Day 229: San Pedro Sula – Honduras – Feb 1st

Our last day in Roatan, we eeked it out with our last dive required for our Advanced course. Couldn’t have timed it better! The day was sunny, the waters were calm and a gentle ocean breeze made it a perfect day in paradise, and another great day for scuba!

The last dive required of us is a Wreck Dive, where we’d be visiting the wrecks of the sunken freighter Aguilar (?) at about 110ft deep. Unlike other dives though, this time we’re going straight down from the surface and we won’t be seeing any coral. We geared up on the boat, tilted backwards with our regulators and were ready to dive like pros (not really). The descent down 110ft from the surface was a bit different, as this time the water was so deep you couldn’t see the bottom (usually we enter in shallow waters and land at the bottom before going deeper).

Looking down as we began to descend, the beautiful blues of the ocean was such an amazing hue it’s hard to describe. It is sort of creepy though that you’re descending into nothing!! After about 30ft, the outlines of the wreck start to emerge from the depths, and a sense of adventure creeps up inside. We’re just so giddy from the experience!

Once at the bottom, we were greeted by this friendly stranger. From the sides of the metal hull, this MASSIVE moral eel laid lifeless with his mouth gaping open, staring into the abyss. Only half its body was showing, and our instructor estimated him to be around 8-9ft long!!! This was one of those times that you’re gently reminded that, as a human being, you really shouldn’t be 110ft under water. The rest of the dive was spent navigating the interior of the ship, which is not easy if you’re claustrophobic!

Back on board, we wrapped up the paperwork and was officially certified as Advanced Open Water divers! And before we could even catch our breathe, we were back on the ferry towards the mainland.

Our afternoon was spent on the ferry and then a short wait for the bus. At the bus stop, we grabbed some fried chicken off a street shop that, despite being in heat lamps, was some ridiculously juicy chicken!! Next door was this outdoor dollar shop, and we found some shampoo packets…..from China… and expired for 2yrs!!! Haha, that will have to do….

The bus was going towards San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras where we were flying out from, and the world’s #1 city in terms of murder rate per capita. Fun. We rolled into the bus station at 9pm in the dark and were greeted by a taxi driver who was wearing half a shirt (it was too hot, he rolled up his shirt to reveal his rather large belly). Sure enough, this guy knows our hostel and got us there safely. Arriving at the hostel, this place definitely blew us away.

We stayed at La Hamaca hostel, and the staff there was absolutely AMAZING! They were such great help, and the hostel itself was just so well run. And to top it off, they had in-house stir fry with rice noodles!!! We ate our delicious meals outside in the patio, played with their house dog who looked like Bacon. The only downside is that there was no hot water for showers!