Crossed into Honduras a few days ago stayed in Copan for a couple of nights saw the ruins (which were overated) and also visited a bird sanctuary/refgue which was great and I got some good pictures of macaws and toucans.

We left Copan and managed to get through the flooded low lands of Honduras where we saw many people displaced by recent flooding. After a long day of bus and boat we made it to the island of Utila. Utila is not much to see with its chief attraction being dirt cheap diving.

Since I was only on Utila for two full days I opted to only do the first part of my PADI open water certification (Scuba Diver Course). From the moment I steped into the water in a scuba rig I loved it.....it was like being a kid learning to swim again, the freedom of movement in three full dimensions was like nothing I've ever experienced. My first two open water dives were done from a boat into relatively shallow (12m) reef area fairly close to Utila. On my first dive I saw a long nosed sea horse who followed me and the instructor for a while, a porcupine fish which was basically a really big puffer fish (over a foot in length, half a foot diameter) and a spotted eagle ray which stopped to check us out as it made its way out of the murky depths. On the second dive saw another porcupine fish and the largest green moray eel that I'd ever seen! I'm now hooked on diving and trying to figure where I can get in my next dives and finish my open water certification......Just what I needed another expensive habit!