Utila - DAY FIVE


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Published: March 17th 2011
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Total Distance: 0 miles / 0 kmMouse: 0,0

Approximate Route to Utila

Layover in Georgia. Layover in Honduras. Tiny plane to Utila.

[youtube=J97nkHZ88dw][youtube=cfAWvutv4bo]
Lion FishLion FishLion Fish

Found on Google...not my picture.
**VIDEO NOTES** (Videos are below the text)
Divers and Dolphins - 20 seconds in
Diver One: Can anyone tell if they're males or not?
Diver Two: Let me...I've got a little lesson I can give you later.
Diver One: Has anyone seen a pecker?

Divers and Dolphins - 1 minute in
Watch the dolphin in the upper left corner. I didn't see it while I was videoing, but it jumped backwards out of the water.

Music by The Dirty Heads


During our first morning dive, Alex was busy finding lion fish everywhere. Marlo, the dive master, was killing them as they were found. We watched one nassau grouper swallow a lion fish whole after Marlo did her deed with the spear and we watched three other fish peck at another lion fish until his head was off and its body was floating away. Cute? Yes?

Before we jumped in, I was reading my dive computer and saw that the safe time/ceiling was zero, the depth read F, and the elapsed time read F. When John let me borrow the computer, he said that once I turned it on before the dive, it would cycle through and
Nassau GrouperNassau GrouperNassau Grouper

Found on Google...not my picture.
I wouldn’t have to turn it on again so I assumed it would be fine when I jumped in. Wrong. Still wasn’t working so I just referenced Alex’s dive computer. I couldn’t believe my luck. I asked John when we got out, hey, “what does it mean when the computer reads zero F F?” He says, “You mean, OFF?” “No, it says…….oh my god. I am so stupid.” Derrr. It never once registered for me to read the computer vertically as opposed to line by line.

After the dive there was word of whale sharks so we headed that way. I got some video and took my turn jumping in. Not quite as exciting as the first time we saw them, but still very awesome. They took a vote on if we wanted to continue on to our next dive site or if we wanted to continue to hunt whale sharks. We voted for whale sharks, but then they were gone.

On our way to the next dive site we spotted dolphins jumping out of the water. Not just two or three, but there were close to at least 20! We got closer and they started racing our
Bank in UtilaBank in UtilaBank in Utila

Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
boat. Swimming just ahead of us; jumping near the side of the boat. I’ve never seen so many dolphins or that close! Whenever my fellow divers see them, I always seem to miss out on the action.

My head has been bothering me the last few days so once we got to our dive site destination, I opted to snorkel with Cookye. My jaw is out of alignment and causes headaches regularly, but I think because I spend so much time clenching my mouth piece, it’s making it worse. Besides, what more could I ask for? Whale sharks and dolphins? Apparently I missed the real excitement though.....a naked scuba diver. A fellow diver said he looked and thought, "either that is the worlds tiniest thong or she's naked......so of course I had to get a better luck. Sure enough, definitely naked." You know the saying, "Pics or it didn't happen!" See below for proof.

Alex and I skipped the after lunch dive. I laid down on one of the couches in the lounge area and passed out. Alex finished trying to get his e-mail to work and we moved back to our room to continue the siesta. Woke
Barber ShopBarber ShopBarber Shop

Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
up in time for dinner, but not willingly.

Steve, the owner, gave us some of the history of the Deep Blue Resort. Steve is from London and was looking into building in Bonaire, but a fraction of the property was going for $250,000. He did some online searches for cheap Caribbean property and Utila came up. He said an American bought the land we’re on now and surrounding area for $25,000 around 15 years ago. It took a long time to develop this resort because the hired help would say they’ll be here Monday and never show up. Then when asked about it, they would say, “I was busy.”

Today, the American is selling parts of his land for $75,000+. Nice investment on his end. Of course, he had to put a lot of work into the area to make it livable (i.e. destroyed all of the man groves).

Steve said when he came here there was no electricity, no water, and of course, no internet. While the power goes out now and again, they do have electricity. Water is brought over by boat and we’re not to use the tap water for drinking or brushing our
RaysRaysRays

I didn't get to see them :( Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
teeth. There is internet, but it is really hit or miss, and TV still isn’t an option.



Additional photos below
Photos: 24, Displayed: 24


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Fred and TinaFred and Tina
Fred and Tina

Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
GayleGayle
Gayle

Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
UtilaUtila
Utila

Photo by Gwen Mourer Briston
BarracudaBarracuda
Barracuda

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Mmmm......CrabMmmm......Crab
Mmmm......Crab

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Drum FishDrum Fish
Drum Fish

Photo by Gayle Hyde
File FishFile Fish
File Fish

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Green Morray EelGreen Morray Eel
Green Morray Eel

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Gwen and AlexGwen and Alex
Gwen and Alex

Photo by Gayle Hyde
John - Dive LeaderJohn - Dive Leader
John - Dive Leader

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Lion FishLion Fish
Lion Fish

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Lion FishLion Fish
Lion Fish

Photo by Gayle Hyde
Naked DiverNaked Diver
Naked Diver

Fortunately, I missed this too....the only thing this lady is wearing is her buoyancy control vest.
Teeny Tiny PlaneTeeny Tiny Plane
Teeny Tiny Plane

Our group got split up and this was the itty bitty plane they road in. Photo by Gayle Hyde
TurtleTurtle
Turtle

I missed the turtle too...the other group of divers got to see him :( Photo by Gayle Hyde
Teeny Tiny Landing StripTeeny Tiny Landing Strip
Teeny Tiny Landing Strip

YIKES! Photo by Gayle Hyde


17th March 2011

I am still laughing at the dive computer!
17th March 2011

UTILA- DAY FIVE
Suzanne - this is just amazing at what you created, honored that you used my pictures as well! Excellent, thanks a million for sharing!!!
17th March 2011

I think I meant whale sharks. I'm confusing all the names.
17th March 2011

I'm thinking my comment wasn't submitted except for the correction. Duh. Loving your travels! Enjoying all the sea creatures. Would love to be with the dolphins, but not too sure about the whale sharks. You guys are very brave! Videos are great!
18th March 2011

Absolutely amazing!! I'm loving the view - through you :-)

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