10th – 14th August, 2023
To finish off my time in Honduras, I went to yet another Caribbean island: Utila, which sits on the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef and is a place famous for an old pastime of mine.
Diving!
The ferry from La Ceiba arrived early in the morning. I had originally planned to have a day to get my bearings and decompress a little, but after checking in at Alton’s Dive Centre they told me that there was a boat leaving that afternoon, and I was keen to get into the water again so went to get myself fitted for gear.
I operate in a strange position when it comes to diving. Technically, I have Advanced Open Water certification, and I have around two hundred dives under my belt, but most of them were during my teenage years (when I was a member of a local dive centre and went for a couple of holidays in Egypt). My diving in my adult life has been very sporadic. I usually do a few days of it during each long trip I go on but can’t afford anything more than that on a backpacker budget. The last time I dived was five years ago – when I went to the Galapagos – so I was required to do a refresher which entailed a quick test to see how much of the theory I remembered and a demonstration of some essential diving skills (such as equipment recovery and buoyancy). My first dive was a one-to-one with Branden – one of their Dive Masters – and I was pleased to find that most of it came back to me instinctively. Once the review was over, we went to a place called The Labyrinth, which had some interesting rock formations, and we saw a pair of bright green moray eels.
Utila is said to offer some of the best places for diving in Central America, but it does have a rivalry with a neighbouring island called Roatan. Many people seem to debate online over which is ‘better’, and I have not dived Roatan, but if you want me to throw in my perspective after my time in Utila, here it is.
From what I have heard, it seems you are more likely to encounter ‘big’ creatures – such as sharks – during dives at Roatan, whereas Utila has more pristine coral. Utila is also said to have a more laid-back vibe, whereas Roatan has livelier nightlife and is more ‘resorty’. Nobody contests that Utila is much cheaper – not just for diving, but also accommodation and everything else. I spent five days exploring the reefs of Utila, which is more than I usually do while backpacking, but if I had gone to Roatan I would have been forced to do less than that for budget reasons.
Overall, I am very happy that I went to Utila, and not just because it was cheaper and I got to do more dives. A lot of the diving I have done over the past decade or so has been very ‘ticking a box’ style. What I mean by this is that you are diving in a specific place because you want to see a creature and tick it off your bucket list. When I did Gordon’s Rock on the Galapagos, it was to see hammerhead sharks. When I went to Manta Point in Indonesia, it was to see – yes, you’ve guessed it – Manta Rays. These kinds of dives usually involve heavy currents and you end up clinging between different rocks between either riding or fighting against strong drifts. They usually pass by very quickly, and you don’t see much in the way of coral or other marine life. It is diving with a sole objective which if you don’t succeed you will get back on the boat feeling disappointed. I certainly do not regret doing these dives. They were exciting, and I was lucky enough to be one of the people who did get to see the creatures that I wanted to.
Utila was very different. You are never diving somewhere merely to see a specific creature. Every time you get into the water you are guaranteed to see lots of beautiful, healthy, intact coral – something that can often be scarce these days in popular diving locations – and lots of fish, and any special or noteworthy species that you may see will be a surprise and a highlight rather than the objective. The seas are also calm, so the visibility is almost always good, and the currents are either non-existent or gentle. This makes diving there a more relaxing experience for those who are seasoned and a great place for newbies to learn.
Out of all of the days that I spent diving there, the third was the most memorable. It also happened to be the day that not just one but two of my companions had GoPros, so I can share some of what I saw with you.
We were taken to a secret spot that only Alton’s Dive Centre knows about (and they only take their guests there once every couple of weeks to limit the chances of others finding out about it, so I was lucky with the timing). As with most dives around Utila, we started swimming along a walled reef, but we also eventually reached some pristine coral gardens.
As usual, we saw lots and lots of fish that day, but the more notable sightings included three lionfish – which, I was later informed, are an invasive species and are not good for the ecosystem. The local authorities are even offering rewards to people who hunt them down. Still, they were interesting to see.
But, most notably, two nurse sharks appeared shortly in the dive.
And after, they just… kept appearing.
Again and again.
They seemed very curious about us and kept swimming up close. Once we surfaced, a young woman called Amy said it was, “like we had two extra dive buddies,” which was a very fitting way to put it.
The second dive that day was at Ted’s Point, one of the more common sites. We started by descending to the ocean floor to look at the wreck of a small boat, where we spotted a crab.
And then, we ventured back to the reef, where our Dive Master – who that day was Ryan – found two species of frogfish, as well as barracudas, tarpons, and a cool-looking filefish.
But, I think the highlight of this particular dive – for me, at least – was this squid that appeared just as we were beginning to ascend for our safety stop.
Another particularly memorable day was my final one, and it just so happened to be another one where someone who owned a GoPro was present.
As it was my last day, Branden took me to see a little cave within the wall of the reef and lent me his torch. Within the darkness I could see a small group of fish backed up against the far side of it, watching me. It was an eerie experience, and when I swam back out of it the sight of being back amongst all the bright and colourful coral again was a moment that I will always remember.
In terms of sightings that final day: the ones that stood out of me was a giant lobster that Branden found hiding within one of the coral formations. I didn’t manage to get any footage of that but I do have some of the barracudas we saw lurking by the wall of the reef.
As well as pufferfish, which we saw several. Towards the start of the dive I found one that was big and of a greyish/blue colour, and then later on we also found a spotted puffer that was yellow and had black spots.
Utila is a lovely place, and I think when I look back on my time there I will not just remember the diving but also the people that I met and watching beautiful sunsets from Alton Dive Centre’s pier whilst enjoying a beer. I can see why many people end up staying here and making a new life for themselves.
The following day, I caught the ferry back to La Ceiba where I spent a day relaxing and preparing for the next stage of my journey; Nicaragua.
Photos and videos used for this blog were kindly donated to me by several people. Most of them are anonymous, but the ones with the nurse sharks and the beautiful coral were from Kari, who also happens to run a business called Island Pet Movers that is currently running a scheme to help those who have been affected by the Maui bushfires relocate their pets and pay for vet services. If you enjoyed the pictures and happen to have some spare money consider donating.
Tej Turner 