12 Mar, Mon

Mon, 12 Mar .... i made a decision this morning ... i'm leaving on Saturday ! ..there ..... it feels good to make a decision. i sent an email to Vern and reserved my place on the catamaran to go to Roatan. now i need to find a cheap place to stay ... not an easy task on Roatan ... it's much more expensive there ... to sleep and eat ... but i hope i will enjoy the snorkeling as much this year as i did last year ... worked in the morning .... no Whale Shark boat today either :( ...i set up a meeting with the Manager for 1pm tomorrow with myself and the girls to try to find some answers to our questions ... around lunch time i walked across the street to the store and found Valentine ... with her head in a bag of cat food .... i think the people that own that store are extremely tolerant of her and the other cat that 'lives' there ... the cats are constantly tearing into a bag of cat food that's on the shelf for sale ... and i'm not sure if they finish one bag, before they tear into another bag ... :( anyway ... i picked her up and we spent some time together ... around 1pm, and got my gear around to go snorkeling ... it was pretty calm this morning, so i want to go back to the Iron Shore to snorkel in the 'quiet little 'bay' by Rene's house ... where the boa was ... on the walk, i realized that the wind had really picked up ... it was actually a bit difficult to walk .. i was beginning to question my decision to snorkel out there ... the weather had changed dramatically since this morning ... and, it was MUCH worse than a few days ago when i was there. their little dog barked when i came up to the house, and his wife came down and we visited for awhile. she took me out to the shore and showed me where to snorkel and .... told me NOT to wear my fins ... she said the current was really strong between that rock island and the shore, ...where that 'nice little quiet bay' was .. and that it was shallow there, and when the current started to carry me away, i could just stand up .. and it would be much easier WITHOUT fins on .... ok, so i followed her advice ... and WoW .. i was glad i did !!!!!!!!!!! i could not believe how strong the current could be ... and she was right ... when my body was in the water, it just took me away ... but if i could stand up, i could be in control ... the problem was standing up ... i literally had to put my feet out in front of me ... as if i was sliding down a mountainside, trying to find footing to stop me. ... unbelievable! i quickly figured out how to maneuver .. but it really was a lot of work ... i was out there for probably 15min when i realized that this was not going to be a very long snorkeling experience today. ...i lasted less than an hour ... this little fish was incredibly curious of me, and would not leave me alone .... same fish, different lighting .... always trying to get a good photo of the Yellow Tail DamselFish ... it's electric blue dots just entice me ... but they are SO quick, darting in and out of the coral .. it's impossible .. but i'll never quit trying ... this is a Squirrel Fish peeking out from his hiding place ... he would not move from there ! ... and notice the large Black Spiny Sea Urchin on the left .... i spent the rest of my time watching this Juvenile AngelFish ... ... lazily swimming around, in and out of the currents ... impressed that they can deal with the force of the waves and currents so much more easy than i could ! ...at times i had my feet planted firmly against a rock, and one hand on another rock, my camera in the other hand ... barely in control ... i especially enjoyed watching it, ....attack and nip and chase away this Bar Jack that was 3-4 times it's size ! when i got out of the water, everyone was gone from the house ... i wanted to thank them again, ... but ... so i started walking home. a nice man in a 4-wheeler asked me if i wanted a ride ... i accepted ... he took me half the way ... i stopped to get a Mango ice cream on the way home :) i got home and cleaned up and tried to relax ... but ... where i live has turned into a Day Care Center for wild noisy kids ! ... i couldn't take the noise any longer, so i left, and retreated to the Dive Shop. while there i learned of a BBQ tonight at the Bar-a-cuda Bar; dinner tomorrow at RJs; and a Bandu Soup party on Thurs night .... lots of activities my last week in Utila ... :) i went to Buccaneer's for Tuna Fillet w/Lemon Garlic sauce ... it was good ... then came back home ... the kids were in bed by now and it was quiet ... while i was sitting outside working on my blog ... i heard the familiar 'meow' of Shark Bait ... he found me again ... so he was rewarded with some food :)

11 Mar--"Fun Dive"

Sun, 11 Mar .... ready to go diving at 7:30 this morning .... my Fun Dives. Greg was our Dive Master for the day. Our first dive was at The Maze Dive Site on the North Side. it's a Wall Dive and we went down 100ft, .... coz i'm an Advanced Diver now :) ... but i didn't have a very good first dive. i had trouble descending, i don't know why. so when i got down there, i was a little stressed. ... and my mask fogged up, .... and for some reason, ... it was leaking, so i constantly had water up my nose. ... i don't like that feeling. ....i dealt with it; but i felt like i was using up my air more quickly than usual. but Greg said that part of that was because we were down so deep, and you do use more air at depths. i had my camera, and it was a good thing, because now i can look at my photos and see what i could NOT see during the dive coz my mask was fogged up , ... Greg kept pointing things out to me/us; and i'd look, but i couldn't see :( as soon as we got down to the bottom, Kelly spotted this Southern Stingray ... although common place in Belize, it's a big deal here ... it's the first one i've seen since i've been here in Utila ... it was large enough i could see it :) but they aren't as 'friendly' as they are in Belize ... it took off right away :( ...bye bye ... i mentioned that i don't like Wreck Dives, ... and now i think i don't really care for Deep Dives either .... it's darker down there ... so more difficult to take photos; ... and because the light doesn't reach that far, there are no colors ... i like COLOR !!!!!! so i 'fixed' this Barrel Sponge with my photo program and made it Red :) ...in reality it is some shade of brown. ...this shows you that you can't believe everything that you see :) ... the other reason i don't like Deep Dives is because there aren't as many fish down there .. you will occasionally see a really big one; but how often does that happen ?????? ..not often enough for me! ..... and i don't think i particularly like Wall Dives either ...... maybe it's because they are usually deeper dives .... you usually start out a Wall Dive deep as you are going away from the boat, ... and then half way, when you turn around, you ascend and then you can see more fishes, and there is more color, ... and by this time, my mask was starting to unfog ... there was color .... even reds ... and fishes .... i saw this TrumpetFish and a Squirrel Fish we also saw a Giant 4ft Goliath Grouper right at the end of our dive as we were doing our 3min safety stop. he was truly HUGE ... i've never seen anything so big since i've been diving ... MASSIVE ! ...accept for Dolphins and Stingrays .... Greg took my picture as we were 'hanging' at 15 feet ... so in the boat and we headed back into calmer waters to the Little Bight Dive Site ... this is where i was for my Buoyancy Skill training ... this was a MUCH better dive ... my mask didn't fog up, nor did it leak .... i'd like to figure out why it leaked during the first dive so i know what not to do in the future. i liked this dive site much better ... it wasn't as deep, only about 60ft, and it had some nice white sand on the bottom, which reflected the light, so it was lighter down there. there was part of a Wall, but we just passed by it on our way to other fun stuff. we were searching for Dwarf Sea Horses that live in the sand, but never found any ..... but i got to practice my 'hovering' skills as we passed close to the sandy bottom, but not touching the sand coz it would stir it up and make visibility poor. we saw these Garden Eels the other day when i didn't have my camera ... i had it today; ...but they proved to be difficult to photograph .... there were hundreds of them ... everywhere you looked across the sand .... they are tiny, about the size of a pencil ... and they come out of the sandy bottom and just sway back and forth, until you disturb them, and they retreat back into the sand. .... this is a not so good close up attempt .... Greg also pointed out this Peacock Founder ... i never would have seen it ... you can hardly see it when you know it's there ! ... you can just barely see it's outline .. and it's two eyes are at the top middle of the photo .... amazing !!!!!! later in the dive he saw a baby one too .... ! it was so cute ... but my battery had run out by then ... cool things in the sandy bottom ... these Magnificent (that's their real name) Feather Dusters ... they are actually worms, that live in that paper cylinder that you see ... when disturbed, they retreat back into their paper tube 'homes' ... i'd seen them before tucked next to some coral, but i've never seen them out in the open like this .... they were striking ... and so .... 'feathery' ... moving back up to the wall and coral, we saw this SaucerEye Porgy ... this is a new fish for me and i had to get the book out when i got back to identify it .... and this Yellow Head Wrasse ... got back, cleaned up, and not much going on in the afternoon ... no Dock Party, and no Chocolate Mousse today :( i got an email from Maya Vista in Tela ... and i can get a room there for US$25 / night ... and i'm going to treat myself as a going-away gift :) ....i'm excited to go somewhere i haven't been before .... so.... at least i have part of a plan for my the remainder of my 'adventure'

10 Mar, Sat

Sat, 10 Mar spent some time this morning trying to decide what i'm going to do between now and when i have to head for the North Country. when do i want to go to Roatan? ... i still haven't heard from Marti; and i do want to spend a little time in Roatan. ... and i really don't want haul all my 'stuff' there for just a week. ...so i'm thinking if i want to go, i better make some plans and find someplace to stay. i want to go, but i kind of dread trying to find some new friends :( ...so i spent some time online looking for cheap places to stay and sent a few emails of inquiry. ...i also sent an email to Maya Vista in Tela to see how much a room there would be ... looks like a nice place ! stopped at work and talked with the girls for awhile; me, Ashley and Kelly then went to the Dive Shop office, and signed up for the Sunday Fun Dive tomorrow morning. 2 free Fun Dives are included with my Advanced Certification, so i might as well use them up now. .... then i went for a walk and headed to the West shoreline where i went with Ronnie a couple of times. it's still really windy, so i didn't take any snorkel equipment with me ... ...about half way there, i realized i didn't have my camera with me ... i should know better than to leave home without it :( i spent some time walking on a rather nice beach for this island. and walked out to all the volcanic rock that the waves were crashing into. that rock is very interesting ... there are peaks that are taller than i am, .... which is really tall :) ... in all kinds of strange irregular formations. ... wish i had my camera :( i started walking back and passed an older gentleman with a dog; ... we passed each other, then he stopped and said, "do you want to see a boa?" .... now what made him think that i would want to see a boa? ...i guess i just look like a 'nature girl'. ...he tried to explain to me where it was; but i wasn't sure; so i asked him if he would take me there. he said he would ... it was laying on the fence right on the entry arch to his house, right out by the road. WoW ... he was so pretty. ... and just laying, head down, on the fence, with the rest of his body horizontally on the supports. my new friend's name is Rene' ... pronounced the French way :) .... Rene' said the snake had probably recently eaten and had been there awhile digesting it's food. it was about 5-6ft long ... but had a small head, i thought. ... i touched it, snakes are so soft and dry. i've always liked snakes :) .... i was so sorry i didn't have my camera :( he asked me if i wanted to see his gardens ... now how did he know i liked gardening? ........ he and his wife have been living here 1/2 time and 1/2 time around Nice, France, for 10 years and said there were no plants here when they started building. it's a beautiful garden, with lots of flowering and fruit trees; ... he also showed me his little greenhouse with tomatoes growing in it. i spent quite a long time with him. he said his wife was out front, snorkeling in a little bay area that is kind of protected by a little volcanic rock island. ...he said if i wanted to come back and snorkel there, i could leave my bag at their place and he would tell his wife to expect me. nice man .... i'll take him up on it, some day when it's not so rough and windy. i stopped at the store and bought some groceries and a cup of Mango ice cream that they just got in :) ...then stopped in to visit with Valentine for about 1/2 hr .. i took a nap and got up and went to The Driftwood for Ribs ... i've been thinking about them for a week or so, and it's Saturday night ... so i went. Jungle Jim was there, and the Vet Loretta and her husband Rodger showed up a little later; so i had company to visit with. .... the Ribs were great, and they fell off the bone, just like i like them. Bruce, the owner, is from Texas; and he said he guessed he paid attention to at least one thing while he was growing up :) when i got home, i sat out in the 'corridor' using the internet coz it's faster out there. ...Shark Bait came around ..how did he find me? .... i keep a little food in my room ... so i gave him some ... probably not a good idea to feed him here ... but he found me out .... and i actually saw him here one of the first nights i was here, i just didn't realize it was him, cause he swiped at me .... he's a smart cat too ... these cats here have to always be on the defensive if they want to survive. i even met a sweet little 6yr old girl the other day that was laughing when her dog was chasing a cat ... i almost started yelling and chasing her around to see how she liked it ... but decided to just 'scold' her, ... then she said it was ok coz she didn't like cats !

9 Mar, Fri

Fri, 9 Mar met with the girls again, they made a list of things they wanted to do, so we found the Manager .... she is happy to have people who are willing to work. ...and it seems the girls are ready too. they are already planning some 'environmental education' activities for kids to do. .... obviously that would not have been my choice :) ...so glad it's theirs ! :) i left around 1pm and noticed it looked very calm in the Bay from my room. so i decided to try snorkeling again, it should be ok down around Coral View. i packed the bare necessities in case someone tried to rib me off again. on the way there, i decided to go down to where there are some cute little bungalos and stash my bag there. i noticed there was a couple relaxing on their deck. i asked them if i could leave my bags there ... we recognized each other since we were on the same dive boat the other day. so i headed for the water ... it was quite rough out there ... it's just outside of the Bay and it really makes a difference. i was being tossed around quite a bit, which doesn't bother me; but the resulting sand being stirred up in the water didn't make the visibility very good for snorkeling. some places were really hard to see anything. but of course, that didn't stop me from enjoying myself and taking a few photos i know, ..... i have an addition to these blue-purple vase sponges ... i can't help it this is a Blue Head Wrasse a couple photos of a French AngelFish who just wanted to look at me :) this is another type of AngelFish as well, it's called a Rock Beauty and just as i was about to quit i saw this Orange-Spotted FileFish ... i saw my first one a week or so ago. i chased him around for probably another 20min to get a few shots that white spot at the base of his tail is a distinguishing feature to determine identification. they had a fresh water shower outside and offered to let me rinse off ... i appreciated that ... i still don't like the feel of salt on my skin :( ...i stopped in at The Driftwood for a rum and coke and Reiner (one of the guys from the band) was there again. i spent quite a bit of time visiting with him. he is a 'dog' person, and has a new baby Doberman .... i saw the puppy the other day, and didn't realize that's what he was because he still had his fuzzy puppy fur ... that will be one HUGE dog, his feet were enormous! he has another Doberman and 2 German Shepherds; and understands the importance of being the 'alpha' of the house. he says he loves watching Cesar on TV and enthusiastically believes what he teaches. somehow we also got to the subject of the small village of Tela on the coast. .... since the bus ride from Copan, i've been thinking about spending a couple of nights there before getting on my flight back home. it's half way between where i am, and the airport,..... and a far better choice of location than LaCeiba or San Pedro Sula ! ....it's a small beach community that, from what i've read, some developers want to make the next Cancun .... God save us from ourselves! ... so i really want to get there now, before it's totally ruined! Reiner knows the owners of a small resort there called Maya Vista and suggested i stay there. i feared it would be out of my price range, but Reiner seems to think it's not that bad. i said i would check it out and use his name. he also gave me some info on a tour to take while i am there. came home, got cleaned up and walked the streets trying to decide what i wanted for dinner, and where. i ended up at Babalu's again .... and had the Garlic Shrimps ...., the sauce had a little too much garlic ... and i really like garlic ... but it was still pretty good. checked in on Valentine when i got home, but she wasn't around.

8 Mar, Thurs

Thurs, 8 Mar ... no diving today, thank you ... i'm good for awhile :) 2 girls from the UK, Ashley and Kelly, came in today to help out as volunteers, so i spent some time with them .... then a guy named Jeff walked in and wants to volunteer as well. so now there will be some continuity when i leave ... whenever that will be :) we all went to a late lunch together, and i introduced them to Pastiletos ... my favorite fast food. they are circles made of flour and stuffed with meat, potatos, and veggies, then they fold them in half and pinch the edges and fry them ..... so they are little filled pockets. they were impressed and grateful for the tip; oh, and they are only 10L ... which is US$.50 ... ! i went back to the office for a little while, then home and took a nap ... i still like naps :) i went to the Cinema again ... Ides of March with George Clooney ... it's about an election and the politicians and supporters involved ......... interesting movie ....... it shows how challenging it can become to keep your integrity. ... makes you think ....

7 Mar--Night Dive

Wed, 7 Mar .. at the dock at 7am ready to go over our lesson plan for Peak Performance Buoyancy. that is when you are skilled enough to just hover in one place without moving your hands or feet to help you balance. i read it all, but that doesn't mean i can do it. got in the boat and headed to the Little Bight Dive Site, descended to about 60ft to a nice sandy bottom. this was fun, even though it made me feel rather clumsy! we practiced moving up and down slightly in the water just by using our breathing. when you breath in, you rise ... when you exhale, you sink. Chris had 1/2" PVC pipes put together in a square. we were to go through the hoops/square without touching them; there were 2 squares and the second one was about 3 ft higher than the first. i passed this one with flying colors ! Pammy and Sydney would have been proud! ...i got a good head start in the water and i breezed right through :) Chris also stood some 2x3" weights in the sand. we were supposed to hover over them and knock them over with our mouth piece. .... HA ! that was a funny one .... mostly landing on our face :( he passed both of us on this skill ... knowing that we would eventually improve :) then we got to go for a tour around. we saw these really cool Garden Eels .... they are about as big around as a pencil and stick their heads out of the sand, and sway back and forth, and when you approach, the suck back into the sand ........ there were dozens of them !! wish i had my camera! .... Chris also saw a Flounder on the sand. i don't know how he saw it ... i would have never seen it; .. it blended in perfectly! we cruised around for awhile, did our 3min stop and got in the boat. then we headed for Black Coral Wall Dive Site and descended to about 50ft and began following the Wall. ...and for my next skill dive, i choose the 'Naturalist' ....... :) i had a slate and an underwater pencil, and while i was diving i needed to identify several plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates. i couldn't wait to do this, coz i have always been interested in what something was; i've studied it for years ... i was ready. i completely filled up my slate until there wasn't room to write anymore. i saw the largest TrumpetFish i've ever seen, a big Dog Tooth Snapper, very large Barracuda, a Green Moray Eel, and a 3-Rowed Sea Cucumber, which i'd never seen before and was quite large; ... plus all the 'usual suspects' ..... i passed :) here are a few photos of another fish that we saw the other day .... it's a FrogFish .... interesting fish ... a fish that is almost impossible to find. they lay so still that algae grows on them, furthering their ability to hide and look exactly like whatever it is they are sitting or around. you can't see it in this photos, but it has a 'line and lure' that comes out of it's dorsal fin .... yes, like a fishing line with bait on it .... it dangles in front of it's mouth, and when another fish comes close to investigate the movement ..... he opens his mouth really wide (as in Wide Mouth Frog) .... and gulps in lots of water and his next meal with it. i've read that this guy is a glutton..... even known to cannabalize something its' own size. Chris took this photo with his flash we were so lucky to see it ... this is him swimming away when he finally got tired of us before we got back to the dock, i got a phone call from the office. we had 5 people who wanted to go on a Whale Shark Boat....ugh ..... i had just enough time to get equipment around, grab something to eat, and then walk through town trying to find some fruit that we could serve on the boat. because it has been so windy the last couple of days; the supply boats from the mainland have not been able to cross the sea. so the stores were out of lots of things ... i couldn't even find any bread for the last 2 days :( needless to say, fruits and veggies were scarce. i found some oranges and a sliced green mango; and got some sodas from the Lodge. just as we were about to leave, we got a call to wait for another girl that was joining us. and then we took off. we had to drive out to Utopia again to pick up these 5 people. they were on the dock waiting; they need to sign Release Forms, and do a swim test. no one had let them know either of these 2 things. we quickly learned that one of the girls had never snorkeled before; and then found out that an older woman, hadn't either .... and she wasn't so sure she wanted to do this. she was the 'grandmother' of a 3 generation group from Utah. and to make matters worse, she needed hearing aides, and couldn't get them wet, so after she took them out, she couldn't hear us :( ...but bless her heart, she did it; and so did the other girl. i put her equipment on her and told her to 'look at the horizon, and take a big step into the water' ... off she went! she LOVED it! and so we headed out to the deep blue, ... i got through the briefings easily and all was well. there were huge swells out there this afternoon ....... which is nice coz with the swells, you don't get splashed ... but they are a bit intimidating; but no one got sick and i think everyone enjoyed themselves .... but no Whale Sharks. we did a 25min snorkel in pretty rough water, but Capt Seth briefed me on where to tell them to 'not' go as to not get carried away in the currents. i took a few quick photos .... Black Durgeon, or Black Triggerfish.... the coral reef looking over the Wall in the background we got back to the dock after 5pm ..... and i was already late for my last 'skill' ... a Night Dive ! ... and it looked like we had a Full Moon .... i did a night snorkel in Belize and a short one last year in Roatan with a friend. so i was not apprehensive at all. we had our review of the homework, did a briefing, got our flashlights, and were actually in the water while it was still a little bit light out. but it quickly got dark and we descended into the abyss. we saw a couple of lobsters, and a lot of eyes glowing in the dark ... and then, as we were heading back to the boat, all the dive lights started waving back and forth ... that's a sign that there is something to see. i looked into the distance and i saw this blob floating ... and huh? ... were those flippers out to the side? .... it was a sea turtle !!!!! i'd like to get really excited about it, but i was far away and visibility wasn't that good. but ... hey ... i saw a turtle-like blob with flippers on my night dive :) ...and i'm glad i didn't have my camera because i just would have been frustrated. we got back and cleaned out our gear and called it a day .... what a FULL day ! ...whew !

6 Mar--Vet Clinic & Valentine :)

Tues, 6 Mar ... i got up and went to this really good bakery for something to eat before i went up to the Vet Clinic. i had a nice bacon and broccoli quiche ... and a piece of pecan pie to go. there weren't as many people at the clinic as i expected so it was a nice comfortable pace. there was one drama of course. some guys brought a dog and wanted it to be put to sleep because they didn't know what was wrong with it. Rodger went down to check out the dog ... well, the problem was that they weren't feeding it and it did have some mange or skin problems. he explained that they didn't generally put dogs to sleep if they could help them; and asked them to wait until the Vet could look at the dog. a few minutes later the kids and dog were gone. a few minutes after that, we saw the boys coming back from the 'bush', dragging a rope .... with no dog on the end of it. we imagined the worse ... either they shot the dog or left it out in the bush to die. we were all furious and disgusted. about 15min later, the poor dog came back to the clinic by himself. poor baby! Rodger put a leash on the dog and brought him up to the clinic. the girls immediately gave it food and water, which it scarfed down; and then just stood there with his head hanging down ... so rejected ... it was heartbreaking. it reminded me of those poor dogs in Guatemala. he was a pretty dog, ... and calm; or just to weak to care; .... but you could tell he didn't trust that someone wasn't going to hurt him .... it was decided they would find someone to get the dog healthy again and find a good home for him. he'll make a good companion for someone. he wasn't so sure that Loretta the Vet, was trying to help him there were a couple cute 3wk old puppies that came in; they had been rescued when their momma was poisoned :( and there there were a few 'aawwwww' moments. .... this little one came in for his first check up look at the size of those paws ! oh, and how could i forget ............ Gordo Gato is still there, and was sleeping during most of the event; but did make an appearance to make sure everything was ok ... and that no one was eating his food ! and then it was over, we finished earlier than i thought, so i went back to work for awhile; then called it a day. John was leaving for the States in the morning, so a couple of us went out to dinner with him for his farewell. on the way home, i saw Valentine in the garden next to my room. i tried to get a hold of her, ....... but she doesn't let anyone near her when she's outside. ... she's so smart :) .. see how she is hiding behind that bush :) and so cute