Utila

Utila is the sort of place that is hard to leave. The proof of that is the number of people I've met that came for a short visit and now, sometimes years later, still have not left. The temperature is high 70s day and night. When it does rain it is as comfortable as a warm shower on a warm day. I've had my hammock strung up on my diving instructor's porch for nearly two weeks now. When I arrived I signed up for the open water certification which taught me about scuba equipment and allowed me to dive down to 60 feet. I enjoyed it so much that I then signed up for the advanced class which took me on a night dive, to two ship wrecks, taught me underwater navigation and on a deep dive to 100 feet underwater. Both classes included plenty of time just swimming with the fishes too.

I am pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy diving. It feels as if my world, which I am trying to see a whole lot of, just expanded. Now I have an underwater landscape to explore, the landscape and the flora and fauna, all of which seemed so foreign and new. The night dive took me to a completely alien world. Descending on the light pillar of my flashlight I touched down onto soft white sand and watched my dive buddies descending slowly from above. Their own lights fading into the thick blue darkness. As we circled over the coral I joined a school of small silver fish. They engulfed me and flashed brilliantly in my torch light. With the flashlights off unseen bioluminescent creatures glowed and faded in the wake of my movements. It was surreal and truly beautiful.

Most of the travelers here have been out for a while, a few even as long as me. It does not seem to be a destination for week long vacationers. With so many vagabonds in town the bars are busy every night. There's no weekday/weekend cycle here. My unruly hair even seems to be in style. I plan to leave soon but for now I am still in the grips of island life.

Max is my guest photographer on this blog post. Thanks Max!


Max and I about to go under.

This coral has "Christmas Trees" growing on it. That is really what they are called. When disturbed, usually by nearby snapping fingers, they quickly pull inside of the coral.

Island life.