For A Few Dollars More: Day 28

A few words on the last couple of days;

Day 26 - Actually more exciting than adverstised! On the way to the first dive site, a Whale Shark was spotted and we went over for a gander. En route, we were accompanied by a school of flying fish, which really do fly! Like for ages! Maybe 30m or so if they feel like it. They were too rapid for my camera but spectacular nonetheless.

The location of a Whale Shark can be pinpointed by a thrashing mass of tuna er..... thrashing around. Not sure what they were doing really, getting eaten maybe? Plus the odd flicker of shark fin on the surface. Anyway, the form is, get above the shark and jump in with snorkel gear, so I did. They're pretty rapid old things so you have to be quick to spot it. One guy who jumped did, I might have done. Well what I saw was a huge dark long thing about 10m directly below me and passing beneath me. I couldn't swear it was the shark but there aren't all that many things it could have been otherwise. The only thing I am sure of is that when you're in open water, mostly naked, looking for a shark that could kill you if you get too close and annoy it, the need to go to the bathroom becomes very acute indeed.

Day 27 - well I guess the big news of the day - apart from seeing three giant Tarpon by the dock (I never knew fish that enormous fancied getting that close to the shore) is that I passed my PADI Advanced Diver course!! I've been doing a few fun dives over the last few days and training for the qualification inbetween. I have to say I'm rather pleased with myself and dare I say a tiny bit proud. It's been a thoroughly rewarding experience. Not just the diving itself which has been completely brilliant on all levels (right down to 100ft) but the course itself has been great fun too. Its not been without its moments of frustration when things don't go quite according to plan but that's true of anything new of course.

I finished up the course with a night dive this evening which was a surreal and spooky experience but well worth it for the difference between it and day diving. You get to see all sorts of stuff that just isn't around during the day. Who knew that fish sleep? Well they do! No, really, they do! I saw a bunch of fish snoozing. The Parrot fish were particularly dozy. I even found plankton interesting at night. Another revelation. Finally, night diving is dark and not for the faint hearted. Fortunately, my heart, after a few months of severe trial is far from faint. I loved it.

The graduation celebrations got quite messy. Actually, let's not beat around the bush, I got smashed to bits, I was so excited about passing. I have some photos but they don't show me in my best light, so I'll keep most of them for personal consumption but I do have one that is passable that I've shared below.

As a last hurrah to my time diving in Utila, I've put some last pics from underwater, including the wreck dive from the other day. These will be my final dive photos and final entry on diving, I promise.

Day 28 - Terrible terrible terrible hangover.

Sunset on the way out to the night dive