Bay Islands

Trip Start Jan 26, 2008
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77
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Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of Honduras  , Bay Islands,
Friday, September 12, 2008

We stayed 5 days on Utila, one of the 3 Bay Islands and it was definitely a highlight of our travels. We passed our open water dive course, which took 4 days to complete. The water is the clearest i have ever seen and the sea life amazing. Our instructor, Michiel, was very patient with us and he did a very good job. Diving is harder than i thought! First you have to get used to breathing under water, and then you have to equalize all the time (taking off the little bit of air that blocks your ears out). I was a bit in pain with my ears, and it took me ages to go down to the bottom (about 10 meters) but it was worth it. There is a serie of skills to do in the water to show that your are capable to deal with any problems, like taking of your mask and putting it back on without water in it etc. But with training we managed. There was an easy written test as well, boring videos to watch and a thick book to read with all the theory explained.
Utila00
Utila00
 I am now certified and i can go down to 18meters without an instruction and it is valid as long as i am alive.
That took much of our time. We went for swims many times, i feel as if i had spent the last 5 days in the water only. The island is very touristy, and the main language is English. Many Americans come over and settle there for a while, from a few months to 18 years for one!
On Monday, it was independance day! We arrived at the best moment. In Utila, they put up a box ring, and anyone who wanted to go boxing just found himself a partner and well... went for it. After that, they took a 15meter-post, greased it and attached 5000 Lempiras on the top (about 250dollars). The point was of course to get to the top bear hands and foot and fetch it. But no one managed although the guys were very fit. We got the firecrakers of course. When the show was finished, the organisers of the boxing started to throw 1 and 2-lempiras notes in the air. Litteraly everybody tried to get one (i got 2, Alex 6!) and once we were all packed together  and jumping, they threw a massive bag of flour at us, so we were all covered in it. It didnīt stop us, though, and the game on for almost half an hour.
We made many friends of course, as everyone come to the island mainly for diving. It was sunny and very hot all the time, and all the locals are very chilled out and welcoming.
On the other side of the island, which takes around 1 hour to walk across, there is absolutely nothing. The south east of the island is where the town lays, on the south west, there are many cays to visit, and private islands available to rent. The north side is desert.
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