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Honduras, the original Banana Republic, was once of the world’s great undiscovered travel destinations. Today, it is one of Central America’s most popular countries – for a growing number of reasons. With a population of 6.6 million spread out over an area of 112,090 sq km, (just slightly bigger than Tennessee) Honduras includes 200 sq km of water – crystal clear, Caribbean blue water.  Honduras established independence from Spain almost two hundred years ago, on September 15, 1821, allowing them plenty of time to develop a cultural identity. Friendly people, incredible landscapes and stunning coastline are just some of the things that make Honduras an experience not to be missed. Landing in La Ceiba, it’s hard to believe that the small, primitive airport services international flights. La Ceiba is the third largest city in Honduras, and a great base to start your explorations. Home to Dole Fruit Company, the city offers a beach, proximity to nature and more urban activities, such as night clubbing. Driving down the main street to our hotel, I am struck by the incredible number of wires that criss cross the air above my head, running back and forth between the buildings. There are so many cables and cords that they almost block my view of the endless gaudy and colorful signs advertising everything from Fuji film to local restaurants. One building stands out from the rest: a simple, freshly painted white church adorned by a single cross. It seems out of place on the bustling street that moves to the rhythm of Latin and Caribbean culture.  A night time walk along the beach brings us closer to the city’s wildlife as huge, croaking frogs jump around our feet. Moving on to the more civilized paved roads led us to the “Zona Viva” packed with restaurants and nightclubs. Every bar blares music which the bulky doormen move in time to effortlessly. La Ceiba’s hot, humid air is like no other climate I have experienced. The wet air clings to every part of you and the entire city shuts down at noon when the heat reaches its peak. There is nothing else to do but lie on the bed and let the rickety fan move the warm air around me, creating the illusion of air conditioning. The main reason I chose to land in La Ceiba is to catch a ferry to the most famous of Honduras’ Bay Islands – Roatan. I could have flown there, but approaching an island from the sea gives me a greater sense of being surrounded by water. Unfortunately, the water between La Ceiba and Roatan is not kind. The three hour ferry ride is more of a roller coaster and when the captain tells me that this is the roughest water he’s seen in years, I mentally review survival techniques ridiculed by Gilligan and friends. As I am tossed around the cabin I think that perhaps a twenty minute plane ride will do just fine next time.

View of La Ceiba from the water

Most people who travel to the islands do so for the superb snorkeling and diving sites that they have to offer. I had dived on a section of the same reef farther north in Mexico, but Roatan is famous for its exquisite coral and abundance of marine life. I couldn’t wait to get my feet wet and explore Roatan’s Marine Reserve.
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Sueno del Mar

Thankfully, Roatan is drier than the mainland and I feel human again walking along the dirt road to my hotel. We stayed in Roatan’s West End where every twenty feet or so there is a dive shop promising to take you to the best dive sites for the best prices. I chose Sueno del Mar (I Dream of the Sea) purely because I liked the look of the long wooden wharf leading out to the log building sitting on a platform on top of the sparkling sea. It wasn’t until later that I learned it had been rated as Roatan’s best dive shop by readers of Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine. I signed up for a PADI Advanced Certification Scuba Diving course and was sent on my way with a manual to read. Homework on a holiday doesn’t seem so bad when you discover a place like Foster’s. Similar to Sueno del Mar, wooden two storey Foster’s sits at the end of a long wharf. During the day it has a very relaxed and carefree atmosphere.  A hammock at the edge of the dock was the perfect place to sip a cold drink, study my manual and watch the colorful fish dart through the water below me.  Foster’s by night is a completely different experience – a bar like none other I have yet to encounter anywhere in the world. The cool night breeze fans the dance sweat away while floodlights of all colors pierce the night sky and heavy beats of popular music thud in your chest. Best of all, the water is illuminated so that while you are dancing the night away under tropical stars, you can observe the night life of the Caribbean Sea. The only drawback is that you eventually have to leave.

My first dive for the Advanced course was a naturalist dive. Beforehand, I had to study the names of various fish and sea creatures I might encounter while on the bottom of the sea. While I suited up for the dive (equipment is included in the price of courses and regular dives) my Divemaster handed me a slate and writing utensil that I was to take down with me. When I recognized a fish, I would write its name on the board and show it to my Divemaster. I had never used one of these on any dive before and was looking forward to being able to communicate underwater.
 

Most dive sites are less than a 15 minute boat ride away from Sueno del Mar’s dock. When we arrived at our destination, we did a final equipment check, sat on the edge of the small motor boat and rolled backwards into the azure water. After descending to a depth of 30 feet, I began my search for identifiable sea creatures. As most fish and marine life subsist at around 30 feet under sea level, our maximum depth for this dive would be 45 feet.  I spotted a giant grouper fish almost immediately. Its chunky gray body and puffy lips reminded me of a child’s exaggerated drawing. I had heard stories of divers feeding grouper from pockets in their vests, and the grouper becoming so accustomed to this practice that they had been known to butt a diver’s chest in hopes of finding food. I couldn’t imagine that having a fish almost as large as me ramming into my chest would make for a very pleasant experience. I identified the grouper and swam away. One of the most common and beautiful sights on Roatan’s coral reef are the parrotfish. I spotted one that was mainly turquoise in color. Flashes of yellow and purple punctuated its soft blue. Pinkish red lines outlined the fish’s scales and highlighted his mouth. The color combination was striking. Besides just looking pretty, parrotfish fulfill an important role that aids in the growth of the coral reef. They feed on algae that lives on the coral and would otherwise smother the reef. During this dive I also saw a pufferfish, the first and last I have seen on any dive so far. The brown pufferfish has an interesting method of protection; it gulps water to inflate itself and give the illusion of being much bigger than it really is.  Seahorses can be spotted in many of Roatan’s dive sites, although I wasn’t lucky enough to find one. I did see a long, silvery barracuda and a green, muscular moray eel. But perhaps the most wonderful all of the fish I was able to identify was the Queen Angelfish. Deserving in every way of its royal name, the angelfish’s vibrant yellow face was ringed with vivid blue. The main part of its body was almost white, and it shimmered in the sunbeams streaming through the sea. Two intensely yellow fins completed its magnificent body, which was entirely outlined in the same striking blue that ringed its face.  Diving is only one of the island’s highlights - I haven’t even yet touched on Roatan’s amazing beaches where one can indulge in some post-diving relaxation. Water taxis leave from Foster’s and take you to a (sometimes) deserted beach. Powdery white sand is littered with palm leaves and sea plant debris. Tall palm trees stretch towards the blue sky and huge, black iguanas lounge on oversized boulders. The same coral reef that I explored on my dive is only about 20 feet from the shore. Snorkelers here see almost as much marine life as the divers do farther out. The calm sea and warm water enable swimmers and snorkelers alike to spend hours comfortably discovering the wonders of the sea. The island does have one major drawback – massive amounts of sand flies. Bring plenty of insect repellent, but you’ll still probably have to accept a bite or two as part of the Roatan experience.

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After lounging on the beach for most of the afternoon, it was time to get back underwater. The next part of my course entailed doing something I had never done before – a night dive. As I suited up in the dark, I felt a considerable amount of anxiety. The Divemaster handed us flashlights, but instructed us not to turn them on until we had hit the sandy bottom as they attract jellyfish.  The boat left the dock and after only five minutes, we stopped. It was astounding how the driver knew where he was going on the black sea.
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View from hill on Roatan

The Divemaster explained that the lack of a moon would work to our advantage once we had hit the bottom. The darker it was outside, the easier it would be to see the bio-luminescence – light produced by tiny organisms in the water. We descended in partners, holding hands so as not to lose each other. When my flipper clad feet hit the sandy bottom, I realized that I hadn’t breathed much on the way down and took a deep breath of canned air from my regulator. We waited motionless for the sand and water to settle. And then I saw it. Flickers of light in front of my face that multiplied as my eyes adjusted to the dark. This marine phenomenon was astonishing. It was inconceivable that living things underwater could produce such light. As I waved my hand in front of my face, the lights trailed the movement of my hand. The Divemaster did a series of jumping jacks and the bio-luminescence moved around him in a frenzy. It was like floating around in outer space. After we’d had our fill of the bio-luminescence, we swam over the living reef, shining our flashlights in every nook and cranny. The night fish were of a totally different class than the fish I had seen earlier. They were much darker, colored with deep reds and blues and seemed to move faster than the carefree day fish. Small orange crabs climbed in and out of sea shells and large, red lobsters moved slowly across the coral.

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Before ascending back up into the cool night air, we turned our lights off to prevent any unnecessary encounters with jellyfish. I was already planning my next night dive.

The next morning found me back in the water, for the third dive of my course. This time we would descend to a depth of 120 feet where we could possibly succumb to the effects of nitrogen narcosis. Also known as the martini effect, high nitrogen pressure can lead to a sort of intoxicated state. Most recreational divers rarely go below 100 feet, but it’s a required part of the advanced course.

We descended to about 45 feet and had a look around before continuing our slow descent to 100 feet. If I hadn’t glanced at my depth gauge, I never would have been able to tell the difference between 30 feet and 90 feet. It was alarming how close the surface looked even as we descended farther down.

When we reached 120 feet, the Divemaster had us do a series of simple exercises so he could judge our reflexes and responses. Thankfully, none of us experienced nitrogen narcosis. After seven minutes at 120 feet, we slowly ascended with a series of safety stops to let any excess nitrogen leave our bloodstream.

Two dives later (including one more difficult navigation exercise), I was a PADI certified Advanced Diver. But sometimes, being on top of the water can be just as pleasant as being underneath it. Enter Alex – sailor extraordinaire. We randomly discovered Captain Alex and his sailboat at one of the docks and signed up for a day of sailing. Alex is the epitome of Caribbean - beautiful dark skin, thick jewelry around his neck and long, black dreadlocks. 

Eight people joined Alex that day for an unforgettable experience. The wind took us to coves and inlets where we swam and snorkeled under the brilliant tropical sun. Moving from one spot to another provided the perfect opportunity for sunbathing or napping. When it got too hot, I jumped in the water and held on to a rope attached to the boat. As I trailed along behind the sailboat, we passed over an incredibly deep section of the sea. Gone were the sparkling shades of Caribbean blue. Here, the water was so deep it was almost black.
For lunch, Alex donned scuba gear and returned only minutes later with fresh lobsters. He cooked them right on the boat and handed them to us with a slice of lime. Nothing has ever tasted so delicious. The succulent meat practically melted on my tongue.

On the way back, as the sun warmed my salty skin and the wind blew through my tangled hair, approaching Roatan mesmerized me. I’d fallen in love with the island. Its serenity, its beauty and its sea had captured my heart. Roatan is true Caribbean.

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