Roatan Island, Honduras

It’s as if I’ve been living in the stomach of a whale. Burps from sea grass, salty spitting spray, the throb of the ocean’s surging surf. Just 22 feet from the Caribbean, my Honduran cabin on Turtle Beach was a great place to spend three weeks.

I love the water – the rivers of the arctic, the lakes of the boundary waters, canyon rivers surrounded by deserts, tropical rivers carving through the jungle, and coral reefs. That last one spurred me to travel to Roatan Island. Maybe I could lead groups, not as a dive master, but more as a coordinator? I would love to share my passion for exploring coral reefs with my canoeing expedition crews.

My SCUBA certification was earned back in 1970. It was time for a diving tune-up. I took PADI open-water course from Clearwater Adventures conveniently located just three rods from my cabin. Denisse Mazu, Merry, and Wilmar combine to operate the best diving business I have experienced anywhere.

Roatan is a super place to dive, and a great place to learn to dive. Excellent diving here. I enjoyed some astonishing adventures beneath the sea. Rays, Moray eels, reef fish, giant Groupers, monster crabs, and a close encounter with a Green Turtle. Some of the best coral and sponges I have ever seen.

I am thinking of putting together a guided SCUBA trip January 2019. The experience would be geared for six people who have always wanted to let out their inner Jacque Cousteau, but never got around to pulling the trigger. I would arrange low cost accommodation with kitchens, wifi; right on the beach, and only 50 feet from the dive center. The trip would include instruction and PADI SCUBA certification. I earned 100% on the test so unlikely anyone will go home without being open-water certified. Nine day trip with plenty of time for some pure pleasure dives. Turquoise water, reasonably priced restaurants, friendly locals. A great way to bust out of cabin fever and sub-zeroenza and to accomplish something. Learning something new is always energizing. I’ll keep the cost low, and we will just enjoy nine days on the beach and a half-dozen journeys beneath the sea. I’ll see how that floats. I could also include an option for non-diving partners. Routan is a very fun place which be even more fun for a group of paddling friends.

Today, I am hiking in the rainforests of Pico Bonito National Park on the Honduran mainland. I love saying, “Pico Bonito.” Hiked to a waterfall yesterday with hummingbirds, funny looking vipers, and tree leaves that reminded me of the movie “Jurassic Park.” Enjoyable, but unlike Africa, no hippos, elephants or antelope to anticipate. Oh well, a jaguar could always jump out of the jungle. I can only hope.

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