Utila: A place I hope to return

Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. Let's just say that if one of my friends didn't have a flight to Jamaica, I'd still be scuba diving in Utila!


The 15 hour bus ride from Antigua to the coast was a bit long, especially the first half as we had 12 people sardined in a minivan. I bet I'd still remember my sore back as well as my frustration after missing our connecting bus if it wasn't for that connecting bus being so amazing. As I sat down in my large reclining chair, sedated by the air conditioning, the steward came by with some snacks and drinks just before the movie started---now that's the kind of bus I can handle!

When we arrived in La Ceiba the Wendy's was a very welcome sight. Now I don't really care for fast food, but we only brought bread (ie. banana bread, zucchini bread, bagels, whole wheat bread...) and after a day of pure bread, a Wendy's hamburger was heavenly! We were able to shack up in a pastor's mom's house who was out of town for a few months---a bit of a bizarre situation, but we didn't complain about a free night's stay.

The next morning we hopped on the morning ferry to Utila. The warm salt water gently spayed up against my face as the excitement grew within me. "I'm actually in the Caribbean!"

Utila is a backpacker's dreamland and a diver's paradise. Pretty much everyone on the island is there to dive, and they do. In fact, most people I spoke with who live there originally intended to stay only for about a week and now, it's been 5 or 6 months and they're still in Utila diving! I heard that story over and over and over again. As we walked around the island searching for what would soon be "our dive shop", we quickly discovered it's addicting appeal. It's realy just a dive-bum town. There aren't really any cars on the island, although some drive motorbikes. Most choose either to walk, ride a bike, or drive a golf cart. The restaurants are quaint and cheep (as is everything on the island). In fact, one of the coolest restaurants I've been to was on this island.

After checking out a couple schools, we decided on a school who gave us an under-the-table deal to give us free lodging and a couple extra dives once we gained our certificate. We started class that afternoon.

I've always dreamed of going to outer-space and being free of this thing called gravity. I don't think that'll ever happen. However, I did escape gravity underwater! It is surreal to be able to control my weight with my breath. Breathe in, go up. Breathe out, sink down. Breathe shallow, float! There is nothing within the atmosphere quite like scuba diving. Floating in mid-water; swimming with countless fish; breathing in a place I've never been able to breathe. It is truly amazing.

Outside of diving, the people were a lot of fun to. In fact, one of the divemasters would fire-dance at night! I remember walking down the road to leave the island and everyone we had met came out to say goodbye to us, shake our hand, kiss our cheeks, and tell us we really shouldn't leave. And we almost didn't. In fact, one of the guys I met told me his flight home to Barcelona Spain left that very day. When I asked him what he was doing he smiled as turned away and said, "I'm going diving!"

On the trip back we were all a bit disheartened. We just had one of the best experiences of our lives, but leaving it was a bit depressing. Back to Antigua. Again. One thing I wont forget is sitting in La Ceiba trying to find a place to stay the night (hoping that it would be free), and what better place to waste time than at the mall, in particular, Applebees. After at least three hours at our table, I'm convinced the waitress hated us. We were delirious, a bit obnoxious, but having a lot of fun. It was here where I, a very white Norwegian, easily reasoned my friend Jacque to believe that my dad was black! Oh what fun can be had on little sleep....

My time in Honduras was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for anything better. The weather was perfect, the water about 80 or 85 degrees, the scuba diving was unreal, the fish were everywhere, the food was delicious, the people were a ton of fun, oh and did I mention the scuba diving was amazing? So if you're ever down in this direction, be sure you check out the Bay Islands. There's nothing like it.