Last weekend Erika and I went to the island of Utila. It is one of the Bay Islands that are a short 45 minute ferry ride from La Ceiba. It was a 5 day weekend because of the Honduran Independence Day. Well, we didn't think it was possible, but Utila is even more laid back than La Ceiba.
Immediatly upon leaving the ferry we could feel the distinct caribbean vibe. The people looked happier, the sun was shining stronger, the houses were brighter colors, and the signs pointed the way to bars instead of street names.
The main town of Utila is one long road, about the size of a single lane road in the states. But no worries, there are only about 5 cars on the island. Everyone either drives a golf cart, 4 wheeler, motorbike or bicycle.
We stayed and got our PADI (thats the organization that certifies scuba diving around the world) certificate at Cross Creek dive center. This was your typical run-of-the-mill hostel - except that it was mostly outside and we got our own room. The "room" was essentially a wooden box with a bed and shower. Imagine a sauna without the steam. We had a small problem with our fan the first night (it didn't work) and I also had to save Erika from some cockroaches. But really it wasn't that bad. We hadn't come to Utila to spend all day in the room so it was really not a big deal. Here's what Cross Creek looks like,
The diving was fantastic! Amazing! Out of this world! Like nothing we had ever done before. It is a little nerve racking at first just because you are underwater and still breathing, but we found it pretty easy to get used to after awhile. The coral was really cool to look at. So many different colors, and so many unique types of plants and little critters that where hiding in every crack. Some of the coral would even move if we got to close to it, almost like an animal would. There were also lots of fish. We saw a stingray, some lobster, lion fish, lots of parrot fish, some other fish, some more fish after that, and a giant silver fish that stared right at me and I swear I saw it lick its lips.
The farthest we are certified to dive is 30 meters, so about 60ft. Let me tell you, 60ft. may not sound that deep, but that is a whole lot of ocean above your head! We would go all the way down to the bottom, along a cliff of coral that went all the way to the surface, and we would float there and look up, straight up!, and we could just make out the surface way up there. When your 60ft down it is a lot darker and things begin to lose their color so the coral don't look as bright as they had near the surface.
All in all we went on 6 dives. We went to a just as many different dive sites and saw a lot of really cool things including a small ship wreck. One thing we thought was really nice was how calm and relaxing it was down there. There is basically no noise and if you want to communicate with someone you have to first get their attention by grabbing them or by trying to make a sound by pounding your fist really hard against your palm, and once you do that you can only tell them what you want them to know through hand gestures. So for most of the time you are left to your own thoughts and you are floating in your own world. It was really great.
One day we stopped and ate at this restaurant right on the ocean between two of our dives. Here are some pics.
Looks like paradise!
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