12 Sept 2024
I know I say this every time, but I really need to pay more attention to flight times before booking flights- 0600 sounds like a nice, early start to my travel day, and it is- I was up at 0200 to be on the road a little after 0230 to make the drive up to the airport (I prefer to give myself a bit more time for international flights plus I’m checking a bag).
Fortunately, it’s just me and the trucks on the road, so traffic wasn’t an issue. I’ve been using Park’n’Fly for offsite parking, but my return flight is also at a terrible time (I get in around midnight) and I think I’ll just want to go straight to my car and get home (plus, parking in the airport ramp means I can take a nap in my car if need be before driving). That ended up being a good call- there’s a lot of construction and detours going on around the airport and while the route to the airport was decently marked, the route to the offsite parking was not.
Good morning, sleepy plane!
(this isn’t actually my plane- mine is on the left behind that jetway, but I couldn’t get a good angle on him)
When I booked my flight, I chose economy, but it gave me the option of booking a seat up in economy plus without an extra charge, so look at all this legroom I have!
All 4 of my flights on this trip are in economy plus and feature extra legroom and (theoretically) a more comfortable seat!
Farewell, Miami!
Hello Cuba?
I always assumed that the airspace over Cuba was a no-fly zone, but my Hiker app was able to pull our location and confirm that we were indeed over Cuba:
Hello, Roatan!
I’m staying slightly east of where this picture cuts off, so I’m not sure if my boat will come this far west, but that outer reef is where I’ll be doing most of my dives this week.
Spotted this monstrosity of a cruise ship in the harbor from my plane:
I was picked up at the airport by the resort and, since I was the only guest arriving today, we were able to leave right away- no waiting on other flights like my Belize trip! Usually it’s about a 15-20 minute ride, but this weekend is Honduras’ independence day (Sept. 15th) and the party was already gearing up so there was more traffic than normal.
I arrived at the resort just in time for lunch, which included this fun welcome drink:
After lunch, I checked in at the dive shop, where I got the ok to join tonight’s night dive!
I got my locker assignment and stored my gear in this room they have set up:
Decent-ish ventilation, but I’m fairly certain my gear won’t actually dry inside the locker and will be pretty funky by the end of the trip.
Nitrox analyzing room:
My boat for (at least the first part of) the week:
Most guests stay Sat-Sat (and dive Sun-Fri) so it’s possible I’ll be assigned to a new boat on Sunday.
Then I hopped into this little boat, which shuttled me across the key to my room:
The boat runs all day, taking people back and forth from the rooms to the big island, where the dive shop/boats and the restaurant are located:
Not the most convenient (and not something I noticed until after I had booked), but it’s a less than 30 second trip and I never had to wait more than a couple minutes (and that was only if the boat was coming from Bailey’s Key to the west). Most times, it was at the dock waiting.
And if I had to wait, the pillars of the dock are covered with dive stickers, so I would just kill the time checking those out. I think this one is my favorite:
I want to hug a giant fish!
Looking across to Anthony’s Key, my room is that set of buildings on the right:
This is my room (the one on the left):
It included this shared balcony (which I didn’t really use except to dry my gear at the end of my trip- it’s pushing 90° here and is quite humid):
One bed for sleeping, one bed for setting stuff on:
Stellar views!
and a cute towel animal with fresh flowers from the grounds:
Bathroom:
With tons of counter space, which came in handy for setting up my underwater camera:
Dive boats, as seen from my walkway:
Ye Olde Ice House:
Also conveniently located near my room. All water here is treated onsite, so it’s safe to drink.
The sun sets a little before 6p here (Honduras runs on Central Standard Time without daylight savings), which gave me just enough time to get settled in, unpack and set up my camera before it was time to go diving!
Dive #1 – Deep Eel Garden
Yellowline arrow crab:
A sleeping Redtail parrotfish:
Spotted spiny lobster on the prowl:
Banded coral shrimp:
Caribbean reef octopus #1:
Caribbean reef octopus #2:
Freckled cardinalfish:
Tiny Sharpnose puffer, also trying to sleep:
Not too bad for my first dive here! The water is quite warm (~86°F / 30°C), so I’m a little worried about how the coral will look in the daylight- will it be bleached like Florida? or adapting like Belize?
But for now, it’s time to grab a quick bite to eat then get some sleep before diving starts in earnest tomorrow. Today’s been a long day.