Discovery Dive

Second port of call; Roatan, Honduras

Our dinner table mates had set up a scuba diving excursion through a resort on the island and we talked them into letting us tag along.  Scuba diving was always a hobby we had planned to take up once out kids were older and we have more time and money to devote to hobbies.  The car ride to the resort was educational, we got stopped by the police, witnessed the crazy, anything goes kind of driving and got to see the heart of the island where things aren’t so glitzed up for the tourists.

The resort, Bananarama, was awesome, very rustic, yet classy and personable staff.  We got suited up for our discovery dive, this included wetsuits (long one for me because I am extra wimpy about the cold), weight belt, goggles, vest and air tank.  The guide gave us the beginner scuba course, which included how to clear your mask, find optimal buoyancy, equalize pressure, monitor your air and find and replace a lost regulator.  It all seemed pretty straight forward until we got in the water…

Jarom went down once and never came back up.  I, on the other hand was shooting up every 30 second in total panic.  This was a shock to me because I have always felt pretty strong in the water.  The main battle was how difficult it was to breathe.  I am a nose breather, and to force every breath through my mouth took a whole lot of effort.  Then the bubbles and the murky water from all the sand our group was kicking up; iy, yi, yi!  I thought there was no way I was going to be able to do it.  The instructor was very patient and supportive.  His best advice was to just keep going down.

I ended up making it through the entire dive and really liking it.  There was a reef that we explored that was basically a huge wall with all kinds of plants and little creatures living on it.  The scenery distracted me enough from the discomfort that I was able to relax somewhat.  There was one time that Jarom knocked my mask off and I thought I was going to die.  Then, when I realized I wasn’t dieing, I was sure I was going to kill him, but somehow we both made it through alive.

The one thing I was bummed about was that, with all of us in the water, our camera was left behind and we were not able to get photos of the whole experience.