11 Feb, Fri.

Fri, 11 Feb. we were back in our offices this morning, when Abi got a phone message .... that's strange, no one calls us...... it was WSORC, they were going out on another Whale Shark Excursion and needed our help again. 'proper procedures' still had not been worked out for us helping them out, ... so there were more tense moments and discussions. but again, we were released with the promise that it will be handled differently in the future. but this is something that WSORC and BICA needs to do, ...not us. so Abi and i took off, excited and hopeful! our Dive Master and WSORC did most of the work this time, things were much better organized and i was more comfortable since i was now 'experienced'. at 1pm we head around to the north side of the island this time. after about an hour we saw a small 'boil'and birds. we all lined up in the back of the boat on the floor, 'tobaggan style' one behind each other with our fins, mask and snorkel in place. ....and waited. Capt Willy could see the Whale Shark in the distance from his vantage point up in the 'crows nest' of the boat. but it never came close enough, nor surfaced again. so, we got back to our seats and took off again towards Roatan. at about 3:30 we headed back home, ....skunked! we had been seeing some threatening skies all day but it wasn't rough. now, the seas had dramatically changed since going out, it was rough, choppy, and there were huge swells. we were in a big boat, but the waves seemed bigger. we were all totally drenched by the time we got back. once we got into the 'bay' it was calmer of course, and we picked up a pod of dolphins. they were swimming in front of the boat, right against the hull. strange ... with Janny and Alex off Pine Island, they usually surf the wake at the back of the boat. so, all was not lost, at least we saw some marine life. ...and there will be more opportunity to see Whale Sharks :) Abi had made friends with 2 guys that were on the boat trip from Texas. we all decided to get something to eat. ....but first, that hot tub on the end of the dock would feel good. ....it was empty :) but there were these cool 'fish' chairs out there next to the hot tub, that was not. so we decided to watch the sunset .... there was none :( next plan.... we got a drink from the bar, and headed to get something to eat. RJ's is way at the other end of town, has been on Utila a long time and has a reputation for good beef. we all decided to have fish :) i just can't bring myself to eat beef here; but what they had on the grill smelled pretty good. Payton, on the right, has done a lot of missionary work and is currently working in Honduras. Stephen came here to visit him from Dallas. we had a great time with them. so much fun, that we decided that in the morning, while we were diving; they would secure a boat to take us to Water Caye for the afternoon. we got a plan! we left the guys and got home just as it started pouring .... first rain since i've arrived.