darren, one of the dive masters at Fantasy Island Resort, it may not have been possible. They have been a lot harder to catch than expected. Unfortunately we do not have a boat by which we can do a longer term tracking (4-6hours) so we went back with the dive boat on Friday to see if the turtle was still hanging out in the area of release and thankfully, yes it was still there. On Thursday we came across a small turtle and attempted a capture. At one point the little shit swam circles around me, staying just out of arm’s reach, as if taunting me. If it is possible to look like a moron underwater, I can assure you that is what I ... read more
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(Apologies for redundancies, text was copied from my research blog: turtlechaser.wordpress.com) Since arriving at Fantasy Island Resort in Roatan in early July, I have spotted more that 20 turtles on dive surveys along the south coast of the island. According to locals, turtles of various sizes frequent the reefs here throughout the year. Unfortunately, due to some logistical issues, I was unable to begin tagging turtles during my first week here. Naturally, that was the time when I saw several calm, curious juveniles who almost seemed to be taunting me by swimming so close. Thankfully, other divers were able to photograph these turtles, as I was still waiting on my underwater camera housing to arrive. Once the housing, and the rest of my gear did make it to the island, I was thrilled to get out ... read more
Darren's heroic capture
Roderick about to get set free!
Measurements


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
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Saturday was a chill day with two dives at French Cay Bank and CocoView Wall with the Prince Albert wreck to finish off. Unfortunately there was a cloud of stinging nettles at the end of the last dive that I swam through. The worst sting was on the lip, that really hurt. Otherwise, that night we watched the traditional dancing of the Garifuna, the first large settlement of people on Roatan. In 1797 the British left them here at what became the town of Punta Gorda after deporting them from San Vicente (an island in the Caribbean), where they had originally arrived there due to the African slave trade. Most of the dive boat captains and dive masters at Fantasy Island Resort live in Punta Gorda and are of Garifuna descent. On Sunday morning we dove ... read more
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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
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Today the resort decided to take us diving at West End, a good 40 minute motor to the west of here. On the first dive at Carol’s Place we spotted an adult hawksbill with a bunch of remora buddies, a large goliath grouper, and a nice size snapper that always seemed to be swimming on my right shoulder throughout the dive. The second dive was at Half Moon Bay Wall, one of the best dives yet, with lots of large grouper, a couple of juvenile hawksbill turtles, and a moray eel. The waters off West End are designated marine park, which means you can’t fish there so I imagine that the reason why we were seeing larger fish during these dives was due to that fact. After some lunch we decided to explore the town of ... read more
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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
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When I leave I want to leave a memory filled with love The kind you don't forget When I go I want to be known As one who lived with no regrets (Gotta love shuffle....) Another day, another turtle. Unfortunately, no captures as of yet. We saw a decent sized adult on the reef during yesterday's afternoon dive, but he/she was pretty eager to swim away. Miguel (our divemaster) tried to grab him because he swam up first, got close, but couldn't get his hands on the animal. Even had he grabbed it, I'm not so sure how the swim to the surface would have gone. These adults are not only large (around 2-3 feet in shell length), but they are very strong as well. Today the other dive boat saw 2 adults on 2 separate ... read more
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The first dive of the day was at Mary’s Place, the first site I dove here in Roatan (crack in the reef). I was much more confident this time around and was able to observe the reef wall rising up along either side of my shoulders, cavernous and captivating. The highlight was the spotted eagle ray that glided along beneath us along the reef wall for a bit. The second dive was at Anka’s Place, another wall dive. Apparently a large earthquake caused a portion on the reef to fall into the depths, so much of it was devoid of life. I’m sure it would be interesting to see the succession of corals as they begin to colonize the area again. Over the reef there were seahorses, lots of schooling fish, and a few medium-sized triggerfish ... read more
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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
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