Today started a little earlier as we had to leave for the shark dive. Last year, it was an hour boat ride for us to get to the location. This year, we went on the “fast and furious” boat that is the newest one in the fleet. It is much more powerful and faster so we were able to get there in just 30 minutes. This boat has two decks and even has a bathroom down below. All things considered, I was a little envious that our boat doesn’t have the same facilities. Unless you count jumping off the back and holding onto the life preserver while you float in the ocean and pretend that no-one knows exactly what you are doing. I don’t even try that method as I would be floating out so long they would have to pull me so we could leave for the next dive.
Seeing as you are reading another entry, it is safe to assume the shark dive was successful. Once again, I dropped down the mooring line to the coral below and was greeted by a couple of inquisitive sharks. I assumed my position in the back of the line and waited for the action to begin. At first, there were only a few sharks swimming around. Normally, as a diver, this would be a good thing. But I wanted to see lots and lots of sharks. I was not disappointed. By the end of the dive, we counted around 16-17 sharks – quite a few more than the 7-8 we saw last year.
We followed the same routine as last year’s dive. The guide threw the bait bucket out to get their attention. We swam amongst the sharks and I played “chicken” with a few of the more curious ones. They swam straight towards me and I just floated in the same spot, staring at them, until they veered around me at the last second. This allowed me to get a real close up look at them. Once again, I am reminded of how elegant they really are up close.
The bait bucket was opened and your typical shark feeding frenzy began. What is not so typical is that I was about 20 feet away from all the action. It did not take long at all before all the bait was consumed. One lucky shark managed to score a big piece of fish and swam directly over us as it left. We were able to clearly see the hunk of fish hanging out of its mouth and all its teeth visible.
After the feeding was complete, we were allowed to swim around the sandy patch looking for teeth the sharks shed when feeding. I swam directly to the guide and he simply handed me one so I graciously grabbed it and swam off. This will make my second tooth that I have collected from these dives. After a few minutes, the dive was over and we ascended back to the boat. In hindsight, that was the worst part as I received several slivers in my fingers from the coarse rope. I’m still picking them out the next day. Considering I was next to a shark feeding frenzy, I am grateful that is the only injury I received!
As we were leaving the shark dive dock, we drove by one of the large cruise ships that was docked in the port. They were having a life raft drill and many of the life boats were deployed and bobbing around in the harbor. We saw another one being lowered by a crane just as we were going by. Having been on a cruise ship myself, it was a comforting sight to see they practice such a thing and the life boats actually work!
On the way back to the resort, I talked to guy that owns a house on the island, has his own boat, and dives here 10 weeks of the year. His wife stays on the island all winter. I wanted to ask him if he needed a new dive buddy or even a cabin boy. I would gladly clean his house and even wax the hull of his boat if I could spend 10 weeks a year diving on the island!
Since we were on the shark dive, we missed the normal morning dives. After lunch, it was back on our regular boat for the two afternoon dives. The moor dive was at “Tulio’s Reef”. This was one of the more memorable dives with regards to the wildlife we saw. We saw two seahorses – a brown one and really colorful orange one. It was significantly larger than any others I have seen. We saw another huge moray eel – no idea how long he was as he just had his front portion sticking out of a cave. Judging by the size of his head, he was quite large. And one of the interesting things we saw were two squid just lazily swimming around. They were not long tentacle squid but more like the little squid called “Pearl “on “Finding Emo”. I hovered right next to the larger squid and got a really good close up. All in all, quite a spectacular dive.
The drop off dive was CoCoView Wall. On that dive, we saw four lion fish all swimming together in a group. You see a lion fish here and there but it is unusual to see them all together like that. We also saw one of the largest lobsters I remember hiding in a crevice in the wall. The rest of the dive was another leisurely swim along the wall and over the ship wreck.
As far as our meals go, this is what we had: Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, fried dough, and grapefruit. Lunch: Chicken tortillas. Dinner: Lasagna, garlic toast; banana pudding. In addition to the obligatory beer, popcorn and chicken wings for appetizers!
Today will be our last full day of diving. We only dive in the morning on Friday to give our bodies time to “desaturate” or purge the nitrogen gasses before flying home on Saturday. This week has gone so fast – we are already planning on what we are going to do next year ;)
Here are the details for today’s dives:
Date: 2014-03-12
Time: 09:10
Max Depth: 71
Dive Time: 38 min
Water Temp: 83 F
Location: Cara a Cara, Waihuka Shark Dive, Roatan
Notes: Roatan II Dive 14
Date: 2014-03-12
Time: 14:17
Max Depth: 63
Dive Time: 63 min
Water Temp: 83 F
Location: Tulio’s Reef, Roatan
Notes: Roatan II Dive 15
Date: 2014-03-12
Time: 15:52
Max Depth: 57
Dive Time: 63 min
Water Temp: 83 F
Location: CoCoView Wall, Roatan
Notes: Roatan II Dive 16
PS – I forgot to include details for yesterday’s dive. I have updated the post so please visit the website at https://10500bc.wordpress.com if you are interested.
Adventure, challenge, good food, what more could you ask for. A thrill of a life time. Have a safe trip home . Thank you for the blog . God Bless
Friend of your mom.
Bev