Why Yes, I Am A Divemaster....

Actually, I've been an official divemaster for about a week now but I've been slacking on posting for the past month. Yeah, I know, I'm a slacker, but I've been busy diving.

So since the last update, Halloween has come and gone and the parties on the island were absolutely spectacular. Friday night the party was at Oasis Lounge, a beautiful pool bar in Sandy Bay which is run by my friends Mark & Joanie. The place was jam packed, everyone was dressed up, beer and rum were flowing, and people were having a real good time. Unfortunately I didn't win the costume contest even though many people agreed I should have. Oh well. Saturday night we partied at Sundowners and again it was good times, lots of booze, and great costumes. As for my costume? For those of you that saw my costume last year, I wore the same one this year and for those of you who didn't see it you can find a pic here. Yes, it's a full prosthetic latex appliance and bald cap that has to be attached with spirit gum and liquid latex. And on a tropical island where it's 85 degrees and 80% humidity at night, it gets freaking hot under all that. Both nights the mask made it about 3 hours before it started falling off and I just wound up taking it off. But it was a huge hit.

The rainy season definitely arrived here with the beginning of November. We've had a few fronts and were just brushed by TS Ida when it passed the other week. Originally it was tracked to come right over the island but once it hit the mainland it took a bit of a detour and wound up about 250 km east of us so we just got a bit of rain but it whipped up the sea so we wound up diving over on the south side for a bit until things calmed down. We've just begun diving on our side of the island again after the latest storm that came through last week. It's quite impressive when it starts raining and in the span of an hour we get a couple inches of rainfall and it's raining sideways. For us though, it doesn't keep us from diving. As I tell divers who ask if we dive when it's raining "once we're underwater, we'll be completely protected from the rain".

So I am officially a divemaster now. I finished up last weekend and am actually working for the shop leading dives and getting paid. Beats the hell out of a cubicle, believe me. Unfortunately I only have a week left here before I have to head back to the real world. If I'm completely honest, I'm seriously thinking about coming back here in January to work and live for an extended stretch. But it's not a decision I can make until I'm back in the States, look into work opportunities there, work out my finances, and put some serious thought into my whole situation. But I really, really want to be working here at the shop in the future.

So, with this being my last week, I'm going to post at least one more update. I still have a little something I have to take care of and I know you all will want to hear about it. Trust me.

Until next time.

-M

Well That Was $400 I Didn't Plan On Spending...

Yeah, that wasn't in the budget at all. But when you have a massive failure on your BC (the jacket you wear that your tank attaches to - for you non-diver types) and apparently the manufacturer knows about the problem but won't cover it under warranty, things get expensive. Basically my BC had two tank straps to hold the tank in place and one of them tore out. "No big deal" I thought, the manufacturer of my BC has a distributor here in West End and I can just take it in and get it repaired or replaced. Not so much. The guy at the shop told me that they were aware of the problem but don't cover it under warranty and the only place that might be able to fix it here on the island is closed for two months. Great. Now, it's rather hard to dive without one and I cant risk diving on a busted BC so my only option was to buy a new one. Granted, my new one is a huge improvement over the old one in the fact that it's much more functional for divemaster/instructor work due to the fact it has huge pockets to store stuff where my last one didn't have any and it's also much more balanced and comfortable underwater, so... But I'm still out 400 bucks and have a busted BC that I can't sell until it's repaired. Damn.

-M

Kickin It At The Shop

(This pic is for my mom... Love you)

A lot has happened since my last post but I'm going to try to get it all in this post before I have to gear up again and head out on a night dive.

The week after my last post was nice and semi-busy here at the shop. We had three fun divers and a couple courses to keep us occupied which was a nice change from just sitting around being bored. I finished up another piece of my divemaster training as well as assisting on a rescue course, which was an absolute blast. One of the rescue students is now our newest divemaster trainee so we put her through the paces to ensure she was up to the challenge. I got to be a "missing diver" which entailed hiding under an overhang at about 40 feet while she ran a search pattern to see if she could find me. It was a brilliant spot to hide because the overhang trapped and dispersed my bubbles, making it much more difficult to locate me. As well as that, we would simulate different scenarios underwater to test her response to them; things like: removing her mask from behind, simulating running out of air, panicking and going for her regulator that she had in her mouth, panicked ascents, weight belt that fell off, venomous animal injury, panicked diver/tired diver on the surface, falling overboard on the way back from a dive site and panicking, unconscious diver on the bottom, and my personal favorite, the back roll entry with a head injury from hitting the side of the boat. Tomato paste makes really convincing blood. :)

Friday night was the one year anniversary of Mark & Joanie's bar, Oasis. They had a friends only deal from 6 to 8 with free food and booze and then it opened to the public at 8. And it was an absolute blast. We hung out and had a great time until about midnight when I finally decided to call it a night seeing as how I had to be on a dive at nine the next morning. Amazingly enough, with the amount of rum I consumed the previous evening, I was rather bright eyed and coherent the next morning.

And it was a good thing that I was as functional the next morning because the large group that we've been expecting showed up in force. Force like 10 people. Two of them had never dove before so they opted to do their open water diver course with us which helped me on my divemaster training since I needed to assist in a full open water course. After they showed up and got a few dives in, we had another five open water students walk in and some of the large group have decided to do their advanced certification as well, so we're up to our eyeballs in divers and students right now. On average we're taking out 12 people on each dive and have 15 going out tonight on the night dive tonight. Insanity.

Other than that, it's been the usual routing of diving, training, hanging out at Sundowners watching hockey, football, and the US/Honduras World Cup Qualifier (which the US won, thank you very much and I'm still alive to write about it), reading and just enjoying island life. I'm sure I'll have some stories from the big group so I'll drop a note this weekend. For now, it's time to start loading up the boat and getting ready for a night bubble.

-M

Quiet Times On The Island

We have internet again! For now. My posting schedule is defined by whether or not the internet provider on the island is up and running and as of late, they've been off more than they have been on. Kinda frustrating when the internet is our primary means of getting news, communicating, and entertaining ourselves. Especially when the only TV I've seen has been at Sundowners. But it was for opening night of hockey season and it was awesome. Nothing like watching hockey, at a bar, on the beach, in 88F/30C weather.

So as I mentioned previously, it's really slow on the island right now. Slow to the point of not having a single fun diver all week. We had one course and two DSD's (discover scuba diving) but no one here diving consistently. Thankfully next Friday we have a group of 10 - 12 coming in to stay and dive for a full week with us so we'll get a chance to get in the water and I can finish up my in-water sessions I need to finish my divemaster. Speaking of the divemaster training, all my exams are finished (aced em), all my dry-land practical stuff is done, I've started on my mapping project, so if all goes well I should be finished in the next two weeks. Score.

As for other happenings, not too much is going on. Should be getting out for a bubble (dive where I don't have to do any work and can just have fun) this afternoon, getting to assist on a rescue course this week where I get to play a victim and screw with the students by giving them difficult scenarios to deal with, and going to watch hockey tonight at Sundowners. As long as the internet is up, I will post stories from the rescue course so you can all laugh along with me.

Later.
-M

I'm Not Slacking...

I'm just hanging out. (Ba-dum-dum)

First off, an update on the political situation and what's been happening regarding that whole mess. Last time I posted we were under curfew from 4 PM Monday until 6 AM Tuesday. Not long after that post, all internet access was cut off for about 18 hours. Now, I'm not saying that it had anything to do with the situation but the timing was entertaining. Tuesday morning we get up and to head to work and lo and behold, the curfew had been extended to an all day deal. Brilliant. So we (those of us in my building) did what any island dwelling, scuba diving, stuck at home due to political BS curfew person would do. We threw a curfew party. Movies on the porch, rum and cokes, good conversation, food, the whole nine. Thankfully the police allowed us to run to the market, who was open, to stock up on all the necessary supplies since we didn't know how long the whole thing would last. It turns out that the Minister of Tourism finally came to his/her senses on Tuesday afternoon and lifted the curfew for the Bay Islands. Smart move. If tourism is one of your number one money makers, kinda puts a damper on people wanting to come here if all they can do is sit in their cabins. International flights were suspended until Thursday but have resumed and people are still coming down, the island is open for business, and we all really want this to be over and done with. On the mainland, they're still dealing with curfews and all that fun stuff but let me tell ya, Zelaya is not making any friends with this little stunt. People are pissed at the guy for coming back and severely interrupting their lives and basically being an arrogant spoiled little brat who's hiding out in the Brazilian embassy while calling for his supporters, all couple thousand of them, to rise up and revolt. No one is so stupid that they're going to take on the Honduran military and Zelaya knows this. He's just making noise until Brazil decides what to do with him. Which according to Micheletti (the interim president) they have 10 days from today to make that decision. Fun times.

As far as everything else, life is great. I'm finishing up my final written divemaster exam tomorrow and just plugging away at the practical skills. Got a couple fun dives in this morning; spotted another lionfish, multiple turtles, a couple green morays, just good solid dives. Business is a bit slow at the shop right now though. As of right now, we don't have any fun divers on the board for the rest of the week so I'll basically be working on skills and practical training for the next week. Doing a lot more cooking at home and not going out near as much since the prospects for making any money are looking a bit slim until tourism turns around. But, I did come to the island in the midst of slow season (and that whole political thing) so I can't be completely surprised. But it's pretty bad. Even the locals are starting to say this is the slowest they've seen it in years. So if you want a nice cheap Caribbean getaway, you can get some killer deals right now on the island. You just have to promise that you'll stop by the shop if you come down. :)

Until next time.

-M

So Here's The Deal

The former president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, just returned to the country today. If you've been paying attention to the news the past few months you've probably seen articles about the supposed "coup" that took place here about three months ago that removed him from power. I'd like to take some time out of my fun island life postings to provide a little clarity as to what's really going on.

Zelaya broke the law plain and simple. As accorded in the Honduran constitution, the president can only serve one term. That's it. Zelaya didn't like that idea and made an attempt to change the constitution without congressional approval, amongst other things. Congress confronted him with the illegality of his actions and he agreed to step down instead of facing criminal charges. And then he broke the agreement and announced his intentions to stay in office. Not the brightest of ideas when 90% of the populous, not to mention congress, want you out of office for breaking the law. So the Honduran congress took the only action left available to them and ordered him removed from office and sent out of the country with the understanding that if he returned he would be arrested and face criminal charges. And now he's back.

Some other things I should mention... The majority of the people (see above) here in the Honduras don't want Zelaya back. He's a leftist ruler who's biggest supporter, and bank roller, is Hugo Chavez. You know, that guy who rules Venezuela, nationalized all the countries businesses basically turning it into a socialist nation, threatens to invade Colombia, rails against the capitalist US, etc. Yeah, he and Zelaya are good pals. Chavez actually funded Zelaya's globe-trotting trip last month to meet with world leaders, including Secretary of State Clinton, to plead his case of his return to power. Which begs the question... why does the US government, who's not that chummy with Chavez in the first place, support reinstating one of his puppets who knowingly and willingly broke the laws of the country he was leading? I have no idea.

So yeah, he's back, most of the population wants him gone and we're under curfew. Sweet.

If you want good insight as to how people here are reacting, go to Honduras News and read the articles and comments. Another good source of information is the BBC who has a great article detailing the whole situation from the beginning and that can be found here.

I'll post updates with reactions from locals as well as how I see what's really happening here in the next day or so. I will get back to happy fun-time island life postings very soon as well.

-M

This Is My "Kitchen"

It's amazing the things we take for granted living in an industrialized nation. Things like consistent electricity, internet, phone service, etc. It's definitely given me a different perspective on how a large portion of the world lives and now that I've been here for three weeks, I'm beginning to adjust and adapt to living here. It's just about changing your perspective to understand that, back home, we enjoy a lot of luxuries. Basically pasta (ramen, spaghetti), rice, canned tuna, cereal, SPAM, and fruits and veggies bought off the veggie truck are staples. Fresh meat can be found in Coxen Hole and occasionally someone comes by the shop with fresh fish that we can buy, but for the most part it's frozen chicken/bacon/sausage/meat. But you have to know where to buy said frozen meats because some markets don't have generators and when the power goes out for 6 - 10 hours, that chicken in the freezer isn't so frozen anymore... But again, it's an adjustment. I don't regret my decision at all and what I've learned and experienced so far has definitely made me a better person.

My apologies for not updating sooner, but the internet went out last Saturday (due to a power outage) and wasn't restored until Wednesday or Thursday.

Diving news: Had a night dive last night with no moon which was absolutely phenomenal. We saw 4 octopus, tons of lobster, huge channel and king crab, killer phosphorescence, and an absolutely phenomenal show by the 'string of pearls' which are bio luminescent creatures that live in the water column and literally look like a glowing string of pearls suspended in the water. You have to turn off your lights to let your eyes adjust to see them but once you do it's like nothing else I've ever seen. You can see an example of what they look like here: http://bit.ly/fpqE4 Just multiply that by about 100x and that's what we saw and swam through last night. Amazing. On day dives we've seen quite a few spotted eagle rays, tons of turtles, spotted drumfish, and unfortunately our first lionfish. Lionfish are absolutely beautiful creatures, but they're an invasive species that have no natural predators here other than groupers (which are threatened anyways) and they eat just about any reef fish they come across so we're supposed to kill them or mark their location so the marine park can kill them to hopefully control or eradicate them. We have a picture of the one we saw and soon as I get a copy from Alex, I'll upload it. More information about them can be found here: http://bit.ly/mw5vm The one we saw was a black and white lionfish and was just absolutely stunning and we couldn't bring ourselves to kill it... Divemaster training is going great as well other than the fact we don't have a ton of business so I'm not getting as much time in the water as I would like. I've finished 5 out of 8 exams and should be finishing up the last three in the next few days and can then focus on the skill portion of the course.

Other news. My ears have cleared up so diving hasn't been an issue, but I have come down with a nasty case of intestinal funk as of late. Not fun. I've lost enough weight in the past 4 - 5 days to make my board shorts fit real loose and I have to constantly drink water to keep from becoming completely dehydrated. Apparently everyone has to go through this when they move here but it's really beginning to suck. Thankfully it seems that the worst has passed and I'm finally getting my appetite back so hopefully I be in the clear in the next day or so. Unfortunately, I don't know if I got it from food or what but I definitely want to avoid it from here on out. Granted, the weight loss aspect is pretty killer.

I know I promised a bunch of pics and I have a ton, but the internet connections here are awful and it takes 2 - 3 minutes to upload just one pic so I'm probably going to refrain from uploading them to my flickr at the moment. if I can find a decent connection I'll drop them and let you guys know. Otherwise you'll just have to enjoy the ones I post here and wait until I get back to the states for the whole lot.

Anyways, it's a bit late and I have to be in the shop in the AM so I'm going to call it a night for now. As long as the internet is working, I'll update more frequently. Until then.

-M