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The land of the Pirates!
There's a little stretch of the Caribbean I keep coming back to on the map: the Bay Islands of Honduras. Roatán, Utila, and tiny Guanaja sit off the north coast, right on top of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. This is the second-largest barrier reef in the world, after Australia's. I decided to leave Thailand, relocate the Pinkwhale Club, and this is the first post of a series. (The photos and stories will come when I'm actually in the water.)
Why the Bay Islands?
The tropical climate for me is almost a must! The water temperature is acceptable; it's around 27–29°C most of the year, and visibility is often 20–30 meters. The reef starts a few fin kicks from the shore, so you don't need long boat rides to get to something beautiful. People speak English here (Bay Islands English) alongside Spanish and Papiamento, which is the original local language of the indigenous people. Diving is also known as one of the best and most affordable in the Caribbean, which is why so many people take their first course here.
Roatán: the big one
Roatán is the largest island, about 60 km long. Most diving happens around West End and West Bay, and much of it is inside a marine park.
Some sites I'm looking forward to:
- Mary's Place: a narrow crack in the reef wall that you swim down through like a canyon.
- Blue Channel and Spooners Cut: channels and swim-throughs with lots of life.
- Hole in the Wall: a classic wall dive.
- El Aguila: a cargo ship sunk as an artificial reef, and later it got broken in two by a hurricane. Now it's a wreck full of fish.
You will also see lionfish. They're invasive here, and Roatán has an active culling culture. The same fish I love from Thailand is a problem on this side of the world. In the Caribbean it's common to see lionfish-hunting trips. It's like a spear fishing-snorkel trip. I know they shouldn't be there, they are invasive…but is it their fault? They are where they don't belong due to human irresponsibility, now they have to die to prevent the collapse of the ecosystem…nice. We've been trying to take efforts to find natural predators, that can help us to keep the natural balance with seemingly positive results, but for me to see them massacred is quite heartbreaking, however, it can be lots of fun too if you take it like that! 😉
Utila: the small, slow one
Utila is the smallest of the three. It's relaxed, barefoot and backpacker-friendly, with bikes and golf carts instead of traffic.
It's best known for whale sharks. Sightings happen almost all year, with the best chances said to be in spring and early autumn, but nobody can promise one.
Sites to look up: Halliburton Wall, Black Hills (a seamount where the whale sharks like to show up), Ron's Wreck, Duppy Waters and CJ's Drop Off.
What lives here?
Turtles and spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks, and the occasional reef sharks. Seahorses, frogfish, and octopuses, giant barrel sponges, sea fans, and clouds of small reef fish.
The Caribbean Sea is very similar but also very different from Phi Phi Island, where I spent almost 2 decades. If you want to read about it, click HERE.
Thank You for being part of the Pinkwhale Club! Find more material on our social media profiles. If you have questions, just reach out! 😉