Thankfully, curfews are over in the Bay Islands as of 3pm and life seems to be back to normal, albeit shakier and with even less tourist activity. The 24-hour nationwide curfews following Mel Zelaya’s surreptitious return to Tegucigalpa remain in effect for the Honduran mainland. Upon receiving the good news of the curfew’s end, we laughed, swam in the sea, played poker, drank rum, played trivia, jumped in the pool, and laughed again. It was as if all of West End was celebrating an early release from house arrest. Spirits were high, the beer flowed, and, for a brief instant, life as usual resumed. But then we stumbled home, tuned in to the world news, and recalled how despondently screwed » read more «

A 24-hour curfew is currently being enforced for all of Honduras thanks to the surreptitious return of ousted President Mel Zelaya to Tegucigalpa, which has prompted small riots and protests across the country. News of Zelaya’s return hit West End, Roatan, around noon yesterday (21 Sept 2009). Phone and internet connections became jammed by the heavy bandwidth load of people logging on to find out the news. The facts were scattered, but one thing loomed certain: Zelaya was indeed back in Honduras. At 4:00PM, Roatan Municipal Police drove down West were ordering all businesses to close and everyone home. An curfew was in immediate effect until 6AM today. Both Hondutel and TIGO internet connections dropped out by 5:30PM. Digicel phone » read more «

Dive No.: 1966 Dive Site: Lighthouse Reef and Moonlight Reef Max Depth: 130ft/40m Total Time: 53mins Profile: 6mins @ 130ft, 8mins @110ft, 4mins @90ft, 4mins @70ft, 4mins @50ft, 12mins @35ft, 14mins @20ft, 5mins @ 15ft Air: 200bar – 80 bar Mix: air Tank: 12L/80cu Weight: 6lbs Visibility: 50-130ft/15-40m Water: 88F/31C surface, 84F/29C bottom Exposure: Rash Guard Comments: Beautiful deep drift along the bottom of Lighthouse Reef wall. Noticeable thermocline at 40ft; water in top layer was turbid with a moderate current running north, while water in bottom layer was extremely clear with a mild current running north. Sandy sloped bottom starts at 90ft and drops into the abyss, brightly illuminating the deep wall with reflected sunlight. Several oceanic triggerfish and » read more «

I’ve dreamed about doing this one for a long time: a no-moon, no-lights dive on Lighthouse Reef. Roatan has amazing bioluminescence, and on truly dark evenings they can be as brilliant and numerous as the stars in a clear night sky. Tonight, I finally get my chance to do it. We begin after sunset. As we descend down to the reef, I am amazed by how much I can still see in the waning light. Parrotfish nestle in to their holes and wrap themselves in mucus cocoons. Soldierfish and squirrelfish dart out from their alcoves. The reef is bathed in this eerie blue light that reminds me of hues I’ve only seen from Karl Stanley’s submarine. We careen through some » read more «