Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras - May 2012
This year was my largest group ever - 21 divers (including one new diver) and one non-diver. The dive shop at Anthony's Key Resort accommodated our large group by assigning us two boats , the Andrea and the Isamar, so we never felt crowded. AKR has a great dive shop, complete with dockside storage lockers, Nitrox and Scubapro rental equipment. Unlike my last dive trip to Roatan, we did not have a speck of rain! The rooms on Anthony's Key were fabulous, clean and spacious. I heard numerous reports from my divers about the abundance of sealife they watched just from their covered porch! Since the weather was so great, we were able to dive the north side of the island, with the exception of the one day we went to Maya Key and dove two sites on the south side. Mary's Place continues to be a favorite on the south side, while the Aguilla wreck was a favorite dive site with great visibility and friendly groupers! A memorable dive site for me was Wayne's place, also known as Spooky Canyon. It was indeed eerie and spooky! A favorite for most of the group was the Dolphin Dive. We were able to dive with two trained dolphins in open ocean. They swam freely, allowing us to pet and interact with them for thirty minutes! Several of our group also did the Shark Dive and marveled that they could safely swim with Caribbean reef sharks.
Each day we were treated to amazing reefs and walls...we saw such a wide variety of sealife, including lobster, crab, turtle, rays, eels and tropical fish. Our group enjoyed two night dives in very good conditions - great visbility and no current. The night creatures came out to entertain - octopus, lobster, shrimp and the bioluminescence! We also braved the zipline at Gumbalimba park - a first for many of our group. Everyone made it from the top of the island to the sea! What a workout! After the zipline, we did a guided tour of the park and enjoyed a visit with macaws and monkeys! For the first time, we had a trip mascot - Scuba Thor! This little action figure was strapped into my BCD and accompanied me on most dives. He had many photo ops along the reefs and walls, and even the zipline! Roatan once again proved why it is such a top-rated scuba destination!
Each day we were treated to amazing reefs and walls...we saw such a wide variety of sealife, including lobster, crab, turtle, rays, eels and tropical fish. Our group enjoyed two night dives in very good conditions - great visbility and no current. The night creatures came out to entertain - octopus, lobster, shrimp and the bioluminescence! We also braved the zipline at Gumbalimba park - a first for many of our group. Everyone made it from the top of the island to the sea! What a workout! After the zipline, we did a guided tour of the park and enjoyed a visit with macaws and monkeys! For the first time, we had a trip mascot - Scuba Thor! This little action figure was strapped into my BCD and accompanied me on most dives. He had many photo ops along the reefs and walls, and even the zipline! Roatan once again proved why it is such a top-rated scuba destination!