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