Scuba Diving in Roatán, Honduras - March 2020 (4K)

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

I'd like to hear more about both your travel experiences getting to and around Roatan as well as your dive training. (Who is training you, what part of the island are you diving, hows the situation there underwater?)

I missed my yearly September trip to Roatan this year for the first time in 6 years. I always dive around Oak Ridge with Reef House Resort. In the past, I've dove there over 170 times, and I think I was only on one or two dives where we did not see (and usually spear) a lionfish. My divemaster was very good about cleaning them out on dives, not to mention he frequently took some home for lunch. The effect seemed to be that he was keeping the numbers in check somewhat around those dive sites at least. Without divers for 9 months, I wonder how the lionfish situation has changed, if any. And other fish populations too, but I've seen areas with lots of lionfish in the past, and there weren't that many other fish to see in those areas.

We’re staying here with friends who have both a house in Punta Blanca and a condo at the Meridian, so we’ve split our time between both. We driving a borrowed 4x4 SUV which has done well for us in the rains, particularly where we had to navigate steep grades looking at properties off the beaten path. Also, there is a stretch of road between the airport and Los Fuertes which turned into a mud trap due to the unseasonable rains during a major paving project. We’ve taken the Sandy Bay to Palmetto route which is recently paved (last 2 years?).

We did our diving with Banarama in West Bay since we’ve been at the Meridian for the past week. Our instructor, Sally, was very patient with my two sons (12 and 14) and me (64)... we finished in four days. Our dives included Bikini Bottom, Black Rock and our last at Turtle Crossing (18 meters). We spotted a couple of lionfish, a barracuda, angel fish, groupers, flying fish, a moray and a scorpion fish. Visibility was very good to excellent with clear and sunny skies; our dives started a couple of days after the rains stopped, so the water had time to recover.