Roatan Trip Update #5
Arrow crab in vase sponge
Well, the time has come to start packing and to head home. We have spent a really fun week diving with Anthony’s Key Resort, meeting lots of new friends, and enjoying the hospitality of the folks on Roatan. Our last two dives on Friday were at a site called “Mary’s Place” which is the signature dive site here on Roatan. It has large swim throughs that take you through entire reef structures. After exiting the swim throughs, you are taken out to a magnificent wall that is covered with barrel sponges, rope corals and numerous hiding places for arrow crabs, peppermint shrimp and lobster.
Our second and last dive was at West End Wall, located on the west end of the island…duh….as soon as we entered and descended, we saw a nice green turtle feeding on some algae. Then at the end of the dive we saw another turtle…..what a way to end a day and week of diving. Now it’s off to the airport and home with some great memories and stories. See you all soon!
Roatan Trip Update #4
After a great day of diving yesterday we got a chance to transfer some photos and videos onto my laptop. The first dive we did on Wednesday was a dolphin dive. Really neat. We first were taken over to Bailey’s Key, where we did a “platform session” with one of the trainers and a dolphin named Bill. The trainer explained about dolphin anatomy, their teeth, weight, etc. Then he proceeded to show us some of the skills they teach the dolphins here and demonstrate their speed and strength. They are truly amazing animals. After the 20 minute session, we got back onto the dive boat and headed out to a dive site called ” Front Porch” which is situated right in front of the resort in about 60 feet of water. There is a large sandy area where they like to have the dolphin encounter. It took a few minutes before the dolphins arrived and we spent a good 20-25 minutes interacting with them. Before long, our bottom time was up, and we had to go back to the surface. Here’s a quick clip:
Getting back on the boat, with Captain Jimmy ready to assist
The dives today were typical for the reef areas here…lots of barrel sponges, very little current, and visibility around 80-100 feet. Calm seas again! We were certainly thankful for that. All the dives today featured tons of jellyfish both on the entry and exits….fortunately no one got stung. We ate lunch out on the key today…a delicious Mexican buffet. So, it’s off to Thanksgiving dinner here in warm sunny Roatan.
Green Moray Eel
Jean and purple tube sponge
Roatan Trip Update #3
The diving so far has been fun and relatively easy…the seas are almost flat calm with little wind. The afternoon dives get a little more wavy, but not so much as to impair the diving. Tuesday we did four dives, including a night dive, which had a lot of surge. We spent most of the night dive in shallow water looking for octopus and toadfish. The first dive was a wreck dive in about 110 feet of water. All broken up, yet still offered some nice photo opportunities.
Looking up the mast
The second morning and the afternoon dives were done on shallower reefs, which afforded lots of bottom time. The great thing about the divemasters here is that they will wait for everyone to finish taking photos before continuing the dive.
As all the dive sites are within about 15 minutes from the resort, the boat trips give everyone just enough time to get suited up and before we know it, we are at the site. The water is still holding at about 81-82 degrees. We did get some brief rain showers on Tuesday when we got back from the second morning dive, which made us glad we brought our rain jackets. It’s amazing how people get crazy with a little rain…..we’re in the tropics! As promised, here are some photos:
French Angelfish
Turtle feeding on algae
French Angelfish
Shark dive action!
Here’s a quick clip from the shark dive we did as part of our trip on board the AquaCat liveaboard vessel this past October. They use a “chum-cicle” so that there is less danger to the crew and divers, and the feeding goes on for a longer period of time.