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Mark's Photos of this Scuba Diving Trip
We'll start with our (my cousin and I) flight out of Seattle to Houston, which was a long 4 hours.
Then we had a 3 hour wait to fly to Roatan via Taca Airlines. I was pretty impressed with Taca.
On time, and no misplaced bags from anyone aboard. Now we're in Roatan and it's hot and humid,
and we spend the next hour getting all our bags and loading them up in the Coco View Resort vans.
Then we take a 20 minute ride to our resort, where we unload all our stuff onto 2 boats and take a 5 minute boat ride over to our resort. We were "isolated" from the mainland of Roatan on a Caye, which had it's advantages and disadvantages (more on that later).
Now were officially there and on vacation. They give us a little speech on the resort, and showed us to our rooms. Me and my dive buddy cousin had an over the water bungalow that was pretty nice.
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All the windows had screens on them plus 2 ceiling fans working 24 hours a day. A few nights it was pretty warm in there but we survived. We went straight for the bar and had our welcome drinks and met some of the people we were there with. There was a group of 20 out of Utah that goes every year and they kept pretty much to themselves, and another group of 20 out of Houston that turned out to be an alternative lifestyle group. They each had a dive boat for themselves. Our boat was made up primarily of older married people and couples. Our boat got along pretty good considering my cousin was there.
Heas known as the El Loco Divera?, the nickname a dive master gave him in Cozumel.
Then we had dinner and were told to meet at the dive area at 9am. So everybody went to sleep and got ready for our 1st day of diving.
After breakfast we all met to get a briefing on the rules of diving in Roatan.
No touching the coral reefs, no gloves, always watch your air supply and depth, and always stay in view of the dm. It was nice to see they prided themselves on safety and reef awareness. Then all the newbies that have never been to Roatan had to do a check out shore dive with our dm to make sure we knew how to dive (which also was good). He took us out to 25 feet and we all showed him that we could properly attain neutral buoyancy and we also had to show him we could flood our mask and then clear it. After that he showed us the 3 shore/drop-off dive sites. We 1st swam to Newman's Wall, then to the wreck of the Prince Albert, then to Coco View Wall. We were at 70' for 45 minutes. After that we swam back to the marked safety stop and did our 5 minutes and headed in to the shore. He said we all are set to
dive on the boat in the afternoon.
Hawaii Snorkeling - An Underwater Paradise!Hawaii snorkeling is a fun activity available to almost any skill level of swimmer, where you can discover a breathtaking array of Hawaii's most exotic sea life a few ..... Our first boat dive took us to The Missing Link where we saw a nice reef with some swim thru's.
We were at 70' for 45 minutes. After our interval at the surface my cuz didn't want to do a drop-off dive,
so I chose to dive solo at the wreck (a 1st for me). A few people from the boat did the same dive
but I was basically by myself. So I swam around the wreck taking pictures and marveling it's size.
The Prince Albert was sunk in 2000 as part of an artificial reef in between the Coco View and Newman Wall.
It's 250 feet long and divers can fully penetrate it. There's a lot of growth on it already and
I was told there is an Eel that calls the wreck home, but I didn't see it on this dive.
I was at 55' for about 30 minutes before I was starting to get hungry.
Then I just followed the markers back to the safety stop area, then swam back to the beach.
I was a little scared diving alone for the 1st time but I knew exactly where I was and got an excellent
pre dive briefing before I went in. So day 1 I did 3 dives and was ready for dinner and a beer.
The next morning we dove Calvina's Crack. This dive site was formed by a crack in the reef that had some good fish life. We were at 83' for 45 minutes. After a 45 minute surface interval I did my second solo dive at Newmana's Wall, where I drifted along at 60' for 45 minutes before making my safety stop and heading in for lunch. After lunch we took the boat to Anka's Place where we tooled around for 45 minutes at a depth of 55'. There was a lot of fire corral on this dive as we were told in our briefing. Somebody touched the reef (and the fire corral), and got a pretty nasty burn on their hand. For our drop off most of chose the Prince Albert wreck. I wanted to see the eel or starfish, but again no luck. We were at 52' for 32 minutes.
We penetrated the wreck fully and swam around the whole inside. That was a pretty weird feeling.
We woke up early (5am) and did a morning shore dive on the wreck. As we came out from inside,
I noticed my cousin kinda thrashing in the water about 30 feet from me. He was kicking with his fins and waving with his arms (not to me). As I get closer I notice a fish trying to attack him. At that point I started getting scared too. I make sure he's all right (he signals to me that he is) and there is this fish that is darting in and out towards him. It stuck on his leg, then he would kick it off then the fish would come back at him repeatedly. This thing was relentless!
Then the damn thing started in on me. Back and forth he came before finally he left.
This episode lasted about 3 minutes and my cuz showed me his gauges and he only had 1000 PSI left. He said he was going back, and I told him I would stay for a little while. As for the fish, I thought it was a remora
(the fish that you see on sharks and rays suckers) but it looked to big. It was about a foot long as measured when it was attached to his leg. When I got back on shore I looked in a fish book with the help of our dm we found it to be a sand sucker shark (kind of the same as a remora). He said with one of those things in the water, there must have been something bigger out there!
Depth was 80' for 45 minutes.
After breakfast and his telling of his sea story (which got a lot of laughs) we headed to Mary's Place on the boat.
A little history about Roatan's signature dive site, it was closed for 5 years due to over diving and damage of the reef, and was recently re-opened. We had to do a special briefing and they told us it was a very narrow passage (crack in the reef). The length of the crack was about 100 yards and varied from 10 feet across to 4 feet. So if a person was claustrophobic or couldn't
maintain their buoyancy they could swim above the crack. So in we went and right away I noticed the current was very strong (5 knots). There wasn't much sea life due to the current which made for an ok dive.
The crack was impressive. Getting back on the boat was a chore with the current. We were at 85' for 46 minutes. For our drop off we chose Newman's Wall and the DC-3 wreck (which is in many pieces from their last hurricane). Both wall dives along the shore are very good, with good growth and color.
When we swam over to the DC-3 we saw a Moray Eel in between one of the wings and I snapped a few pictures of him.
Depth for this dive was 53' for 50 minutes. After lunch and a nap we headed to a place called Doc's Dive.
It's a typical reef dive much like the others. We were at 60' for 45 minutes.
I did a solo drop off at the wreck and finally saw the eel. It was on the top of the wreck and just laying there posing for me.
I noticed Dave and Donna from our boat and got them over there to tape it. Then a little later Donna is telling me to follow her
to where Dave is.
She points at something and for the life of me I can't see what she wants me to see.
She draws a question mark and again points, and I finally see it. What do you know, a seahorse!
Talk about small, I put my finger as close to it as I could and it's entire length was about 1 inch.
But I snapped some pics and said and underwater thanks to my dive buddies. Now I'm exploring on my own and notice movement
out of the corner of my eye. It's another Moray Eel and it's just me and him on the wreck.
So I follow him swimming along the side for about 100 feet or so then he heads straight for the bottom.
That was an awesome dive! Depth was 45' for 55 minutes.
We awoke early and did another early morning (5 am) shore dive on the wreck.
We penetrated it again fully and couldn't find the eel. And when I tried to show my cuz the seahorse, it was gone.
This dive was 45' for 55 minutes. After breakfast we took the boat to 40 Foot Point and there were masses and masses of fish life!
Most we saw on any dive here to date. We had the masses follow us the entire dive and 3 huge groupers joined in.
Very memorable dive! Depth was 54' for 50 minutes. For the drop off me and another dude on the boat did CocoView Wall.
The dm asked me to stay above 40 feet because of all the diving I was doing.
So here I am tooling around and I get stung by a jellyfish. He must of wrapped his tentacles/stingers around my neck because
I was feeling some intense pain. This is happening during the first 10 minutes of the dive and I'm thinking of aborting.
But the other guy was below me at about 60 feet and I was trying to get his attention. So I just grinned and bared it all the way back.
I did take a pic of the bastard and if it turns out I'll use it as target practice. Depth was 35' for 50 minutes.
After we get out of our gear I go find the dm and show him my neck and he said 'jellyfish or sea wasp'?
I said it was a jelly fish and he had me pour some vinegar on the bites. Talk about some initial pain!
He said for me to go look in a mirror and when I did I saw a whole bunch of red stings all along my neck.
He said they would go away in a few days, and welcome to the sting club. Thanks a lot Jimmy!
After lunch and some sunning we took a ride to the Valley of the Kings. This was a nice drift dive in the current,
which reminded me of Cozumel. When we came up there were extreme waves at the surface! Some people had a helluva time trying to get back on the boat.
There were people scattered all over the place. The dm had us go up two at a time, but we still were all over the surface.
Depth was 45' for 50 minutes. My drop off was done solo again at the wreck. I couldn't get enough of that wreck.
It's just a site that's awesome to dive. Tried to locate Mr. Eel, but no luck. Depth was 40' for 45 minutes.
The next morning we set up a 3 am dive with a few people and headed to the ship wreck and the DC-3 wreck.
Out at the DC-3 we saw a blue eel under the wing and I tried to get as close to him and snap a few pictures.
That was pretty cool because I've never seen a blue eel before. The rest of the dive went normal. Depth was 48' for 45 minutes.
Then back to bed. After breakfast we went to Caribe Point in huge waves. The boat was having a tough time in that water.
We finally made it into the water and into some more current. I'm sure a few people were nervous on this dive!
And I saw something I've always wanted to see up close, and octopus. I saw movement on the sand and he was scurrying to the reef for cover.
He must have been out feeding. I snapped a few pics and hoped they would turn out, because he was all coiled up.
Depth was 51' for 49 minutes. During the surface interval we had a school of dolphins playing in our wake.
Oahu Vacation IdeasThe island of Oahu in Hawaii is both beautiful and diverse. A majority of people are drawn here to the excitement of Waikiki Beach ..... They were there for about 20 minutes jumping in and out of the water. Talk about a sight to see! I've always had a fascination with dolphins.
We did our drop off at CocoView Wall. I just drifted along the wall hoping the dolphins would join me until the wreck was in sight,
then I made a bee line for lunch. Depth was 43' for 50 minutes.
After lunch we headed to Too Tall, Too Short. This was a very strong current dive.
And the waves were acting up again on the surface. I just love zooming thru the water doing nothing but letting the current take me.
This was a great dive. Not for the fain of heart though! What turned out to be my last dive was a drop off at the Newman's Wall.
I looked at the nice color on the wall and scooted over to the wreck one last time.
I could dive that every day! After making my way to the safety stop location, I noticed, and felt tired.
Not just tired, but exhausted. After 22 dives one can see why. Depth was 48' for 55 minutes.
As I lugged my butt out of the water I could barley stand. I was showering after taking my gear off and the dm came up to me and asked me what's wrong.
I told him I feel like I just got done running a marathon. He said he noticed me a little tired the day before,
and asked me if I wouldn't dive our last day (just one dive). I told him with pleasure I wouldn't. I haven't been that tired in a long time.
But I was down there to dive and I did get my $$$$ worth.
The resort: CocoView is a nice place, but it is isolated from the rest of Roatan. You have to take a 5 minute boat dive just to get to land.
But it makes you relax and enjoy where you're at. If you don't have a lot of patience (being isolated) this place isn't for you.
The staff is very good, and nice. They would always make time to listen to anything you have to say. The dive guys are 1st rate!
We had Jimmy and Ruben and if I ever went back I would dive with those two for sure. We did have no-see-ums (sand fleas),
but not as bad as Fantasy Island Resort across from us. A few people from our place went over there for dinner one night and got eaten alive by them.
All I did was spray DEET on my legs and was fine for the most part. The food could've been better.
Breakfast was very good but lunch and dinner were just ok. The drinks in the bar were the right price though, $1 for a beer.
I did get my first ever professional massage at the resort and she put me to sleep half way thru it. Boy did I feel refreshed after that!
The divers: Our boat had some good people on it. Dave, Donna, Mike, and his wife (I can't remember her name).
We only had 12 divers on our boat, and that was about the right size. The other boats were big, 20 divers per.
As I said before, the group out of Utah kept to themselves. One of the ladies fell trying to get out of the boat (fully geared up) and broke her arm.
Told you those waves were hellish for a few days. The Houston boat was a big one too. We ended up hanging with 4 of the dudes on that boat between diving.
Those guys had us laughing like you wouldn't believe. My cuz tried to get them to "hook" him up with Nicole (their dive group leader),
and they just laughed and said 'Dude, she don't swing your way'. They were good drinking buddies too,
bringing all their hard liquor from the states and mixing up all sorts of concoctions on the beach.
They were just what my cuz ordered since he likes hard alcohol. The four of them and one of the gals and us two went into town our
last day there and had dinner, several drinks and just acted like tourists. It was nice to get away if only for a day. And the drinks were
flowing that night. We all had a pretty good time that day/night.
The weather: One word, HOT! Temps were between 88 and 92 everyday. A couple days it was unbearable for me. I think it was the 5 dives a day thing.
A final word: Roatan is known as a world class dive location and I can see why. The water clarity was about 50 feet due to the waves and
on our 3 am dive it was about half that. The shore diving is what made this resort stick out from the others, but as I said before,
we were isolated from the mainland. If you don't mind that and you like to dive a lot, this place is for you. I just hope my pics turn out
Author: Mark from Seattle.
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