Blogs from Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 8

Our time in Utila with UCME has come to an end. We’ve learnt a lot about fish, coral and diving, it’s been a fantastic experience. We’re quite sad to be leaving and very tempted to stay and do our dive master training but we have places to see and people to meet elsewhere. We were originally going to get the ferry back to the mainland today but due to an unplanned meet up with a few rums and a mini party back at a friend’s house we decided that the packing could wait an extra day, so we just moved 20 feet to another room in the Countryside Apartments. This week has been good fun, even with just the three of us. We finished the handout for tourists which helps them make good choices in restaurants ... read more

The time is flying here. It's amazing to think we've been with UCME for two and a half weeks now. Three things that haven't changed are the weather, it's still hot hot hot, the diving, it's as good as it ever was and the lunch menu. This week we've moved on to doing proper surveys, taking it in turns to do fish and benthic. It’s a great way to spend your time underwater, even if you are doing the benthic and you’re upside down for most of the dive. We have the weekends off to do as we like. Last weekend we were going to go to Water Cay, but we were recovering on Saturday and Sunday we hired bikes to do a bit of exploring instead. Mad dogs and Englishmen.. So the saying goes. Well ... read more

“Git in da water when I say go,” Captain Willie bellows from his perch inside of the captain’s nest of the boat. Everyone on the boat is already suited up in their snorkel gear, fidgeting with underwater cameras, and chattering with excitement. “This is it!,” Rory of England says. “I’ve been waiting for this for 30 years,” he announces--to no one in particular--and looks longingly at the water. I’m on a boat with experienced scuba divers and scientists, so I am feeling a bit intimidated by all of their confidence. In my fins, I shuffle towards the back of the boat and take my place behind a few others. This is our third “jump”--our first was into a boil (a cluster of feeding fish on the surface of the water where large sea life is known ... read more

It’s been a while since the last entry because we’ve been so busy our heads have nearly fallen off. After meeting up with Michelle in San Pedro Sula last Sunday, we headed over to Utila on a large ferry/catamaran thing where everyone was given a plastic puke bag. We didn’t have to use it, but it was a tough journey. We were met off the boat by Andjez (Anjay) and Huw where we were taken to our apartment. It’s a cute little thing with a nice kitchen/lounge/dining area. We’re sharing with two other girls, Becca and Caitlin, who are also volunteering with UCME. Andjez is a full time employee of the Utila Centre of Marine Ecology. He’s a marine biologist who has studied coral reefs for many years through various degrees and voluntary projects. The six ... read more

Wow. Add to the list of fantastic things I've done on this trip learning to Scuba dive. I'm currently on the Honduran island of Utila (googlemap it, it's fantastic) where this morning I've just become a certified open water scuba diver, which means I can dive anywhere I want in the world up to a depth of 18m! Which is pretty cool. Have been out in the water for the last four days; the first two learning key skills that you need all the time (what to do if your regulator (mouthpiece) comes out, if your goggles come off etc) and the last two have been out on the boats and over the reef, swimming right through schools (shoals?) of tropical fish, seeing the marine life in the reefs and generally having an absolutely awesome time. ... read more