I have been coming to Honduras for the last five years, Utila the island destination. My little bit of paradise.
A little bit about the island first, the island is about seven miles long and possibly three across, population of roughly 3000/5000 people so they say (does not seem like a thousand). The majority of which are made up of local born Utilians who speak a very wierd but wonderful english, mainland Spanish and a few hundred or so what i call settlers, Americans, English, German, Dutch, French, Italians and most of the european countries to boot. The island survives on the dive industry and tourism. Its a backpackers haven, with thirteen dive shops and three resorts. Utila offers the cheapest diving in the world and without a doubt some of the best. The town is based in the east harbour , with some lively bars, a Friday and Saturday night club. Lots of resturants and a few cool shops to.
The island is surrounded by reefs with over eighty bouys around the island, the south side of the island are mainly shallow reefs and walls dropping down to maximum of forty metres with gentle sloping sands down to sixty metres. The sites have names such as Big rock, Pretty Bush, Silver Gardens, Labryinth, Black Coral Wall, Moon Hole, Eagle Ray Alley, Rons Wreck, Madelaines, Aquarium, Airport Caves and many more. The North side part of the second largest barrier reef in the world has more with sheer wall drop offs to thousands of feet, names of sites such as CJs Drop Off, Blackish Point, Duppy Waters, The Maze, Pinnicles, Turtle Harbour, Willies Hole, Don Quickset, Raggedy Cay and again many more fantastic sites to fill your log book with. The south side also boasts some out of this world sea mounds just a couple of miles off the island, Twin Peaks and my favourite Black hills a peak of a hill at the tip twelve metres deep and just over flowing with coral and aquatic life. Utila Boasts one more thing and thats without a doubt a great draw to the island, it gets visiting WHALESHARKS these huge timid creatures of the sea, which so little is known about. Ask me about my whaleshark encounters another time as its another whole new diving tale. Back to the fish. I could list thousands of different fish i have seen in the waters off this island, but i will just tell you of my favourites i have had the privelige of diving with this trip. Spotted eagle rays, one of the most elegant rays i have encountered one in particular wished to have a closer look at me for some strange reason and with a wing span of at least six feet across he circled me at about two arms lengths away, all i could do was hover and look in awe at such a majestic creature. Hawksbill Turtles, i just love it every time one swims by or i turn a coral head and one is devouring a vase sponge. I have seen nurse sharks tucked up under rocks sleeping or resting during the day but never one swimming and swimming past me no more than eight feet away, we were ending a dive and my buddy Steve and i were just coming back over the shallow reef looking for nudibranchs at about ten metres, my head was down some hole when i heard Steve banging out on his tank, i new he had seen something extra cool the way he was banging. He was probably one to two metres above me and pointing but i had a large coral head right in front of me at where he was pointing, i looked and looked back at him and gave him the UH! what you looking at sign, the moment he went to put his hand on his head to give me the shark sign it glided right over the coral head in front of me and down into the little gulley i was in and cruised straight past me, it seemed like an age but actually seconds before it was off over the wall and down into the deep. Large eyed toad fish, so hard to find along with scorpion fish. Squid, they are so cool to watch especially if there are a few, like syncronised swimmers, amazing. Porcupine fish, ballonfish, this particular little guy took a liking to my camera and i think was actually posing for me lol. Tiny dwarf seahorse possibly only an inch long, clinging on to a comb algae on the sand. Head shield slug no bigger than my little finger nail. Brown lined elysias an inch long that looked like a bit of algae, starfish, criptic tear drop crabs, neck crabs, lettuce sea slugs and so many more.
I have experienced some of the best diving in the world and in some of the warmest waters, the sun shining down on each boat trip and water warm enough to dive in your speedos.
I cant speak highly enough about the diving on this island and if you ever get the chance , do go.
I might even put together a singles trip for next summer for two weeks if anyones interested, let me know. I will leave my whaleshark encounters for another day as this was one particular days diving i will never forget and will want to give it justice and meaning.
I hope you enjoyed reading this thread.
Paul (NudBud)
A little bit about the island first, the island is about seven miles long and possibly three across, population of roughly 3000/5000 people so they say (does not seem like a thousand). The majority of which are made up of local born Utilians who speak a very wierd but wonderful english, mainland Spanish and a few hundred or so what i call settlers, Americans, English, German, Dutch, French, Italians and most of the european countries to boot. The island survives on the dive industry and tourism. Its a backpackers haven, with thirteen dive shops and three resorts. Utila offers the cheapest diving in the world and without a doubt some of the best. The town is based in the east harbour , with some lively bars, a Friday and Saturday night club. Lots of resturants and a few cool shops to.
The island is surrounded by reefs with over eighty bouys around the island, the south side of the island are mainly shallow reefs and walls dropping down to maximum of forty metres with gentle sloping sands down to sixty metres. The sites have names such as Big rock, Pretty Bush, Silver Gardens, Labryinth, Black Coral Wall, Moon Hole, Eagle Ray Alley, Rons Wreck, Madelaines, Aquarium, Airport Caves and many more. The North side part of the second largest barrier reef in the world has more with sheer wall drop offs to thousands of feet, names of sites such as CJs Drop Off, Blackish Point, Duppy Waters, The Maze, Pinnicles, Turtle Harbour, Willies Hole, Don Quickset, Raggedy Cay and again many more fantastic sites to fill your log book with. The south side also boasts some out of this world sea mounds just a couple of miles off the island, Twin Peaks and my favourite Black hills a peak of a hill at the tip twelve metres deep and just over flowing with coral and aquatic life. Utila Boasts one more thing and thats without a doubt a great draw to the island, it gets visiting WHALESHARKS these huge timid creatures of the sea, which so little is known about. Ask me about my whaleshark encounters another time as its another whole new diving tale. Back to the fish. I could list thousands of different fish i have seen in the waters off this island, but i will just tell you of my favourites i have had the privelige of diving with this trip. Spotted eagle rays, one of the most elegant rays i have encountered one in particular wished to have a closer look at me for some strange reason and with a wing span of at least six feet across he circled me at about two arms lengths away, all i could do was hover and look in awe at such a majestic creature. Hawksbill Turtles, i just love it every time one swims by or i turn a coral head and one is devouring a vase sponge. I have seen nurse sharks tucked up under rocks sleeping or resting during the day but never one swimming and swimming past me no more than eight feet away, we were ending a dive and my buddy Steve and i were just coming back over the shallow reef looking for nudibranchs at about ten metres, my head was down some hole when i heard Steve banging out on his tank, i new he had seen something extra cool the way he was banging. He was probably one to two metres above me and pointing but i had a large coral head right in front of me at where he was pointing, i looked and looked back at him and gave him the UH! what you looking at sign, the moment he went to put his hand on his head to give me the shark sign it glided right over the coral head in front of me and down into the little gulley i was in and cruised straight past me, it seemed like an age but actually seconds before it was off over the wall and down into the deep. Large eyed toad fish, so hard to find along with scorpion fish. Squid, they are so cool to watch especially if there are a few, like syncronised swimmers, amazing. Porcupine fish, ballonfish, this particular little guy took a liking to my camera and i think was actually posing for me lol. Tiny dwarf seahorse possibly only an inch long, clinging on to a comb algae on the sand. Head shield slug no bigger than my little finger nail. Brown lined elysias an inch long that looked like a bit of algae, starfish, criptic tear drop crabs, neck crabs, lettuce sea slugs and so many more.
I have experienced some of the best diving in the world and in some of the warmest waters, the sun shining down on each boat trip and water warm enough to dive in your speedos.
I cant speak highly enough about the diving on this island and if you ever get the chance , do go.
I might even put together a singles trip for next summer for two weeks if anyones interested, let me know. I will leave my whaleshark encounters for another day as this was one particular days diving i will never forget and will want to give it justice and meaning.
I hope you enjoyed reading this thread.
Paul (NudBud)
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