Mrs Scot’s Navigation Dive for AOW
Still haven’t quite nailed the time difference yet (+7 hrs) but getting there. I managed to sleep until 6 am this morning which was good. We made the fatal mistake of going for a ‘nap’ on our first day at around 4pm and turning of the alarm! That was probably the first time that I have slept 13 hours in YEARS!
Sooo 2 full days down – What have we been doing?
Diving, Diving, Diving!
Seri0usly, the diving is epic here! The reef is minutes from the shore and the dive sites are 1-10 minutes away! We are really spoilt. Mrs Scot and I have learned to expect a 2 hour boat trip to dive sites as in Thailand, but we could get used to this!
Mrs Scot is doing her Advanced Open Water (I am already AOW qualified) before we both do our PADI Rescue Diver course together next week. I am joining the group for fun dives in the mean time; tagging along and taking some pictures! My wedding present from Mrs Scot was a dive computer which I am putting to great use! We have done 4 dives in the last couple of days varying from 50 – 110 ft (15 – 35m). The visibility remains fantastic at 30m + (100 ft +). I will let the pictures explain for themselves:
Our Turtle Friend from Day 2
Sun Going Down at Night
Hungry Moray Eel
El Aguila Cargo Wreck
Diving through Channels
Swimming with a Turtle
Lobster hiding in the Rocks
Beautiful Conch Sitting on the Coral
Coral Reef
These are the raw images – I still need to do some work on them to bring the colours out properly.
After diving yesterday, we went on a mini-tour of the island all the way over to the ‘mega-mall’. This consisted of a few outdoor shops, including the fast food store Wendys!! We managed to find Mrs Scot a new belly bar after she lost the top diving and had a nice iced coffee. While Roatan is clearly an underdeveloped third-world country, there is a very distinct divide between Rich and Poor. The taxi driver shared the same tricks as those in Thailand with the ‘referral scheme’
The Referral Scheme
This is quite a neat trick where the Taxi driver will mine you for information in a friendly way. They will try and find out how long you are there for and what you want to buy, what you want to do and what you want to eat. They will likely stop at their ‘friends’ gift shops or restaurant where they will promise you that they can get you a great discount – on items which have no prices marked. The same goes for restaurants which have more than one priced version of the menu – the walk in price and the referral price! They will of course offer to take you on any tour and drive you around forever!
Our Taxi driver was actually really nice even though he tried to pull a fast one. I understand that these people have families to feed, so I entertained him and had a quick look around the gift shop before getting back in the cab. After speaking to him about his family and friends I probed a bit on the potential earnings on the island:
How Locals Make Money on Roatan
Commission is the big one – commission through room sales and through referrals to gift shops. Our driver, Charlie, said that he can make anywhere between 10-25% commission for room sales. If you consier that these drivers are hired at around $10 (USD) per hour and the average room is $60 per night, there is some serious money to be made. Furthermore, on the days that cruiseships arrive on the island, the prices of taxi quadruple! Our driver told us that he made $250 last week Wednesday in a few short hours!
If they are really lucky, they will get real-estate commission. This is where they can make it rich! Charlie told us that he can make $5000 through a real-estate purchase referral. This is good money by anyone’s standards, but makes a huge difference in a country where is it enough to feed a family for a year.
With all the diving and touring, we were exhausted! A quick trip to get some chicken and seafood for dinner, with a couple of local beers and we were done!
Roatan Local Beer
Wow, beautiful! My boyfriend and I have always been interested in diving. WE went on an introductory course and loved it, but I don’t know how we’d feel about the ocean. There’s some scary stuff down there!
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Ahhh locals. They can be a wealth of great knowledge, or a mine field to wade through. Love meeting and helping out locals for services, but prefer it is on my own terms rather then through some manipulation.
Speaking of locals, be sure to check out the Banana Donut guy in West Bay if you are on the beach in the afternoon (he wanders the beach). I hear its not to be missed 🙂
Really like that reef shot looking up towards the surface, gives it great lighting. What UW camera are you using by chance (have been shopping around for one)
Banana and Donuts are two favourite things – combining them sounds immense!! Thanks for the tip – will definitely try and get my hands on one!
Thanks – I like that shot too – I am using the Lumix TZ20 and the Lumix U/W housing for it. The TZ20 has quite a big lense for a compact camera, which helps a lot with light levels. I have also had other cameras from the TZ range in the past which have held up very well. I paid about £400 / $600 for the housing and camera. Stay tuned for more shots 🙂
Awesome photos! I really wish I was more comfortable with breathing underwater. I’ve only tried snorkeling and I just couldn’t get used to that kind of breathing. I have a feeling it would be even worse for me trying scuba.
I think you should be trying to sell some of these photos. If not, at least they will be awesome for the future website of your dive shop down the road.
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Hey Jeremy – thanks for commenting! I am glad you like the shots and perhaps you are right – maybe I could sell them! I will definitely add them to my dive folder which is a collection of all my shots I have ever taken 😀
Soooo jealous – but hoping that you are both having a wonderful time
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Amazing pictures! You’re really selling me on the place! That’s interesting how people earn their living there…tourism really can be an economy.
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Love your photos!! So glad to see other people enjoying my favorite little island. I spent three weeks on Roatan in February, 8 days there in May and I’m moving there in two months to do my divemaster and instructor training. I fell in love with the place within the first 10 minutes and now I can’t stay away! Are you guys staying in West End? Who have you been diving with? The reef is unbelievable there…one of my last dives there was at Tabyanas and we swam along with four eagle rays. Hole in the Wall is an amazing dive site too if you get a chance to go there! Enjoy the rest of your time on the island 🙂
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Hey!
Thanks – it is indeed an amazing place. We are staying in the West End at Splash Inn and also diving with them – the whole team are fantastic! We haven’t dived Tabyanas yet, but hole in the wall was awesome. We dived ‘Dive Master’s Choice’ this morning and saw a spotted eagle ray – was so beautiful! I also got some great pictures of a turtle which I will share in my next post 🙂 Who are you planning to do your divemaster/instructor course with?
Hey there – isn’t Splash Inn great! You’ll have to tell Riccardo that Erika says hello 🙂 I didn’t dive with them but know a few of the people there. In West End I did my certifications with Reef Gliders and West End Divers, and fun dives at Tyll’s Dive Shop. Glad you got to see an eagle ray!! Aren’t they the best? I’m doing my divemaster and IDC outside of West End actually, at Barefoot Divers (the Barefoot Cay Resort dive shop). It’s near French Harbor but they pick us up in West End on the bus every day. It’s pretty swanky and top of the line for the island, and the pro programs there are #1. Then I am hoping to get work in West End afterwards… I love that little place 🙂
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