paper weight

I forgot to mention this in my previous blog. So I spent a fair amount of money and time on trying to reduce the amount weight I would have to pack in my backpack, I thought I did pretty good, I got my big backpack down to about 44 lbs, and that's including everything, a full set of dive gear, toiletries, clothes...everything. all I took on my carry on was ipod, kindle and a hat and sweatshirt. Ahh yes but little did I know, that when you take the IDC they give you 9000 lbs of books , manuals, dive slates and best of all ... a big backpack to haul it around in. Yes, now I get to carry about 50 lbs of books and #$%# for the next couple of weeks in honduras and nicaragua...cool . all the best everyone

march IDC

Hi all, hope everything is great in your world!!!  AHHHHHHH.......IDC is done ( Instructor Development Course ) Everyone in the class passed including a local honduran guy sitting the exam for the 3rd time. So that was a couple of days ago, so we've been just fun diving and celebrating with our fellow students, napping a fair amount and yes finally found someone to play cards with. Erica , his name is Simon and he was one of our instructors on the IDC, anyways he taught us this game called spades, totally amazing, great game, sort of like a cross between bridge and oh hell. Anyways I'm just sitting here on our deck watching them unload the twice weekly supply ship, at this moment they are unloading the beef, that is to say the cows.

   We had orientation for the IDC the day we arrived, to take care of the paperwork, as you can imagine, because diving can be quite dangerous if your careless....lots of liability release forms, to give us an idea of our schedule and yes homework!!!we then had the next day free to get ahead on our homework or in our case go diving...not responsible, but yeah !! diving.So it works out to basically classroom stuff in the morning and pool or open water work in the afternoon, and when I say pool or open water, I don't really mean diving, I think it only qualifies as a dive if your down longer than 20 minutes and deeper than 30 ft. So using that criteria...we only dove 3 times in 2 weeks. There were a couple of days we didn't get into the water at all...huh ??I know, counter intuitive.Almost every night we had stuff to read for class the next day and or lesson plans to make for presentation the next day. PADI has a pretty specific  way they want things taught, so there's a formula basically for you to follow and your graded on how many of the points you mention in the presentation.We didn't get alot of sleep, especially those 1st few days, when the work load was pretty heavy and most stuff , for me anyways, David had some experience with some stuff from his divemaster course, was new. That would be one awkward sentence, fun though huh!!!Carrie actually was great as we practiced our presentations on her, she gave us some good advice and was our biggest fan ...best wife ever!! ..and MOM.One of the great things about working at the winery is that I've become fairly comfortable speaking in front of people...but apparently that only applies to talking about wine , not diving, GREAT!!!! bring on the stress, like I'm not having enough already! It took about a week for me to get comfortable enough to get through a presentation without shaking, which of course is just in time to sit the exam...more shaking.
    So the exam takes place over 2 days with 1 pool , 1 open water and 1 knowledge presentation..shaking. As a little aside here speaking of shaking, the 1st person in our group to do the pool presentation, failed, which meant she got about 30 minutes to write up another presentation on a different skill and present it to the examiner..if she fails that she fails the whole exam and has to retake it later..she was shaking. Thankfully she passed.Ok back to the exam, then you have theory exams on physiology, physics, equipment, skills and the environment and on the RDP (recreational dive planner) which is a tool developed to help divers plan safe dives.An exam on the general standards and procedures that PADI (professional association of dive instructors) wants all instructors to use when they are teaching and finally a skills circuit, where we were supposed to demonstrate 5 skills to the examiner, in a slow , emphasized manner easy for a beginning level diver to pick up( according to rumor though...beginning students are, ok not all of them , but most are, dumb as posts and it doesn't matter what you do, they won't get it anyways)
   I don't know if I've ever been so relieved, as when the examiner shook my hand and said congratulations you passed. I can't speak for David, he seemed a little nervous in the beginning ( HMMM... I think this is called speaking for him..oh well ) but he basically aced the whole thing, he did a really great job on everything we had to do and was a big help for me on stuff I had no idea about which was suprisingly a fair bit. Suprisingly because I was able to look over the curriculum for the divemaster course and I didn't really do about half the stuff in there, oh well it was still a fun course for me, maybe that's why it was.I couldn't be more proud of David ( well Carrie's probably more proud ) and grateful that he asked me to share in this experience with him, in a sport that I'm truly passionate about...THANK YOU DAVID!!
    So anyways after we all pass, the dive shop throws a congratulatory dinner for us, great by the way, as a part of it , they ask us to do a dive skill, except it has to involve drinking, tequila shots to be specific. I had heard about it , but to be honest I didn't really think they would make all of us do it....wrong !!! So I'm wracking my brain to try to do something that isn't totally lame, and it comes to me as if sent from someone ( EM?) anyways  ( I say that alot) the voice says do something to embarrass the boy, PERFECT!! So I do the licking the salt off of Carrie's cleavage, down the shot and take the lime from her mouth thing and is David embarrassed ..ah no he's taking pictures!!
    So we have a couple more days here, we're going to go see Tron at the theatre tonight and get in our last dives tomorrow, hopefully David and I will have the opportunity to see whale sharks this trip, but if not at least Carrie was able to cross that off of her bucket list.OK then we're on a ferry to La Ceiba, a bus to San Pedro Sula, ( your welcome to follow along in your local guide book), a bus to Managua and finally a bus to Leon. (UGH  tired just thinking about it , that's about 20 hrs of travel time, it's going to take us at least a couple of days)
So with that said , I wish you all the best and warm thoughts from our deck in utila

Counting my blessings:

One of the great things about traveling to developing countries, is that it always is a good reminder to me, of the many advantages and blessings of our everyday life which we tend to take for granted.  Nice homes and clothes are just the beginning.  Toilets that flush with reliability, garbage collection services, clean water from our taps, and hot water are just a few basics that we don't generally give a second thought to.  

Feeling grumpy about laundry and other household chores???  This picture is taken from our lovely apartment over looking the water at the house next door.  Also a fairly nice place overlooking the water, this is a young mother doing her laundry.  She is scrubbing her clothes, with bar soap,  on a washboard which is fitted into a concrete work surface.  She is rinsing them in a tub of water and hanging on the lawn to dry.  If she is lucky, the sun will dry her clothes soon, but at this very moment, it is showering on the laundry she put out to dry earlier today.

New Pictures!

New pictures added to album:  Utila, Honduras
Link located in right-hand column.

Rain

It is raining today.  Yesterday, we had passing showers, but today it is raining sheets and sheets of rain.  The rain is cascading down the windows, and drumming on the corrugated tin roof of our little apartment with a thunderous roar.  I am sure if it keeps this up, I will get quite cranky about it.  But today, the rain makes me happy.  I have this big giant "can't wipe it off my face" kind of smile.  It is the kind of rain that makes you want to run out and splash in puddles.  I am not sure why the rain is eliciting these feelings of happiness, but it is.  

Whale Sharks, Utila, Honduras

Whale Shark Photo Album
(Thanks to Marcus who was on the boat with me for the pictures.)

Whale Sharks

I saw FOUR whale sharks today.  So, I can cross that off my 'bucket list'.  It was such an amazing experience, it even made up for the fact that I forgot to take dramamine before diving today, and ended up feeding my breakfast to the fish, so to speak.  Miserable.

We woke up to no electricity today.  I didn't know there wasn't electricity until AFTER I got in the shower this morning, and the water failed to get warm.  I don't usually shower before diving,  but I was feeling pretty disgusting, so I thought I'd have a quick shower  before heading down to the dive shop, it was a brisk wake-up!!!  Since there was no power, I whipped up a peanut-butter sandwich for breakfast.  David and Glen are working on their Dive Instructor course today, so this was the first time that I have been diving without either Glen or one of the kids.  As the boat was pulling away from the calm waters of the bay, and heading into rougher seas, I realized that I had forgotten to take Dramamine.  (I am prone it motion sickness, and ALWAYS take dramamine before diving as a precaution, because diving is not too fun when  you are sea sick.)  Too late.  I didn't have any with me, and we were already underway.  I have only forgotten to take dramamine once before, and hurled over the side of the boat.  I was hoping things would be better today.

On the way to the dive site, our captain saw a bait ball and headed over to look for whale sharks.  It is illegal to wear scuba gear into the water with whale sharks here. This is to keep people from harassing them.  So everyone puts on their fins, mask, and snorkle, and when the captain finds a whale shark you jump in.  The first whale shark was fairly small, maybe 15 feet or so.  I suppose I shouldn't have been, but I was a little bit disappointed that he was so small.  However, the shark didn't seem to worried about our presence and swam slowly away close to the surface of the water.  Since he didn't dive to the depths, I finned after him for some distance.  When I couldn't keep up anymore, I turned toward the boat, and thought CRAP, that is a long swim back!  I was very glad that I had my own fins, which had finally arrived in our previously delayed luggage, as they are more powerful and efficient than standard dive shop gear.  It is a good thing I was bouyed by my wetsuit and saltwater as I probably would have drowned otherwise.  Since, if I am completely honest, I am NOT in the best shape physically!  I swam my way back to the boat as quickly as possible and climbed aboard feeling exhausted.  Only a few minutes later, the captain saw a LARGE bait ball and drove toward it, so we all got on the back of the boat ready to jump back in.  For those of you who don't know,  a bait ball is a big ball of fish, swimming in a tight circle.  The top of the bait ball is often on the surface (especially if there is a whale shark coming up from the depths to have a mouthful).  So the boat captain watches the surface of the water, which looks like it is boiling, due to all the little fish.  Anyway, we approached the bait ball, and the crew said, "NOW".  I jumped in, and there, only about 6 feet away was the most ENORMOUS whale shark.  He was vertical in the water, having just finished scooping up a mouthful of fish!  The shark sort of stayed suspended like that for a matter of seconds, before turning and swimming across in front of me, and then diving into the dark depths.  It was unbelievable!  The crew thought that he was about 40 feet long.  We saw two more whale sharks in the next 15 minutes, each were probably about 20 to 25 feet long.  

Back on the boat, where we had been bobbing in the swells looking for whale sharks, and I had been inhaling more than my share of diesel fumes due to my poor decision to sit near the back of the boat, sea sickness was setting in.  We arrived at the dive site, and I got into the water, and out of the rocking boat, as quickly as I could.  We had a fabulous dive.  During the surface interval, the seas were rougher, and I was feeling pretty green.  It didn't help that the guy next to me started hurling over the side of the boat.  Even when I feel perfectly fine, seeing someone vomit can set me off too.  I turned away, but could still here him wretching above the sound of the boats engines.  Normally, we have a little snack during the surface interval.  (It is amazing how hungry you are after a dive.)  I was feeling like I might be losing my breakfast at any moment, so I declined the cookies. We had a pretty short surface interval, which normally makes me kind of cranky, because that affects the length and depth of your next dive.  Today though, I was just wanting to get back into the water and down below the surface as fast as possible.  I was the second person into the water, and was waiting for everyone else to get in so we could descend, when despite my best efforts to the contrary, the fish got to help themselves to my breakfast.  I was just grateful that this happened while I was still on the surface, and had not already made my descent.  

Future Mantra:  Don't forget the dramamine, don't forget the dramamine.....

Island Life Line

Our little apartment here in Utila over looks the public dock.  The boat that brings supplies to the island arrives on Tuesday.  It is the life line that brings food, building supplies, and all other necessities that are needed to survive here.  The island is small, and aside from self-sustaining pursuits such as fishing, the main industry here is tourism & diving, and the many small restaurants, stores, and inns that support the diving crowd.
Yesterday was Tuesday, so the boat arrived bringing fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as non-perishables, building supplies, lumber, lawn furnishings, and a small car.  The unloading of the boat began as soon as it arrived, and continued long into the evening hours.  It has been a fascinating process.  It began with a flurry of activity, and a 'fire-brigade' type line of men passing supplies from the boat onto the dock and then onto waiting modes of transportation ranging from small pickups, to hand carts,  bicycles & golf carts.
This morning, the process continued, with people still arriving to collect building supplies, and some outgoing items being loaded on, since the boat has not been completely unloaded, it appears that it must travel on to other nearby islands with supplies.  The process seems to be move slowly now, with a lot of men standing around, in apparent debate, about the best way to handle the unloading of building supplies and larger loads.
The hot afternoon sun beats down and work seems to come to a crawl.
It seems to be the way of life in a place where life does not necessarily revolve around a 9 to 5 job, but rather is just the business of living.  Doing what need to be done and only that much.

Internet

A man stopped by this morning who said he was from the internet place and was supposed to remove the internet connection.  Not sure why, perhaps the owners didn't pay the bill.  Luckily for us, the modem is apparently located in the other apartment.  They seem to be mostly gone or sleeping, so hopefully things will move at typical Central American speed ~ slowly, and we will still have internet for a while!

On the Subject of Airport Security

We have made our way to Utila from Pasco, via six flights.  The flights included delays, bumping into an old friend that we had just shared a table with at a wedding in Richland on the prior evening at a bar in the San Francisco airport , lost luggage in Tegucigalpa, and a very sketchy plane on our last leg from La Ceiba on the Honduran coast to Utila in the Bay Islands.  But what I want to comment on is the security in the Tegucigalpa airport.

When we were in Houston we decided to pick up a bottle of Vodka at the Duty Free.  If you haven’t bought liquor at Duty Free in an airport before, the system is this:  you buy the liquor and the Duty Free shop delivers it to you as you board your plane.  (I guess this is so you won’t drink it while you are in the airport? Leaving you at the mercy of the airport restaurants who are likely to charge you $10 for a watered down drink.) Anyway, I think it is amazing that you are allowed to bring a liter or two liter GLASS bottle of alcohol on a plane, just because you purchased it after you went through security.  All this does is guarantee that there is alcohol in the bottle and it isn’t a bomb.  But I think a few terrorists could do quite well wielding heavy glass bottles of alcohol as a bat, or better yet break the bottle, and use the broken glass bottle as a weapon!

When we arrived in Tegucigalpa, our luggage didn’t arrive with us, so we found a very nice airline representative who helped us fill out a claim form and gave us his cel phone number and personal email, so we could contact him from Utila.  We made our way through customs, with no luggage and nothing to declare, and met David on the other side.  David was relieved to see us, as all the other passengers had already come through in the minutes preceding us. Since we didn’t have any luggage, we weren’t able to put our bottle of vodka in our luggage, and didn’t think about stashing it in David’s bag before we checked in at ticket counter at SOSA, the local airline we were flying to Utila.  As we found our way through the airport to the gates for the local flights, we were confronted with a security check to go through.  There were signs indicating international flight regulations regarding what was prohibited in Carry On bags.  The regulations were the same as the USA, no liquids or gels over 3 ounces, limited to what you can fit in  a quart size Ziploc.  There was a display case with all the items that were prohibited, including pocket knives, scissors, and menacing bottles of shampoo.  We took off our shoes and belts, emptied our pockets, took our laptops out of our bags, and hoisted all our belongings on the conveyor belt leading into the x-ray machine.  Glen placed his travel worn daypack, complete with the bottle of Vodka, in a bin and walked through the metal detector.  The bag made its way through the x-ray machine and out the other side.  If there was any hesitation on the part of the Honduran airport security regarding a huge glass bottle of vodka in our carry-on, it was only momentary.

We happily collected our belongings, vodka and all, and went to find our boarding gate.