West End Wall

Our first dive was at West End Wall. It was a small group, just Alex and I, our Instructor Joe and another Aussie named Mark. We told Joe about our adventures in Indonesia and Vietnam, so he knew he had a lot to live up to! lol

Roatan exceeded our expectations by far! We had an incredible first dive- I'm unable to express this into words. Diving is such an amazing experience. It enables you to explore an underwater paradise and immerse yourself in a delicate ecosystem which most of us go about our daily lives ignoring. I remember the first time I went snorkeling in Belize. I could literally stand in knee deep water and see the horizon, the sky, the clouds, birds, flowers, palm trees. When I dipped my head underwater, there were beautiful tropical fish and brightly colored coral right underneath the surface, for as far as I could see. At that moment I realized that there is a whole other world down there. My mind had just expanded. I wanted more.

West End Wall is on the lee side of a plateau where an underwater ridge slopes down to the western tip of the reef. It's home to pillar coral which can grow up to 8 feet tall, Azure Vase sponges, barrel sponges (also known as the redwood of the deep), dog snapper, horse eyed jacks, Spotted Eagle Rays, and much much more!

This area is known as a pelagic zone or open water zone because it's not near the ocean floor. On the other side of the wall is the blue abyss.

If you looked close enough, tiny coral banded shrimp were everywhere.They dance in the palm of your hand. King Crab and HUGE Lobsters hid in coral holes.

Just when we thought the dive couldn't get any better, we came out from an enclosed area and into the blue. Just about 30 feet away were 2, count them- 2 Hammerhead Sharks!!!! How exciting! Although hammerheads do generally swim in schools, it was rare to see them at all. As soon as they lied eyes on us, they took off in opposite directions. It was just a split second but was such an incredible site! They were about 7-8 feet long! What a thrill!

This was such a warm welcome to diving in Roatan! The island is known for it's reefs and most of the dive sites are just off shore. We decided to get our Advanced Open Water certification while we were here. What better place was there to explore?

Here's a good link to all the dive sites in Roatan.

Snorkel Test

The second night there was a big celebration at the Green Flash bar, the resident bar of Land's End. Joe  was bar tending that night and his buddy Alex was completing his Dive Master training. The last requirement is to pass the Snorkel Test! We were in for a real treat!

We had a front row seat- we had been there since sun down drinking rum and pineapples. An ole guy named Barry had his regular seat at the end of the bar. Eva was busy running around making sure the back up generator didn't blow the house up, and a couple from Massachusetts who were on their honey moon talked with us about the goings on of the island.

Just after dark people started trickling in. You would have never guessed that that many people would show up! It was quite the celebration!

Joe explained the rules of the Snorkel Test to Alex, who had been his first student to complete his Dive Master certification. Basically, he had to wear goggles and a snorkel which acted like a beer bong. Joe gathered a splash from everyone's drink around the bar, and added a few secret ingredients of his own also. (including 2 raw eggs and hot sauce...eek!)

Everyone cheered Alex on and he passed the test with flying colors!! What a rush!! Congratulations to Alex, he was now OFFICIALLY a Dive Master!!

With a warm welcome like this, we couldn't imagine diving with any other group than these guys. We signed up to dive with Atlantic Sea Divers and Joe would be our instructor.

Buenos Días- Austin to Roatan

We had an early morning flight out of Houston. It was faster for us to drive to Houston rather than flying. We were to leave our house at 2 am- flight left at 5:40 am. The trip creped up on me- I had a giant workload and still had packing to do. I hadn't felt this close to exhaustion in a while. After turning on my auto responder, it was finally time to sit down and take a breather. We contemplated taking a 30 minute nap or loading up the car. We said goodbye to Loki and Aries and were glad that Kevin was staying at the house while we were gone to look after them.

Alex was nice enough to drive the entire way and I laid across the back seat. We arrived in plenty of time to get through security and board the plane. We both dozed on and off and woke up just in time to take in the rolling green mountains of El Salvador as the sun rose. Rivers flew in and out of the crevices of land.

We had a short stay at the bustling airport and quickly made our way to the mush anticipated island of Roatan. I gazed out the small window and my excitement grew! We flew over turquoise water and undeveloped landscape. It was just before 10 am!

A taxi driver escorted us to his car and rolled down the windows. The wind blew through our hair and the morning sun glistened through the trees as we zoomed by. We were headed to West End, to a small bed and breakfast that Alex found on Trip Advisor. Little did we know, Land's End would be such an integral part in our time there.

Eva greeted us and promptly got us settled in our ocean front room. She explained how the "Honesty Bar" worked and gave us a bamboo notepad to keep track of our beers. It was hot and sticky so we changed into our bathing suits and headed into town up the dirt path.

We walked down the main road and came across a lunch spot that served fried chicken, coconut rice, beans and plantains.

After a little more exploring, we stopped in the little convenient store and got a couple ice cold beers and headed to the beach. With our toes in the sand, we closed our eyes and at last, we were here!

Roatán, Honduras- the backdrop of our latest adventure!

When Alex and I were researching places for our next adventure, one spot in particular kept coming up. My Mom and Doug told numerous stories of their honeymoon in Roatan and it sounded like paradise on Earth. They had been there in 1996 when the island was undiscovered by cruise ships and major resorts. Mom and Doug were passengers on a Windjammer Sailing trip aboard the Fantome, a majestic ship that frequented Roatan. I recall stories of the crew who lived aboard her. They would sing, dance and entertain the guests and my parents always thought very fondly of them. Over the memorable days and nights that Mom and Doug were passengers, they became great friends with the lovable crew.

Two years later Hurricane Mitch flexed his furry and destroyed much of the area. For five days and nights Mitch took its best shot at Guanaja Island and the surrounding areas. Roatan, a mere 35 miles away was left undamaged. In port, locals urged the captain to drop anchor and ride the storm out there, but the captain consulting with the Windjammer head office in Miami was instructed to take the passengers to a port with transfer facilities, Belize City, to let off the passengers. In Belize, some non-essential crewmembers left with the passengers. The number of staff and crew who remained aboard is undetermined, but estimated to be 31. 

Read more here. 


The Fantome decided to leave Roatan in spite of many peoples advice. She was never seen again nor was her entire crew. Bits and pieces peppered Guanaja's shores for months. Life vests, cabin doors, spiral staircases, the bow carving, a big wooden sign all came to rest on Guanaja and can be viewed in Savaghnna bight as they are now displayed on some of the local houses.


Read an account of the Fantome's last days here. 


In addition to the natural beauty of the island, the thing that my parents loved the most were the friendly people. It's such a tragedy that the Fantome now lies at the bottom of the sea but the hearts of the crew aboard her live on today. 

Roatan is also known for it's world class diving. This sounded like the perfect place for Alex and I to explore! It was a busy time for me at work but we were determined to get away. The past few months had been a stressful time for both of us and a little R&R is just what we needed. We would be gone for 17 days- a good amount of time to unwind and refocus. 

Roatan is part of the Bay Islands, situated between Utila and Guanaja. It's 37 miles long and 4 miles wide at the largest point. It's home to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest reef in the Caribbean Sea, and 2nd largest in the world. The reef is home to a diverse ecosystem of 65 species of stony coral, 350 species of mollusk, and more than 500 species of fish. It's a favored spot to manatees and wales sharks. It's a reef island so there is an abundance of dive spots right off shore. You can literally walk in from shore and within minutes you're submersed in a vibrate underwater world. 

We were in for a real treat! We would soon discover not only the natural beauty of the underwater paradise, but the welcoming community that inhabit this cheerful utopia. 

Little did we know, it would also lead the path into the next chapter of our lives...