SCUBA DIVING IN HONDURAS

We’re jumping back a few years again in today’s blog post, and revisiting my first real adventure to Central America.

For those who haven’t read my previous posts on the subject, back in 2014 I went on a school trip with Outlook Expeditions to Nicaragua and Honduras for a month. The majority of the trip was spent volunteering and trekking throughout Nicaragua (read more about that here), but the final leg of the expedition was spent on the idyllic island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras.

Here our team spent a week undertaking an intense PADI Open Water Diver course in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. We stayed at Hotel Chillies, a collection of dorms and huts buried in the jungle just metres away from the beach; not just paradise, but also specifically catering to visitors completing their PADI. As well as diving straight in (literally), we had to record our dives in a log book, complete a skills test, and achieve 75% or over on an exam paper.

Once we had done about half a dozen practice dives and all passed the exam first time, we were awarded our certificates and official PADI identification cards. We then spent the last couple of days jumping off boats, swimming with turtles, trumpet fish, squid, angel fish and snapper, and exploring the beaches further down the island’s coast. Sadly I don’t have many photos as this trip was over 5 years ago and I didn’t have a GoPro – something that I want to get for my travels next year so I can try out some underwater photography – but a huge thank you to my bestie Chloe who sent me one of my favourite photos ever of me in full diving gear in the deep blue.

I came home with dreams of working my way up the PADI advanced courses, but sadly I haven’t been able to do any more; partly because nothing could live up to the Caribbean (!) but mainly because it is a very expensive hobby. Next time I visit Thailand or Greece I am determined to give it a go!

Have you ever been scuba diving? Where is the best place in the world for it?