so after my last post i got in the shuttle and was taken to downtown san pedro which may very well be the most violent city in all of honduras. i borded a bus, guarded by armed guards, and journeyed to la ceiba. i put my bag in a cabbies car and realized that i had nothing less than 20bucks USD to give him, i needed change. after running into a grocery store i panicked while in line realizing i had left my bag in a random cabbies car unattended. luckily good ol' oscar was there waiting for me to take me to my boat. damned canadian trusting good nature causing panic attacks. the boat ride was beautiful as i left the dock i looked back to see huge mountains dusted by clouds and covered in lush forest. ahead lay my sanctuary. however, around me was a different atmosphere. i came to utila the day before sun jam being the biggest party in all of central america, not only drawing rowdy drugged and drunk crowds but also huge problems for people needing to find accomodation. luckily, i thought ahead. i settled into my dormstyle room and chatted up my roommates who are also divers and awed by my seniority and my much younger age.
i thought why not try on a early saturday morning to sneak onto a boat, and sneak is what i did. i went as DM for two dives where we did specialty courses for advanced students, and i taught a navigation portion of one of the dives. the water was clear and beautiful, not a lot to see in comparasion to turks but it was only my first couple dives. one sea cucumber, a lobster, garden eels and a scorpian fish. great to use the new equipment and great to be under the water (especially during the rainstorm that turned sunjam to rainjam rather quickly). i picked my materials and signed up for three dives on monday to start my intensive catch up to make my 100 dive mark by the 21st of august.
i've been making friends but realizing quickly this is not really a vacation, though to be enjoyed, but much more focused on the work involved and the goal i am to reach at the end.
i have a cell but only my mom has the number and will give it out to any who dare try me on my little isla. i also move into my negotiated apartment i think on thursday if it is still there for 150bucks for 2 weeks, kitchen and all. still settling but this is only day two and i have already had 2 dives and recieved all my books (adding about 70lbs to my load on the way back).
sorry if i'm not making it sound like paradise, it is great, but i'm just in a really realistic mode, i'll start feeling peaceful once the banks let me access money and i get some more dives under my belt.
love to all.
k
ps. uncle rob, if you read this, i'll totally certify you, and you can work at my dive shop any day.
posted by kate @ 8:34 PM
2 Comments:
Hi there Kate,
Thanks for the post. Your Mum called and gave me the phone number. I'll give it a try later today (you're probably diving right now).
The set-up sounds pretty good, and you are safe--which is the most important thing.
Pearl and I sailed to Toronto this weekend--over on Saturday, back on Sunday. Both trips were good, but the one back was hairy, 10' waves and 6+ knots the whole way. Just 4.5 hours to go from Toronto island airport to the Niagara mark.
Lots of sun, good sleep last night.
Look forward to talking soon.
Love, Daddyo
Hi Kate!
This is the first time I've read; been mentioned in a blog as well as replying to one!! How's that for an old fart!
Your trip sounds pretty exciting( in more ways than one!)
The diving part of the trip sounds really exciting. I've gotten the bug again after a two year lapse. I will probably be going to Tobermory on the Labour Day weekend. John also got his scuba license so we will try to get out together.
If you need any help Anna has some ESL books that she can send to you. There are also tons of websites to look at.
Let us know!
We'll keep in touch!
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