Sky and Sea

Last time I wrote we were in Copan Ruinas. Before we left Copan we took a guided hike through the surrounding mountains. The hike itself was great, with some nice waterfalls and other sights along the way, but the most entertaining part probably came from the guide himself, who spent the entire hike stopping to roll himself joints. Getting stoned while you guide tourists down a cliff face using a rope probably would not pass OHS in Australia, but I guess they do it differently in Honduras.
However the real highlight of the hike came at the end. You know when you have gotten to the highest point in a hike, and all you have left is the long, frustrating walk back down the hill? I hate that feeling, and it seems someone in Honduras does too, because they solve it through the "Canopy Tour". Apparently in the USA this is called zip lining and is getting quite common, but this was the first time I've seen it.
Stretching down the hill were a series of 16 cables, that were in fact all giant flying foxes. The shortest is a couple of hundred meters, but 3 or 4 of the longest ones were over a kilometer in length. You put on a climbing harness and hook in to a wheel on the cable, and off you go. Some of the cables span across a gully, so you suddenly find yourself 200 meters or so above the ground, hurtling through the sky. Definitely the best way I've ever ended a hike.

Following another long day on Honduran buses, we are now in Utila, one of Honduras' Bay Islands, on the Caribbean coast. (Much worse than the buses was the ferry to get here - 1.5 hours on the surprisingly choppy Caribbean sea - I'm still not meant for boats)

Utila is a small island that is right in the middle of the coral reef that runs down the Caribbean coast. Its a big tourist destination in Honduras, and everybody comes here for one reason - to dive. Actually, we were surprised at just how little else there is to do here. There aren't many beaches (surprising for an island in the Caribbean)and its too hot to do anything land based. As a result, Utila feels a little like a ski village or like Kraabi in Thailand (rock climbing) where everyone is pretty much there for one reason. All the conversation in the bars and restaurants at night is about the day's diving, and there are probably more people here trying to work as dive masters than there are short term tourists.

Its very different to inland Honduras. Whereas inland the people look much like the people in Peru or Bolivia, here the people have a much heavy black African influence. And they speak a bizarre mix of English and Spanish, with an accent that reminds you of the West Indian cricketers. While most people can switch into English when speaking to a tourist, when you hear them talking amongst themselves, its pretty much its own language.

Like everyone, else, we took to the water. For us, it was the Advanced Open Water course - 7 dives in three days, including a deep dive, and wreck dive and a night dive.

The wreck was a deliberately sunk cargo sheep at about 30 meters depth. Have you ever jumped into the water from a boat where it was really deep, and it seems like there is nothing but blue - no life, no shapes or features, just water? That's what it feels like when you jump in before the wreck dive. Then you start descending into to the nothingness and suddenly, after you descend about 10 meters, a shape starts to come into focus below you, and eventually turns into a ship. It's quite an experience, as was swimming through the windows of the wreck.

The other big attraction of Utila, which everyone chases from the boat between dives, is the whale shark. As you sit on the dive boat you get a warning from the captain that there may be a whale shark around, and everybody gets their snorkels one and sits by the edge ready to jump in. So far this has been as far as its gotten for us. I'm not convinced the whale shark was ever that close - but they sure know how to build suspense (and get you back the next day)
Kate is out "whale sharking" (its a verb here) again today, but I chose to stay on land - again, still not meant for the boats. Apparently in Belize I can dive with (non-whale) sharks. That will have to be enough for me.