Nearing the end of my travels

I woke up to another beautiful day on Utila ready to finish up my last two dives. The boat was loaded down with about 18 divers as we made our way around the island to the North Side. The two dives were spectacular and a great way to close out my diving on the island. Saw several eels and big crabs just doing their thing in the ocean. It's such a complex system with so much diversity of organisms and their roles in the community. Last night I went out for a night dive to the moon hole and saw a toad fish which, as it's name suggests, makes a deep sound similar to a toad. I could tell I was close to it when the sound began rumbling my stomach and after a few minutes of searching then waiting for the sound I spotted it sticking it's head out from under a coral. The bioluminescence were pretty amazing as well. On Catalina you can see the light emitted from these dinoflagellates when you stir up the water in the dark as well.

The past few weeks of traveling have been great fun. I've met so many amazing people, seen some wonderful sights, and done some really fun activities. I only wish that everyone had the time, money, and motivation to get out and see more of the world. I will return to the states with a new found appreciation for many of the things that I often take for granted. I feel that traveling on my own has also been a valuable experience in being able to approach others for social stimulation, not that I generally struggle with that. Many thanks to my family who have supported me both with encouragement and financially. It's not easy to pack a bag and leave the comforts of home and explore near places that put you in situations that really make you think about what you're doing and how you do it.

This evening I'll go out on a sunset cruise with some fellow divers from the shop and the staff who have been taking me out diving this week. Last night was the first night the sunset wasn't completely blocked out by the clouds and it was absolutely beautiful. In the morning I'll be on a 6:30am boat back to La Ceiba to catch a bus to the airport in San Pedro Sula were I'll likely be sitting around for about 8 hours waiting for my flight to Fort Lauderdale. So excited to see Mel and Lauren some friends I know from back in NC.

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou