We have found another paradise in Roatan, Honduras. Getting here was another trip in itself. Our taxi was late for our 4 am pickup at our hostel in San Jose, and at the airport we apparently “had reservations, but no tickets” and waited at the check-in desk for 1 1/2 hours. The rest of the day went complication free, despite the fact that we stopped at 4 more airports. Our hotel, Posada Las Orquideas, is a dream come true. We have three beautiful rooms with ocean views. Not to mention the simple convenience of water and electricity, both of which we were without the week before. Quick facts: We are on the West End, which is very touristy. The locals speak English, as well as a Creol dialect? because the British used to have control over the island. Ok, those were very quick facts.
We came to get certified in SCUBA, and Roatan is said to be the second best place to do just that (second to the great barrier reef of course). The dive shop is next door to our hotel, and is run by the sweetest, chillest, local people. Our classes consisted of watching 5 hilarious instructional videos (one of which was an infomercial for PADI “stuff”). Tony, our instructor, let us essentially teach ourselves the details. He didn’t spend time in the classroom, but out in the water, he was great. The curriculum has closed-water dives, and open-water dives built into it. But this dive shop forgoes the close-water dives and takes students out in the ocean on the first day. Most of the group absolutely loved diving from day one. (The reef is such a beautiful world after all.) A couple of us were not as enthusiastic at first. When Hannah and I would begin panicking about a particular skill practice, Tony would say matter-of-factly, “why are you worried? This is the easiest sport in the world. All you have to do is breathe.” Which is the truth, essentially. Not all of us are able to always see it that way, however, when we are many feet under the OCEAN. We all became certified on Saturday! With the exception of Jessica and Julia, who didn’t take the course…(Jessica could not participate because of complications with a past head injury). Amanda was already certified on her last Carpe Diem trip in Australia, and chose to take 5 (we love our overachieving leader) courses. We all joined her in her final dive, the night dive. Tony told us before we set out that it is, “the safest dive”, because we don’t go deep, and stay in a small area. (And technically, if the night dive is the safest, and scuba is the easiest sport, we could have spent the evening in bed and been at the same risk level. Ha! According to this dude Tony.) We took down flashlights and were able to see lobsters, and other parts of the reef that only feed at night. Turning off the lights, we played in the phosphorescence. I personally had a terrifying experience when I floated to the surface due to a lack in weights, couldn’t swim down, or find the boat. We had been warned that jellyfish swim at the surface at night. Tony pulled me down eventually (thanks to my amazing buddy Hannah) before I had a heart attack. All in all it was a great dive. Everyone was in a great mood afterward.
Although Jessica and Julia didn’t take SCUBA courses, they were able to snuba, (which is the bizarre combination of snorkeling and scuba. One takes an air hose under the water, but without safety equipment used for scuba. Sounds more risky than scuba.), play with baby monkeys, and visit a local museum. Jessica and Rachel also swam with dolphins!
To get the vibe of this past week, we encourage you to listen to the following playlist (these songs were on repeat at the dive shop all day long):
1. Whatever you like–TI, and this song is also the theme song to the entire trip
2. Mad–Ne-yo
3. Right now–Akon
4. Miss Independent–Ne-yo
As it is our last week together, we planned a few final bonding evenings. We played a great game of “funniest Guatemala moments” charades, had a delicious potluck (each of the 3 rooms brought 1 or 2 special dishes, and it was quite a success), attempted to watch the Costa Rica vs. USA soccer game on tv, but ended up chatting on the beach, and tonight we have reservations at an ocean side restaurant. Our final night together! Yes, the time has finally come to say goodbye. We are in our last phases of organization before the trip home (although if you were to walk into one of our rooms the word “organization” would not come to mind). The students part ways with the fabulous leaders in San Salvador tomorrow evening, and go our separate ways the next morning. We all will miss Central America. What an experience this has been! I am failing to find words to express how valuable this journey has been. Thank You Carpe Diem! Goodbye dear blog readers, thanks for following. (For all you prospective CAM students, do it! Just do it. Wow.) With love, Anjali
