A relatively uneventful last morning on Roatan. I had emailed Liz the day before to check on the cost for electricity, just to make sure that I had close to the right change on hand. Found out that power down there is 44 cents per kwH. I just looked at one of our power bills (last paper bill was 2008) and it was 8.5 cents per kwH. No wonder they're so fussy about using air conditioning. Anyway, I had told Liz that we wanted to be away from the house by ten or very shortly after, so by 10:15 we tried calling and no answer (although we were somewhat cell phone challenged)...Locked up the house and went to the rental agency office in West Bay. They called the main office, which for some reason was going to check us out at 11:30, so we just gave them our electricity meter reading, paid our $103, and off we went. Headed down to the dive shop (Sylvie said I couldn't leave without saying good bye, and the boat was out on the second dive when we paid the bill). Got our good byes in, although I never saw Captain, not sure where he went between dives that day. Got my last driving session in on those Roatan highways, I think I might have made it up to 70 Km/hr once this month on the downhill into West Bay, but it feels like you are driving so fast with all the curves and hills. Threatened to stop at Sandy Bay again to see if the Idiots were home but Eileen wouldn't let me, so we ended up at the airport in good time. The low fuel warning light came on just as we were coming through Coxen Hole, guess the gas was a little lower than I thought. Joseph was in the parking lot waiting for us, so the car turnover lasted about two minutes. That was long enough for a husker to get our luggage onto his cart, so off he went. I gave Joseph my last small bill ($5) and all the lempiras I had (5) to make up for the low gas tank. All I had left in my wallet was a couple of hundreds, so my luggage guy just told me his name, and said that I'd be getting some change when I paid the departure tax. I did look him up and got him a few bucks.
Almost nobody in line, no grief at the counter, luggage checked, extra bag paid for, departure tax paid, all within fifteen minutes. Went over to the small eating area, got a couple of Port Royals, ate the sub that Eileen had picked up in West Bay, had my last warm weather cigar, got through security, sat for an hour or so, and off we went. Flight was only half full. Arrived in Houston on time, which gave us 2 hours between flights, and we needed almost every minute of it. Hordes of people going through customs, then get your bags and go through another lineup. Just when you think you're in the clear (you haven't yet left a secure area), you need to get re-checked. Maybe the USA has higher standards for their screening or something, but it was unexpected that we would have a another, shoes off, full carry on scan before we could continue. The line up here was huge with lots of disgruntled people. It moved fairly quickly and we knew we had lots of time, never the less, we were hungry, and by the time we got through we were just able to grab some fried chicken to go, ate at the departure lounge, wiped our fingers, and on board we went. This flight was packed but uneventful.
Stayed the the Days Inn and Suites in Denver, good value, great shuttle service, and a decent free breakfast. Would certainly stay there again. Our flight wasn't leaving until late morning so we had tons of time. Cruised the shops in the airport, spent a bit more money at the horse place, and got ready to board. Some confusion as to who was bringing our plane to the gate, the pilots expected it to be delivered to the dock and it wasn't there. One hour delay finding a plane......then my dive bag didn't get to Saskatoon, Mandy was still waiting for us when we got there, the dive bag got here the next day, Gavin waited 45 minutes in line to pick it up and then got sent to a different counter.....everything is still in it, but it looks like it had a rough trip.
The good, the bad. and the ugly: loved the house and the privacy but didn't like being so far away from everything (sort of a give and take argument there), loved having the car and driving those roads, as always, the food on Roatan is awesome, the diving and the dive shop were first class. The nasty wind.......all the locals crave the breeze that you get up in the Turrets but for more than a few days it wasn't a breeze, it was a wicked wind. Maybe that would be good in the heat of June, but it wasn't nice in February. Next time we'll find something on the south side, and on the water.
That being said, it was a great holiday......now to start planning for next year......somewhere
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Eileens Turtles
Not a great start for our last day on Roatan. A bit of rain overnight and then cloudy in the morning. Got the morning walk in, then it started to pour. Rained hard off and on until about 10:30, then it cleared up. Took off to Luna Beach, but missed seeing the guys before they went out for the 11:00 dive. Paid off my dive debts at the office, worked out to be $37.50 per dive, which is quite a bit more than the flat $25 that I paid the last two years, but the prices at all the dive shops seemed to have gone up. It's still probably the cheapest diving that you can do almost anywhere in the world. They're all charging for equipment rental whereas in the past, if you did ten dives they waived the equipment rentals. Might have to put a BCD on my next wish list. This year was the first time that I have used integrated weights in a BCD instead of on a weight belt. Don't ever want to go back to the belt.
After the bill was paid, we decided to stop in at Sundancer and see if we could hook up with Mr and Mrs Idiot from trip advisor. We got there and couldn't find them, talked to the property manager and found out which place they were renting, but there was nobody home. When I spoke to the manager I said that I was about to ask an unusual question, but he said that he'd heard them all. I said that I was here to hook up with internet friends, didn't know their real name, older couple, little fluffy, longer grey hair, and he calls himself Mr Idiot on trip advisor. Without much hesitation, he said they're staying right there in the next building, and they're the nicest couple you could ever wish for. Unfortunately we didn't hook up....
We went to the Blue Parrot for lunch, which was right there. Won't make my to do list for repeats. After lunch I said I was going to have a cigar, and let's go back down to the beach and walk out onto the dock. There's a big sign saying Sundancer only, but we made it look like we knew what we were doing and out we went. Climbed up onto the upper deck and a few minutes later Eileen said, Are those turtles? About a minute later they came back up for air, and for sure they were turtles. I didn't realize it, but she has been here three years now and hasn't seen a turtle. I went back to the car, grabbed the snorkel gear, changed into my swimsuit in the backseat got back to the dock, without my booties that I need for my flippers. Said I'd go barefoot, so in we went. Well she was on a mission so I was left in the dust. Little did she realize that she went right over the first turtle without even seeing it. I'm 25 metres behind by now, and this turtle takes off to deeper water so I know it's hopeless to try and call her back. Fortunately, from her swimming I can tell that she's tracking something. So she did get to see a turtle, feeding on the turtle grass and coming up for air a couple of times. Good thing, because she said she'd have killed me if I'd seen one there and she had not.
We were going to phone the Blue Harbour people to come and visit their gardens and greenhouses but by now it looked like we were going to get dumped on again, so we decided to just head back home. Shortly after getting home the sun came back out, so that was a missed opportunity. Finished off the last of the beer and then went down to Smugglers for a sunset good bye with those folks. We had a great hour or so with them, so much so that Eileen said to me, why didn't we come down here more often for sunsets with these guys? Guess we should have figured that out sooner....might have to come back next year....We almost stayed there for supper but decided to stick to the sushi plan. Neither choice would have been a poor one, Smugglers food is great and so was the sushi, just that it was 10 km away, which on a Saskatchewan highway would be peanuts, but that's a 20 minute drive here. Not building up to any drama, uneventful drive, and a really good dinner.
After the bill was paid, we decided to stop in at Sundancer and see if we could hook up with Mr and Mrs Idiot from trip advisor. We got there and couldn't find them, talked to the property manager and found out which place they were renting, but there was nobody home. When I spoke to the manager I said that I was about to ask an unusual question, but he said that he'd heard them all. I said that I was here to hook up with internet friends, didn't know their real name, older couple, little fluffy, longer grey hair, and he calls himself Mr Idiot on trip advisor. Without much hesitation, he said they're staying right there in the next building, and they're the nicest couple you could ever wish for. Unfortunately we didn't hook up....
We went to the Blue Parrot for lunch, which was right there. Won't make my to do list for repeats. After lunch I said I was going to have a cigar, and let's go back down to the beach and walk out onto the dock. There's a big sign saying Sundancer only, but we made it look like we knew what we were doing and out we went. Climbed up onto the upper deck and a few minutes later Eileen said, Are those turtles? About a minute later they came back up for air, and for sure they were turtles. I didn't realize it, but she has been here three years now and hasn't seen a turtle. I went back to the car, grabbed the snorkel gear, changed into my swimsuit in the backseat got back to the dock, without my booties that I need for my flippers. Said I'd go barefoot, so in we went. Well she was on a mission so I was left in the dust. Little did she realize that she went right over the first turtle without even seeing it. I'm 25 metres behind by now, and this turtle takes off to deeper water so I know it's hopeless to try and call her back. Fortunately, from her swimming I can tell that she's tracking something. So she did get to see a turtle, feeding on the turtle grass and coming up for air a couple of times. Good thing, because she said she'd have killed me if I'd seen one there and she had not.
We were going to phone the Blue Harbour people to come and visit their gardens and greenhouses but by now it looked like we were going to get dumped on again, so we decided to just head back home. Shortly after getting home the sun came back out, so that was a missed opportunity. Finished off the last of the beer and then went down to Smugglers for a sunset good bye with those folks. We had a great hour or so with them, so much so that Eileen said to me, why didn't we come down here more often for sunsets with these guys? Guess we should have figured that out sooner....might have to come back next year....We almost stayed there for supper but decided to stick to the sushi plan. Neither choice would have been a poor one, Smugglers food is great and so was the sushi, just that it was 10 km away, which on a Saskatchewan highway would be peanuts, but that's a 20 minute drive here. Not building up to any drama, uneventful drive, and a really good dinner.
mmmmm; sushi. Mildly cropped to get my finger out of the picture again.
Part way through the meal, the owner came out and told us that they were doing some wine tasting. Honduras has recently been trying to get a wine industry going. I've been seeing some ads for this cashew wine, but this is the first time that I've seen it offered. We sampled a couple of their offerings, but the dry was a little too harsh and the semi sweet didn't cut it either. So, so much for cashew wine.
Got home, started to pull some things off of the deck for the night, looked up, and there was the Big Dipper. I've been trying to find that sucker for a month and it was right there. Upside down, but right there. I don't know how I could not have seen it before.....
You know what tomorrow is.......pull out the suitcases and pack. Probably leave the house around ten, pick up some subs to go for a later lunch (not much at the airport), maybe stop at Luna Beach and see if we can catch the crew between dives, and then off to the airport with about the same amount of fumes in the gas tank as we had when we picked the car up......
It's been a great February!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A Day With Friends
A few showers overnight and then a morning that looked like it could go either way. The usual morning routine, then off for the last two dives. Did the West Bay Wall on the first dive but the current was the reverse of normal so instead of ending up in front of Smugglers, we ended up in front of West Bay beach. Nice dive with lots of deep channels that cut through the reef. My camera wasn't behaving, it wouldn't turn on so I was a bit worried that it might have flooded, so I ended up just tucking it up against my chest and enjoyed a leisurely dive. Ended up with 1200 psi left in my tank, which is a huge improvement in my air consumption. Got back on the boat, washed the camera good with fresh water, dried off the housing and opened it up. Dry as a bone, and working fine. It must just have been set slightly skewed in the housing, and was unable to turn on with the outer buttons.
Got back to Luna Beach and found Eileen chatting with Paul and Rita, who were out for their morning walk, destined for West End on a Kahlua search. I headed out for the second dive and they carried on to West End. Eileen took off for a walk to West Bay. We got half way to the next dive site when the motor on Queenie overheated, so there we were drifting towards Utila. After about a half hour and one downpour, we got things fixed up and carried on to Mandys Eel Garden, which I think is the only site I haven't done on this part of the island. Hundreds of garden eels in the sand just below the drop off, but those guys are somewhat camera shy and unphotogenic. It was neat to see all these skinny little worms poking their heads up about a foot above the sand and then drawing back into their holes when you came near them. Several nice drumfish (got a good video of one of them) and a couple more black spotted morays. This picture is a repeat but is probably the best on that I have taken of a spotted moray:
No turtles today, but there was a free swimming Green Moray, a southern Stingray, and a small Peacock Flounder, hiding in the sand.
Got back to Luna Beach, way late, and found Eileen, Paul, and Rita on their second pre-lunch beer. The bartender told them the dive boat wasn't coming back, so rather than worrying they all ordered a second beer......Eileen had gotten soaked in that downpour, Paul had been unsuccessful in the Kahlua search although they did find some Vanilla Kahlua at the duty free, but without their passports they couldn't buy. We said we could take them to Plaza Mar in Coxen Hole, so after I got packed up we all jumped in the car and took off. Detoured to the Blue Bahia in Sandy Bay for lunch, which turned out to be quite ironic because Paul had actually phoned these guys when he was vacation planning, and almost booked one of their places. The food was great but as always with this place it was too much, although in our wisdom, we both had ordered shared plates. However, stuffing yourself with a 3:00 lunch sort of screws up dinner plans. Made it to Plaza Mar, got the Kahlua although Paul had to go back to the car for a shirt before they would let him in the store. Rita got in fine with just her bikini, but Paul had to dig into the tee shirts that they had bought in West End. Took them back home through Coxen Hole and Flowers Bay, I don't think Rita knew where they were until we hit West Bay. Went up to their condo at Infinity Bay for a drink. They've got a little studio unit at the very end (furthest from the beach with a deck view of three porta potties), but they're quite happy with the place. Small but has everything they need. That was quite the morning walk they ended up on, they must have left about 9 and got home just in time to catch the sunset.
Eileen and I got back to the house and just sort of flopped on the couches for awhile, neither of us really wanting or needing dinner, but about 7:00 we headed to West Bay and Beachers to at least have an appetizer. Trishes group were there for drinks, so soon after we sat down both she and her daughter joined us and we had a great chat, lots of entertaining stories Trish is very sociable and her daughter is a real nice kid too. She had just spent part of the day at at orphanage near Flowers Bay and really had a good time there with the kids. Would you send your 16 year old daughter off in a Roatan taxi to spend the day at an orphanage? Anyway, she's talking of going back again.
Trish and daughter were out for their morning jog and saw a snake at the side of the road, not far from our place. Trish thinks it was dead but it doesn't really matter, she doens.t do snakes, and now she's not sure she wants to jog here anymore. Eileen is going to look for the snake tomorrow and lay it across the road.......
Tomorrow, after the snake hunt, we have to go back to Luna Beach and pay the dive bill. This one is going to hurt, twenty one dives, but it will be worth it. These guys were really nice to dive with. They have one snorkeler scheduled on their morning dives tomorrow, so if it is nice and calm, maybe I can get Eileen to come on the boat and we'll go for a snorkel too. I also left a facebook message with the Blue Harbour greenhouse people and she said if we call her, she'll be there if we want to come back. So if all works out, we might have a good and busy day tomorrow. Dinner plans are for the sushi place in Sandy Bay. Could be a great day, apart from the unpaid bill at Luna Beach......
Late picture add-on; just had a visit on the front door by a cute frog:
Got back to Luna Beach and found Eileen chatting with Paul and Rita, who were out for their morning walk, destined for West End on a Kahlua search. I headed out for the second dive and they carried on to West End. Eileen took off for a walk to West Bay. We got half way to the next dive site when the motor on Queenie overheated, so there we were drifting towards Utila. After about a half hour and one downpour, we got things fixed up and carried on to Mandys Eel Garden, which I think is the only site I haven't done on this part of the island. Hundreds of garden eels in the sand just below the drop off, but those guys are somewhat camera shy and unphotogenic. It was neat to see all these skinny little worms poking their heads up about a foot above the sand and then drawing back into their holes when you came near them. Several nice drumfish (got a good video of one of them) and a couple more black spotted morays. This picture is a repeat but is probably the best on that I have taken of a spotted moray:
Black Spotted Moray
And yet another Spotted Drumfish, this time you can actually see some spots.
Got back to Luna Beach, way late, and found Eileen, Paul, and Rita on their second pre-lunch beer. The bartender told them the dive boat wasn't coming back, so rather than worrying they all ordered a second beer......Eileen had gotten soaked in that downpour, Paul had been unsuccessful in the Kahlua search although they did find some Vanilla Kahlua at the duty free, but without their passports they couldn't buy. We said we could take them to Plaza Mar in Coxen Hole, so after I got packed up we all jumped in the car and took off. Detoured to the Blue Bahia in Sandy Bay for lunch, which turned out to be quite ironic because Paul had actually phoned these guys when he was vacation planning, and almost booked one of their places. The food was great but as always with this place it was too much, although in our wisdom, we both had ordered shared plates. However, stuffing yourself with a 3:00 lunch sort of screws up dinner plans. Made it to Plaza Mar, got the Kahlua although Paul had to go back to the car for a shirt before they would let him in the store. Rita got in fine with just her bikini, but Paul had to dig into the tee shirts that they had bought in West End. Took them back home through Coxen Hole and Flowers Bay, I don't think Rita knew where they were until we hit West Bay. Went up to their condo at Infinity Bay for a drink. They've got a little studio unit at the very end (furthest from the beach with a deck view of three porta potties), but they're quite happy with the place. Small but has everything they need. That was quite the morning walk they ended up on, they must have left about 9 and got home just in time to catch the sunset.
Eileen and I got back to the house and just sort of flopped on the couches for awhile, neither of us really wanting or needing dinner, but about 7:00 we headed to West Bay and Beachers to at least have an appetizer. Trishes group were there for drinks, so soon after we sat down both she and her daughter joined us and we had a great chat, lots of entertaining stories Trish is very sociable and her daughter is a real nice kid too. She had just spent part of the day at at orphanage near Flowers Bay and really had a good time there with the kids. Would you send your 16 year old daughter off in a Roatan taxi to spend the day at an orphanage? Anyway, she's talking of going back again.
Trish and daughter were out for their morning jog and saw a snake at the side of the road, not far from our place. Trish thinks it was dead but it doesn't really matter, she doens.t do snakes, and now she's not sure she wants to jog here anymore. Eileen is going to look for the snake tomorrow and lay it across the road.......
Tomorrow, after the snake hunt, we have to go back to Luna Beach and pay the dive bill. This one is going to hurt, twenty one dives, but it will be worth it. These guys were really nice to dive with. They have one snorkeler scheduled on their morning dives tomorrow, so if it is nice and calm, maybe I can get Eileen to come on the boat and we'll go for a snorkel too. I also left a facebook message with the Blue Harbour greenhouse people and she said if we call her, she'll be there if we want to come back. So if all works out, we might have a good and busy day tomorrow. Dinner plans are for the sushi place in Sandy Bay. Could be a great day, apart from the unpaid bill at Luna Beach......
Late picture add-on; just had a visit on the front door by a cute frog:
He sat on the back of my hand for a brief time, was about three inched long. Really cool, big black eyes.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Dreaded Countdown
Only two more days on the island, how quickly a month goes by when you're having fun. Eileen is looking very brown while I'm only on second stage rouge. Hardly peeled at all, nose once, chin once, left ear twice and top of the head twice. Pretty tame year for exfoliation.
Rained pretty good overnight, so we had some good humidity today. After our standard bacon and tomato sandwiches, we hopped into the car and headed to the Blue Harbour Tropical Arboretum. We found the Blue Harbour hydroponic greenhouses but the only people around were a couple of gardeners and an armed guard that spoke the same amount of english that we spoke spanish. Not sure where all the gardens and conservatory are, but we didn't find them. Headed back towards West Bay but the skies really darkened up so we returned to the house. Stopped to chat with Trish for a minute (out for her jog) just when a short downpour happened. She was soaked. Came back to the house for a little bit, then walked to West Bay. Sat down at the restaurant, ordered our lunch, and then spotted Paul Melnikel (guy from work). He and his wife joined us for lunch and had a nice visit. They are enjoying their stay at Infinity Bay. Left Infinity and decided to walk the beach. Found Trish and one of her cohorts sitting on their lounge chairs in a few inches of water, looking quite relaxed. Both Trish and Paul are talking about this new bar/grill called Beaches, so it's going onto our to do list. It's pretty close to Bite on the Beach, right next door to where the Argentinian Grill is building a new restaurant. So many places, so little time.
Continued walking past Bite on the Beach, and then decided to take the road back to the highway from their parking lot. I've driven it once before (last year). It was a nice walk, although a little warm. Peaceful and quiet, through some really nice forest that you really don't see when you're driving. Eileen had her swim suit on, so she stopped at the pool at the house for a cool down dip. BBQ'd that last steak for dinner, put on a movie, and did up a blog. Another boring day in paradise.
Rained pretty good overnight, so we had some good humidity today. After our standard bacon and tomato sandwiches, we hopped into the car and headed to the Blue Harbour Tropical Arboretum. We found the Blue Harbour hydroponic greenhouses but the only people around were a couple of gardeners and an armed guard that spoke the same amount of english that we spoke spanish. Not sure where all the gardens and conservatory are, but we didn't find them. Headed back towards West Bay but the skies really darkened up so we returned to the house. Stopped to chat with Trish for a minute (out for her jog) just when a short downpour happened. She was soaked. Came back to the house for a little bit, then walked to West Bay. Sat down at the restaurant, ordered our lunch, and then spotted Paul Melnikel (guy from work). He and his wife joined us for lunch and had a nice visit. They are enjoying their stay at Infinity Bay. Left Infinity and decided to walk the beach. Found Trish and one of her cohorts sitting on their lounge chairs in a few inches of water, looking quite relaxed. Both Trish and Paul are talking about this new bar/grill called Beaches, so it's going onto our to do list. It's pretty close to Bite on the Beach, right next door to where the Argentinian Grill is building a new restaurant. So many places, so little time.
Continued walking past Bite on the Beach, and then decided to take the road back to the highway from their parking lot. I've driven it once before (last year). It was a nice walk, although a little warm. Peaceful and quiet, through some really nice forest that you really don't see when you're driving. Eileen had her swim suit on, so she stopped at the pool at the house for a cool down dip. BBQ'd that last steak for dinner, put on a movie, and did up a blog. Another boring day in paradise.
Taken on our morning walk
Another bird I need a name for, seems to be a cross between a flicker and a woodpecker
Wanna call this one an Egret, by the side of the road. He's just swallowed something wormlike.
A massive tree overhanging the road, on our walk back from West Bay to the house. That's as wide as this point and shoot could capture.
Tomorrow, two final dives with Luna Beach, then I gotta face that tab...21 dives. Will see where they are planning to go for the afternoon dive. If the weather is nice and it's a good snorkel site that is close to Luna, maybe I can get Eileen on the boat.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday Drive
Woke up to a morning that threatened showers but those quickly faded away and the sun returned with full force. With the end of rainy season and the onset of the heat, it's nice to see all the flowering trees starting to pop out. There are mango trees everywhere and they're starting to bloom. There are also a couple of other trees that I have no idea of their names, but the pink blossoms on them are opening out too.
Eileen wasn't feeling 100% this morning (fine now) so she decided to stay home while I went diving. There were eight people lined up to dive today, so we split up into two groups of four. My group did the deep dive at Melissa's Place while the other four stayed a bit shallower. One of our group had trouble getting down (short on weights) so the rest of us hovered about 15 feet while she was getting fixed up. My mask was flooding and I couldn't figure out why. Had trouble clearing it, which is unusual, and the when Sylvia saw that I was having some trouble she came over and I thought she was trying to show me how to clear my mask but what she was doing was trying to get her finger along the top edge to straighten out the tope edge of my mask, which I had gotten sort of folded over, thus the leak. Anyway, when she stuck her finger in I really flooded, so I just surfaced and got things fixed up. Felt like a rookie.......The rest of the dive was OK, no special sitings although the canyons and channels were pretty neat. Got back on the boat and started to change out my tank, then noticed that I was missing a strap. It had broken off the BCD and was not repairable. The spare BCD was not going to fit, so we returned to the dive shop for a pit stop, then went back out for dive two. All eight of us went out with Adam on dive two, which was the shallow version of Hole in the Wall. Again, lots of canyons and channels to explore.
Came back to the house after diving and picked up Eileen. Took the Coxen Hole road instead of the highway. Pretty quiet on a Sunday. This time I looked very closely where the road changed from one way to two way traffic, and there is absolutely no signage. I guess you just need to know it happens. Went to Herbies for lunch and to watch a little of the Scotties final. They didn't have it on, but Eileen asked one of the waitresses and soon there were two TV's with the curling on. Good but very late lunch, that was cheap too because last time we were there we won a free burger with one of their scratch cards. Watched the game until the end of the fifth, then headed home. Picked up a couple of things in Coxen Hole and got home about 5. Neither of us have any great desire for more food, so we're just snacking with an early movie on.
Tomorrow, snorkelling somewhere and maybe a trip to Blue Harbour, where the have the hydrophonic greenhouses and also some designed gardens and such. Not too far away so it'll be an easy trip.
Eileen wasn't feeling 100% this morning (fine now) so she decided to stay home while I went diving. There were eight people lined up to dive today, so we split up into two groups of four. My group did the deep dive at Melissa's Place while the other four stayed a bit shallower. One of our group had trouble getting down (short on weights) so the rest of us hovered about 15 feet while she was getting fixed up. My mask was flooding and I couldn't figure out why. Had trouble clearing it, which is unusual, and the when Sylvia saw that I was having some trouble she came over and I thought she was trying to show me how to clear my mask but what she was doing was trying to get her finger along the top edge to straighten out the tope edge of my mask, which I had gotten sort of folded over, thus the leak. Anyway, when she stuck her finger in I really flooded, so I just surfaced and got things fixed up. Felt like a rookie.......The rest of the dive was OK, no special sitings although the canyons and channels were pretty neat. Got back on the boat and started to change out my tank, then noticed that I was missing a strap. It had broken off the BCD and was not repairable. The spare BCD was not going to fit, so we returned to the dive shop for a pit stop, then went back out for dive two. All eight of us went out with Adam on dive two, which was the shallow version of Hole in the Wall. Again, lots of canyons and channels to explore.
Fireworm (3-4") Don't touch!
Banded Butterflyfish
French Angelfish (12") They're usually pretty elusive but this guy was quite content to swim around me. Took some decent video.
Tomorrow, snorkelling somewhere and maybe a trip to Blue Harbour, where the have the hydrophonic greenhouses and also some designed gardens and such. Not too far away so it'll be an easy trip.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The Routine
We've settled right into a pretty steady routine here that goes something like this; wake up, eat, dive, dive, eat, nap, shower, eat, blog, sleep, and repeat. For Eileen replace the dive, dive with suntan, snorkel, and read. That pretty much sums up today, and probably tomorrow too.
Nothing special about the dives today, they were not what I was expecting when I got to the dive shop. A group of four guys had showed up at ther resort, with widely varying levels of experience so instead of our deep exploration day, we ended up doing a couple of the more routine dives nearby the resort. The first dive had a slow start as they were all getting their counter weights adjusted, etc. I spent most of the first dive up near the front of the group, as they were all buddied up, but I kept getting overtaken by one or more of them, so on the second dive I dropped back to the rear and just sort of did my own thing. They are a really nice group of guys on some kind of dive holiday, some of them just need to get a few buoyancy issues figured out. Been there, done that. I think I will try and drop a few pounds from my weights tomorrow, I'm going down like a rock right now, and my ears are so good, all I have to do is wiggle my jaw a bit and they start popping. Not much for pictures today, saw a few cute little Yellowheaded Jawfish but the pack was in front of me and they're pretty shy:
Tomorrow Adam is planning to do a deep adventure dive with these new guys so I think we might be going up to do the wreck, and then do a second dive somewhere near there. It's a bit of a boat ride to get there, so we'll do a two tank trip and just come back to Luna Beach afterwards. Thinking of heading to French Harbour to catch a late lunch and the end of the Scotties final, an ATM for some lempiras$, and then probably home for BBQ, unless it's late and we decide to do the Sandy Bay sushi place. It is on our "have to do for dinner" list yet. So many decisons to make.
Nothing special about the dives today, they were not what I was expecting when I got to the dive shop. A group of four guys had showed up at ther resort, with widely varying levels of experience so instead of our deep exploration day, we ended up doing a couple of the more routine dives nearby the resort. The first dive had a slow start as they were all getting their counter weights adjusted, etc. I spent most of the first dive up near the front of the group, as they were all buddied up, but I kept getting overtaken by one or more of them, so on the second dive I dropped back to the rear and just sort of did my own thing. They are a really nice group of guys on some kind of dive holiday, some of them just need to get a few buoyancy issues figured out. Been there, done that. I think I will try and drop a few pounds from my weights tomorrow, I'm going down like a rock right now, and my ears are so good, all I have to do is wiggle my jaw a bit and they start popping. Not much for pictures today, saw a few cute little Yellowheaded Jawfish but the pack was in front of me and they're pretty shy:
Not sure of the ID of this little bottom dweller, but I think it's a type of Blennie
Deformed barrel sponge, shaped just like a Valentine. It is about three feet across.
Went out for dinner tonight at the Vintage Pearl, which is one of the classiest places I've seen in Roatan, although they do get you to remove your footwear at the door and go barefoot (hardwood floors). They have a huge wine selection and a menu that changes daily. They offer a three course meal which includes a soup or salad, entree, and desert for $35. Not a bad price considering the entrees, Eileen went for the filet and I was torn between the duck breast and the rack of lamb, but went for the lamb. We added a steamed clam appetizer (good but mine are better) and Eileen strayed off the set menu and got a Baileys cheesecake to go (extra $6). She's over full, but had one bite when we got home and said that it was really good. I think she still has some key lime pie to go, in the fridge from a couple of nights ago.
View of Vintage Pearl from our table.
Mildly photoshopped to reduce the red glare, chin patch remains.....
Friday, February 24, 2012
Windy night
Wind is howling pretty good here on the east side tonight, but from the looks of the Saskatoon weather forecast, I think our visibility is a little better than what is predicted for home in the next 24 hours. I suspect that the bare grass than Glen told us was still visible on the edge of the lane may get covered up.
We decided to head over to Sandy Bay this morning to check out the Underwater Museum, expecting that they might be busy with cruise shippers. Stopped at the dive shop to get my flippers and booties. They had absolutely nobody booked to dive today, so when Sylvia saw me she sort of looked panicked, since they didn't even have a boat captain around. She was quite relieved when she found out why I was there. When we got to the underwater museum, we were the only people around. They were even going to have to call someone to come and give us the tour, but when we found out it was $35 per person, we declined. Headed back towards West End, but stopped in at the little bakery that we frequented last year and picked up a couple of their pastries and a loaf of bread. Good blueberry danishes.....Stopped at West end a picked up a tee shirt that Glen had asked us to get for him. On the way back to West Bay we stopped at the lookout that is right next to one of the zip line operations. Paid our one tourist dollar to climb up their lighthouse for a look at the scenery, hoping that we could see the Turrets (our housing development), but there was still one hill obstructing that view. Nice view of the West End area from there though:
Stopped at the house, picked up the beer cozies and went down to Smugglers, thinking we would have lunch and a snorkel, although I knew that the tides wouldn't be in our favour. It was calm enough but the tide was really low, so we skipped the snorkelling part, had a good lunch of wings and nachos, and soaked up their sun for a few hours. Screaming hot down there where it's out of the wind.
Came back to the house about 3. There is this one bird that has been desperatly trying to get into the patio doors on the second level of the house for weeks now. I don't know what he wants in for.
We decided to head over to Sandy Bay this morning to check out the Underwater Museum, expecting that they might be busy with cruise shippers. Stopped at the dive shop to get my flippers and booties. They had absolutely nobody booked to dive today, so when Sylvia saw me she sort of looked panicked, since they didn't even have a boat captain around. She was quite relieved when she found out why I was there. When we got to the underwater museum, we were the only people around. They were even going to have to call someone to come and give us the tour, but when we found out it was $35 per person, we declined. Headed back towards West End, but stopped in at the little bakery that we frequented last year and picked up a couple of their pastries and a loaf of bread. Good blueberry danishes.....Stopped at West end a picked up a tee shirt that Glen had asked us to get for him. On the way back to West Bay we stopped at the lookout that is right next to one of the zip line operations. Paid our one tourist dollar to climb up their lighthouse for a look at the scenery, hoping that we could see the Turrets (our housing development), but there was still one hill obstructing that view. Nice view of the West End area from there though:
West End view, you can see the floating bar moored out by the reef (center right) and the pennisula at Half Moon Bay (right edge)
Stopped at the house, picked up the beer cozies and went down to Smugglers, thinking we would have lunch and a snorkel, although I knew that the tides wouldn't be in our favour. It was calm enough but the tide was really low, so we skipped the snorkelling part, had a good lunch of wings and nachos, and soaked up their sun for a few hours. Screaming hot down there where it's out of the wind.
Came back to the house about 3. There is this one bird that has been desperatly trying to get into the patio doors on the second level of the house for weeks now. I don't know what he wants in for.
Need to look this guy up in a birdbook when we get back too.
Showered and headed to CocoLobo for their Friday night happy hour, hoping that Genny might have the same plans. We parked in an empty lot just outside the entrance to west End, took a few steps towards town and heard someone calling Brian, Brian. It was Genny, heading into the same parking area. Perfect! We walked to Coco Lobo with her and Steven, and had a good time there for an hour or so. Genny still laughs hysterically when anyone mentions the night that her and Shawnda met the four of us (Betty and Dylaina making up the foursome) after we had come off the floating bar sunset booze cruise last year. I don't remember the details of the humour that night, but I suspect that Dylaina played a pivitol role. After happy hour we walked down to the Rotisere Chicken and had dinner. Full chicken dinner, beers, deserts, and four cinamon buns to go for $25 per couple, tip included. No wonder that place is so popular. About half way back to the car, I hear someone yelling Brian again. This time it's Trish and her gang, who had just finished dinner at Tongs and were starting to look for a way to get home. Eileen said we could take two, but there was about six or seven of them. Genny couldn't leave until we finished our visit, cause I was holding the bag of cinammon buns.....Got back to the cars, said our good byes and made it home. They've actually filled in the potholes on the road between West End and West Bay, so the driving is even more fun now than it used to be. Also a lot safer as there isn't all the lane changing happening while you're evading the holes. All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good day.
Morning dives booked for tomorrow. I'm the only one on the dive board, and if it stays that way I suspect that Adam will take me on a bit of a deeper dive that he wants to do. He told me to bring my logbook along with me tomorrow, so that he can check out my dive history. It's up at Melissas Place which is a site that is straight out from Tranquil Seas. It'll be a bit of a boat ride, so we'll likely do two dive sites up there and just come back to Luna Beach after the two dives are done.
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