Tag Archives: Scuba Diving

Central America/Mexico, Journey

Corn Islands – Paradise at Sea

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I didn’t originally plan to visit the Corn Islands, but I’m so glad I did! Little Corn Island is a tropical paradise, has stellar scuba diving, and it’s possible to walk around the island in a couple of hours. Aside from horseback and biking, walking is your only choice as there are no roads/vehicles on the island!

To get here you can fly into Big Corn Island from Managua, and then catch a panga boat (see photos below) to Little Corn Island. There are stretches of undeveloped beach where you can relax, soak up the rays, and go snorkeling. While I was here I did 3 dives a day with Dolphin Dive, and enjoyed the great diversity of marine life, caves, tunnels, and gorgeous coral.

My lifestyle here was possibly the most chill of the entire trip. I would head out to the diveshop around 8:30am for my first dive, relax for 40 minutes, and do my second dive finishing around 12:30pm. I’d have lunch, snooze on the lounge chair, and go diving again at 2:30pm. Then I’d go to my hotel, get cleaned up, and meet up with some folks for dinner/drinks. Next day hit repeat, and somehow a week and a half disappeared!

I also spent 3 days on Big Corn for some diving and catching my flight back to Managua. Back to the mainland, and to the city of Granada!

Cheers, Shawn

Central America/Mexico, Journey

Roatan – Riveting Reefs

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I took the ferry from Utila to Roatan, which runs Friday-Sunday. After the 90 minute ride, I was happy to set my feet on land and let my stomach settle! I took a taxi from the port to the West End village, where my hotel/diveshop was located. This is the best area for diving, which is world-class and quite reasonable. I stayed at Hotel Chillies, which is affiliated with Native Sons Diving. This is a very laid back spot with great divemasters. You just walk across the street and climb into the boat for your dives!

The reefs off Roatan are absolutely stunning. They are very healthy, massive, and contain all kinds of marine life. Check out the night dive where you can see bioluminescence – the plankton glows when you make movement. If it’s really dark without any moonlight, you can see the strings of pearl, which are silk-like beads that glow all around you! It’s such a cool experience to swim through these! From the West End most of the dives are within a 10 minute boat ride, which makes diving more convenient and less expensive. I paid $30US/dive.

If you’re into chilling at the beach, you can check out the West End beach (right across the street), or hop the water taxi to West Bay beach. Both have beautiful, clear, and warm water that are perfect for swimming or snorkeling.

Overall I’d say that the diving is better in Roatan than Utila. The reefs are gorgeous and there’s more life. It is a little more expensive than Utila, roughly about 20% more. I’d definitely recommend travellers making a trip over to Roatan. Note that the ferries between Utila and Roatan run only Friday-Sunday. Otherwise you’d have to go back to La Ceiba and catch another ferry from there.

My time in Honduras is coming to an end. I will catch the ferry to the mainland, and take a 15 hour van/shuttle to Leon, Nicaragua. The journey continues!

Cheers, Shawn

Central America/Mexico, Journey

Utila – Enter the Bay Islands

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My scuba diving adventures in the Bay Islands of Honduras begin! I hung out at Parrots Dive Center and completed my Advanced Open Water PADI certification. Parrots was a blast with professional instructors, fun divemasters, and amazing dives. If you make it to Utila, check them out!

After this I checked out the local reefs, walls, and sea wildlife for 5 days. All kinds of cool sea creatures, including: nurse sharks, lobster, octopus, squid, crabs, beautiful coral, and so many different fish! There are some great wall dives around Utila where you can see the ocean bottom fall before you. Very cool!

In the afternoons, I made many sweet kayaking journeys. There is a little canal that runs through the island, and you can kayak from one side to the other. You have shade for most of the way through the mangroves, where you can see many bird species, weird-looking crab, and have a chance to snorkel at the east end of the island. This is a very unique and beautiful trip. A hostel/bar called The Venue rents quality kayaks and is well situated to start your kayaking adventure.

Utila was a lot of fun for both the activities and the people. I made a lot of friends during my time here, and am rather sad to leave. But the journey continues to the largest of the Bay Islands – Roatan!

Cheers, Shawn

P.S. Note that I am NOT sponsored by the companies that I mention in my blog. I recommend them because I had great experiences there, and want to share these with my fellow travellers.

Central America/Mexico, Journey

Cancun and Cozumel – Warm Again!

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From Europe to North America – my Mexico/Central America journey begins! My 12 hour flight from Frankfurt to Cancun went very smoothly. I arrived to my hostel in Cancun, Mezcal Hostel, and was greeted by a new set of international friends – and three bottles of tequila! It’s not called Mezcal Hostel for nothing!

One of the days I wandered down to Playa Delfines, a gorgeous beach just south of Cancun. There’s plenty of space to relax, take in the views, and go for a swim. However, as the waves were becoming rather aggressive, we were all whistled by the lifeguard back to shore.

From Cancun I took a bus and ferry to the diving paradise of Cozumel. I got in 1 day of snorkeling, and 2 days of diving. The reefs around here are teeming with all kinds life, including fish, turtles, barracuda, and much more. Highlights include swimming through an underwater cave system, and riding an underwater current. This way you see all kinds of things and don’t even have to swim!

My next stop will be Tulum, where I will check out the Mayan Ruins on the ocean, and the temple complex of Chichen Itza!

Cheers, Shawn