John's Place and CocoView Wall

We made our last dives this morning. Dropped to 40 feet at John's Place. A beautiful reef on top of the wall. Ran into red and black seahorses. We also swam into a dozen squid. Amazing little creatures that seem to float and are as agile as anything under the sea.

We had the sad occassion to hunt down some Lionfish. A stunning creature with incredible plumes and fins.... Also deadly as they have no predators. A killing machine and having been stung by one that we 'bagged' I can attest.

Fortunately, the locals leave nothing to waste and the 3 fish we harvested were soon to be a meal for the divemaster. He was very fast to filet and prepare them for dinner.

Calvin's Crack

Did the dive site, Calvin's Crack. A narrow crack in the reef wall that starts at 35 feet. The walls of the crack seem to grow as the dive continues and spills out at 90 feet into an open sea of blue.

The afternoon was spent with the dolphins. Swimming, diving with the dolphins is an experiences. Amazing animals and smart as can be.

We finished the day with a night dive to the Prince Albert. Finally scouted the 7 foot Green Moray at the bottom of the ship. I went into the cargo hold to capture a photo but was in tight quarters and was less than successful.

Picture post

Cara a Cara

Went to the dive site Cara a Cara ( Face to Face) to swim the sharks. Had a nice group of Carribean Reef Shark join us for some morning chum... Absolutely amazing animals.... made swim and eat. Great time. We were at the very edge of the reef system and the current caused the dive to end suddenly. The 16 people on the dive had to make their way to the surface on the mooring line. Legs flailing in a very stiff current like flag on a windy day. Not very pleasant and a bit tense to be sure.



The afternoon dives were far more sedate. Golden Chain reef. Beautiful gold reef system at 25 feet made for a nice relaxing dive. Then a tour of the sail boats and to Newman's Wall.



Tonight look like night diving is calling.

Valley of the Kings

To the Valley of the Kings this afternoon. Ran into a big eel. He was not too happy about being seen. I think we messed up his afternoon meal. We had an opportunity to scout our own dinner with a close encounter with a flounder. They are crazy looking animals. We also ran into a family Rockfish just hanging out on the reef. Talk about an animal that is comfortable in his own skin. Is there anything stranger and more elegant than the Trumpetfish? Graceful and subdued, when approach he retreats to the nearest soft coral stems and gets lost in the crowd. A cool (temp) afternoon so we were glad to make our dropoff dive to CocoView wall and head on in. Hot shower, cold brew and some dinner. Tomorrow.... Sharks!

Mary's Place

Went to a great dive site called Mary's Place. A deep crevass in the coral bed. Entered at about 75 feet and swam thru the narrow crack for about 50 yards. Lots of great coral. Finally ran across a seahorse and a few more angry eels. Good diving this morning. Water was calm and the air temps are finally getting warm. Light is not great for pictures with the heavy cloud cover but still lots to see down below.

Monday Diving - Forty Foot Point

A cold rainy day in Roatan made for challenging conditions and not the paradise I dressed for. Worn everything I brought with me and still managed to shiver and shake. Once in the water, things were calmer and warmer. Thankfully the boat captain brought along a thermos of hot chocolate to warm up the divers. Warmer weather is coming.

Went down to 90 feet several times searching for critters. Found some eels and snakes and some fun fish. Grouper, Scorpion, Spotted Trunk and lots of others.

Busy Sunday

We got in a short dive on Saturday afternoon. Acclimation and getting back in gear. Sunday was full-on diving. We got in 5 dives including an evening meet-up with some shiny red shrimps and some conch. Have signed on for the 'shark dive' on Wednesday.... so if there are no more posts, draw your own conclusions.

Captured a few cool images. Enjoy. Angel fish, Spotted Trunkfish, and Dive Buddy Dave

Check out what's happening on the dock at CocoView.

Dock Cam from CocoView Resort

Roatan 2010

3:17am left the house and drove into the darkness. Thru security by 4:35am. The airport is eerie quiet. Got several texts from Dave. He's out of Denver and past the snow. Connection in ATL for Roatan.