BUDGET, BEAUTIFUL ROATAN DIVING

The night diving I experienced was like no other before and may never be again, unless I return to this specific dive operator. What started out as a dive that Wolfgang had done many times and decided to do differently led to three people taking me on a great ride. Diving through tunnels was awesome.

I was able to eat mangos and bananas from the yard each morning as well as taste the fruit connected to the cashew nuts. The other fruits whose names elude me were sweet as well.

Quick Tips:

Anthony’s Key has a small convenience store with very high prices. If you’re not pressed for time, 10 minutes walk east has more affordable stores. US dollars are readily acceptable with a good exchange rate. Only on the local bus service and water taxis that have more limited amounts of change might you get a slightly lesser amount of change if you pay with dollars.

The fruit is absolutely excellent and very flavorful, so be sure and try some of the ones you may not be familiar with. Lettuce and tomatoes are either brought in from the mainland Honduras or hydroponically grown on Roatan. Again, in both cases, they are much more flavorful than I’ve gotten at my grocery stores at home.

A tropical climate with gentle breezes and average temperatures in the mid 70’s to low 80’s throughout the year. The rainy season is July to January and dry season the remainder of the year.

The local currency limpira has exchange rate of approximately 17L to 1US. The dollar is generally accepted, as are credit cards and traveler’s checks. Establish currency before negotiating prices. Departure tax US dollars and for the x-ray machine.

Best Way To Get Around:

Roatan can be reached by both non-stop and flights connecting in La Ceiba on the mainland. Another option is to fly into La Ceiba and take a two-hour long ferry ride to Coxen Hole on Roatan just for the enjoyment. Taxi fare from the airport to Sandy Bay is , and local bus service for a can take you to West End and Coxen Hole. Car as well as motorcycle rental is available both at the airport and along the main road to Sandy Bay and West End.

This is extremely unique place and difficult to describe. Two bamboo huts with about six beds each, some on the ground floor and some requiring ladders are the free accommodations provided to divers.

Although they sound like bunk beds the amount of room between is more like a two-story A-frame house. Restrooms and showers are in another building. Unless you happen to come with others, you will have the hut to yourself as I did. Two friends occupied the other hut.

The grounds are like having your own private yard in the country. A large grassy lawn complete with hammocks stretched between the cashew trees, a wild white bunny, domestic cat, chickens and roosters surround you. The plantain, bananas, and mango trees on the perimeter will be just part of your morning breakfast.

In the middle of the yard is huge oven used to make pizzas and homemade bread. Meals are eaten under a huge palapa with long tables and several chairs. Wolfgang served up various combinations of mango juice, banana bread, pancakes, and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Dinners included spaghetti, German potato pancakes (my favorite), pizza and others. Meals were a mere $2 each paid at the end of my stay.

Steps lead down to the beach and the dock where the skiff is tied up that takes you out to the treasurehunter boat. You are welcome to sleep aboard the boat if you wish. The boat has about 20 tanks and can be filled on board with all necessary equipment stored there as well. No need for lugging anything. The boat also has a freshwater hose to clean off and a large cooler to soak your gear.

Although you are very catered to here, you can’t help but wanting to give a helping hand. You can’t help but leaving here knowing you have made friends and that you will return.

Previous night dives have typical included five to six divers. On this one there was just the two divemasters and myself. Having said this, when I hopped into the water, my first thought was how dark it was. The fact that my torch was rather dim compared to the divemasters' didn’t help any. If I briefly thought this was dark, I was about to get a lesson in real darkness.

After descending and swimming a brief distance we arrived at the channel filled with tall pinnacles and mushroom shaped formations rising up from the depths. My eyes were beginning to adjust the darkness when it appeared we were headed straight into a mountain. My guides ascended up and over, head first down the other side as I followed.

One of the dive masters turned off his light and the other motioned for me to do the same. After I turned mine off, he turned his off and we were in total darkness. He began to swim away from me and I followed. How was able to do this? His fins seemed to throw off sparkles with each kick. The phosphorescence of the water created these pixie-dust, magical sight. I was so fascinated; I nearly had tunnel vision while following his lead.

The icing on the cake was surfacing to our little skiff to have a blanket of stars twinkling in the sky with dipper in plain view. The warm breeze on my face as looked up at the sky made even a simple return ride back very pleasant.

El Aquila (The Eagle) is a 230 ft double deck cargo vessel that sank about 8 years ago near Utila Island but was brought over to Roatan fairly recently so there is little growth obscuring the original freighter. It rests at a depth of 100 feet with very easy to distinguish decks, halls, rooms and portholes.

I found this to be a very interesting a wreck because that fact it was so intact I felt like ghost. Floating up the steps instead climbing them, floating down hallways and peering into rooms through portholes was a ghostlike feeling. It was as though I was viewing life through another dimension. I was even able to put myself in the place of the captain, steering the boat.

The nice sandy bottom surround the wreck is an excellent locations for not only viewing, but actually be able to photograph those cute little garden eels popping there heads up from the sand. After a viewing the wreck rise shallower depths a brief distance from the ship to outgas nitrogen and enjoy huge boulders of coral with large schools of blue tangs and yellow striped grunts.

Although this is a deeper dive for intermediate divers, I was so relaxed that it was very easy to spend an hour diving and surfacing with plenty of air.

As a side note, 1.5 days before I was to depart I was talked into getting my advanced certification for $50. I was given mathematical problems written horizontally on piece of paper to add while being timed. As I had read as well as been told, nitrogen narcosis, can begin as shallows as 80 feet, but typically begins at 100 feet with the level of feeling "narced" varying for each individual. I was given the same number of problems and timed again. Typical of the person I am, I actually did the problems faster and got them all correct.

There are four guided tours available, the Garden Tour, Sunset Tour, Full Moon Tour and Archeological Tour. Other options include the non-guided Jungle Walk along Mahogany Creek and Rain Forest Trail to the Summit. The latter is highly recommended for the incredible view is affords of the bay as well as Utila island depending on visibility. You also pass by Iguana Wall a sheer cliff that has become a breeding ground for wild parrots. It only takes about 30 minutes to reach the top and all the trails are well marked and wide.

The gardens were begun in 1985 to include a wide selection of exotic plants. Beautiful walkways meander around the stream with little bridges and benches creating a very relaxing atmosphere. Cashew trees with deliciously edible fruit, bananas, plantains, guava, mango, are just some of the tropical fruits. Lemon grass and other herbs dot the paths while an extensive variety of heleconias, gingers, plumarias, hibiscus, orchids create a rainbow of colors and scent the air. There are ferns, spices and hardwoods too. Depending on your interests in botany and/or photography, you could spend quite a bit here.

Not only is a map available for $1 in the gift store indicating the trails, but there are also signs to identify the various plants.