Under The Sea...

The seascapes and worlds of underwater organisms are pretty amazing.

I dare you to touch it...

When the waves are strong, the seahorses anchor themselves with their tails.

These anemones suck their filter feeders in really fast when you wave water at them. I did it to every one I saw.

And seeing this guy made my entire trip. We were near the end of our last dive, and the whole group we were with (about 10 people) had already swam past this particular reef face. I went in a little closer and then this juvenile sea turtle popped out from underneath an overhang. He started cruising away over the reef, so I followed right along and swam over top of him. Jenny was the only other person on the dive that even saw it.

Finding this guy and swimming around with him really was a dream come true.

SCUBA!!!

Scuba diving was absolutely fantastic. I have wanted to dive for years, and for whatever reason, assumed it was something I wouldn't be able to do until later in my life. I was glad that everything worked out and I was able to have that experience. It is so surreal -- relaxedly gliding along, taking your time and exploring.

After seeing how small and cramped some other dive boats were, we realized that we lucked out with ours -- it was big and spacious and everybody had room to relax and walk around.

Let's dive!

Nice form, Jenny.
It's so peaceful under the sea...

The Pier

There are a dozen or so dive shops in Utila, so we wandered around and talked to a few to see who we wanted to dive with. Jenny earned her open water dive certificate in Thailand years ago, but I still needed to go through the 3 day-long course. We ended up choosing the Bay Islands College of Diving because it would be possible for Jenny and me to be together for part of my course (which wouldn't have been possible at other dive shops). My first day of the course was spent in the classroom, watching videos, going through a textbook and filling in worksheets -- not the best way to use a tropical day on your honeymoon, but it meant I'd be diving for the next 2 days. At the end of a day of diving, I would meet up with my instructor, Ben, to discuss the day, fill in the log book, go over any exams or quizzes, and have a beer. Jenny and I had to wait for Ben to finish cleaning up from the dive, but he directed us to a pier just off of the dive shop dock where there were a bunch of lounge chairs set up. This spot became one of our favourite places along the waterfront to relax and have a drink (it was only a 2 minute walk to a convenience store for cold beer).

Debriefing on the pier with the 20-year old Australian dive instructor, Ben. Yes, we are drinking Port Royal -- the girly beer.

Jenny looking amply chilled in a fish chair.

The pier had a great view of the harbour and waterfront. Sava, the dog, frantically ran around the pier, watching and chasing boats, and generally being very happy.

It also became our favourite place to catch the sunset and get that awesome golden-orange light.