Heading for a strong finish

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Hola Hola,
The past two weeks have been very exiting! Mostly becuase of our stay in Utila, Honduras which is a large island in the Carrebean Sea and one of the many Bay Islands. We stayed at Oasis hotel. There we had a large swimming pool and a nice tiki bar. Our first night we went to a whale shark presentation. We learned alot about the shark. It grows to an average of 16 meters. Its mouth is as wide as a coffee table. It is identified by the spots around its face. It is not dangerous to swim with and is often seen when feeding on schools of small fish at the surface of the ocean. It may live to 150 years. This is figured by its annual growth rate from birth to adulthood. They figure that it takes many years for the fish to grow to an average 16 meters which helps project its life span. The whale shark also has the ability to swim vertically and stay in one place. This is rare among sharks and also helps the whale shark to feed. Biologists estimate that whale sharks are endangered, but they cannot be protected by the endangered species list because there is not an accurate population count. The sharks are in danger of extiction because the are hunted for sushi. We waited all week for a sighting but we left before having a chance to swim with the ¨coolest fish in the sea.¨ Instead we went snorkling along the barrier reef. This was a facinating experience. Just twenty yards from the shore there is an entire saltwater ecosystem at work. We had to walk over dead coral before the water was deep enough for us to swim in. As I drifted over purple sea fans and orange brain coral I thought about the florida coast and how beautiful it must have been before dredging canals took place for the intercoastal waterway which caused most of the reef life to die. As I swam there were schools of black reef fish with neon blue fins. I also saw many colorful parrot fish with multi-colored tail fins. I drift along with the current and eventually reached the shelf of the reef which was about seventy feet deep. The water was so clear that I could see the sand at the bottom. This was my favorite place on the reef because I could really absorb the grandiosity of this underwater city and I had alot of fun holding my breath and swimming beneath the surface as deep as I could. The cost of rental for the snorkle and fins was three US dollars and worth every cent. The island streets were lined with charming homes on stilts. Most of the time the power was out so many walkways were candle lit at night which added an authentic ambiance to the island way of life. Luckily our hotel had a generator so we were not affected as badly as others who had to leave their hotels for working toilets. The day before we left Travis and I rented bicycles and pedaled our way around the entire rim and interior. Along the way we found vacant beach lots for sale starting at $30,000 which could be ones little piece of paradise. The entire island economy is fueled by ecotourism and diving so to live there you would have to become a diver because thats the only thing to do. I wouldn´t recommend it to anyone worried about surviving hurricanes which do hit the islands. Hurricane Mitch killed thousands and destroyed some of the islands not too long ago. Nonetheless it is very beautiful.
Turns out that we chose to skip Belize in exchange for Chiapas Mexico. At the moment we are in Antigua Guatelmala. We will be here for the weekend and leave for San Cristobal de las casas on Monday. From there we will head to the Maya Ruin Palenque and catch a couple other sites before going to Flores and flying home. I am glad to be back in Guate beacuse the weather is much better and the risk of Malaria and Dengue Fever is greatly reduced. Thus far we have met two friends that caught Dengue and they were miserable for days. One of them had Malaria and Dengue at the same time. He nearly died in his hotel room becuase he was unable to get up from bed long enough to find help. Needless to say I am glad to be in Guate. I have updated new photos so be sure to check them out. Also if you haven´t read Travis´blog, you should! It can be found at www.gozombie.com and he describes all of our adventures in much better detail. He also has other pictures and sheds a much different perspective than I do. If your not sold yet, he is sure to make you laugh with his funny descriptions about events that I have not covered in my journal. Adios Amigos!
Chad

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