CajunDiva
Contributor
It seems pretty redundant to post a trip report since Cajuncrudiver (my better half) has been posting about our trip on a regular basis. But I'll do my best to add details about all facets of our trip.
The first segment of our Roatan trip was an eight day visit at our favorite hangout - Fantasy Island Beach Resort. We had a room in the newer wing of the resort. This is our favorite area because we are morning people and love to wake to the amazing sunrise over the dive gazebo each morning. I have taken so many pictures of the sunrise! The room was very functional and comfortable. It was a great place to relax and rest between dives and meals. (Which means you don't actually spend a lot of time in your room!) I am a technology geek...I really enjoy the fact that Fantasy Island provides a television in each room so I can keep up with my favorites back home. (GEAUX LSU TIGERS!) I also love the fact that Fantasy Island provides free wireless internet in the lobby. I am able to use Skype to keep in touch with family and check on the home front. I also made a feeble attempt at reporting to Scubaboard, but then just gave up and let Cajuncrudiver take over
I was having too much fun!
This trip I found the food much better at Fantasy Island. There is a buffet with MANY options available. I can't imagine anyone not being able to find things they enjoy eating at this buffet. The food is good, but the ice cream is INCREDIBLE!!! There are three mouth-watering flavors available at each meal. I usually managed to get second servings of ice cream every night. Fortunately I was exercising enough to keep from gaining too much weight.
Speaking of exercising, the diving was incredible as well. I have never experienced such drift diving on the island of Roatan. There was an incredible current all week long. It was fun to "ride" along and just be picked up by the boat after an hour or so, but I am a photo maniac and it wasn't the best way to snap great photos. Still, we managed to see more than our share of fantasatic sea life and got some pretty decent shots along the way. The thing that surprised me the most was the surprising presence of lionfish on the reefs of Roatan. I didn't expect to see one while we were there...but we actually saw FOUR!!! The dive shops are gearing up with tools to kill them, but I'm not sure anything will really make a difference...they're everywhere.
As usual, the dive operation at Fantasy Island was perfect for us. Daren was our divemaster and Pedro was our boat captain. What a dream team. Daren has a unique way of watching over all of his divers without becoming too obtrusive. He manages to find all kinds of incredible sea life to share with us. And Pedro is always there to help you up the ladder and to your seat. While we were diving, Pedro was on the boat slicing up fresh pineapple, watermelon and papaya for us. These luscious fruits were always in abundance, along with fresh filtered water to drink. Each dive is a joy with these guys.
After the conclusion of each dive day we always managed to take advantage of the free bar drinks that are also included in the price at Fantasy Island. Of course we had to teach the bartenders how to do the "Cajun ********"...which they did very well! This popular drink is catching on in a big way. Next time you visit Fantasy Island be sure to order one just to keep them on their toes! We spent numerous fun hours in the bar area playing on the internet or sharing our dive pictures with others on the big screen T.V. It was great fun.
After our eight day stay came to a conclusion, it was time to embark on the second segment of our adventure...diving the north side of the island from Anthony's Key Resort. Upon arrival at AKR, we were able to unload our gear in time to jump on the boat and join our friends who had arrived the day before for the afternoon dive. It was a great dive and we were amazed to see FOUR turtles on one dive! It was a great way to start our week of diving on the north side of the island. Unfortunately, the good feelings came to a screeching halt when it was time to put our dive gear away for the night. Being somewhat claustropobic, it is very difficult for me to be in cramped quarters where I can't move around. The locker room at Anthony's Key was an absolute nightmare for me. I was assigned locker #80 for the week...all the way in the back left corner of an extremely narrow, cramped locker room. I had to weave my way through MANY people who were doing their best to get things out or put things into their lockers, all the while being interrupted by divers needing to get by to reach their own lockers in the depths of the restricted room. At that point, the dread set in...every single day I dreaded the end of diving because that meant that every diver at AKR would be trying to rinse their gear in the same two rinse tanks and get their things locked away into their dive lockers...in the dreaded locker room. As it turned out, all of the boats did not always arrive at the same time at the end of each dive day, so the crowd was not ALWAYS so great...just usually. Other than the locker room, I thoroughly enjoyed the diving at AKR. Even though we had specifically gone there to dive the north side of the island, as luck would have it a nor'easter blew in and stirred things up. Conditions deteriorated on the north side of the island rapidly. AKR reacted in a very professional manner and shifted to Plan B...diving the SOUTH SIDE OF THE ISLAND!!! Since we had just come from there, I figured it was a good day to rest. Instead of fighting the wind and rain, I decided to stay in and chill out a bit. That was flawed thinking on my part. Remember the part about how I am a technology geek? Well, at AKR you are supposed to enjoy the peace and quiet. No T.V. in your room...no phone to call my buddy who was staying in a cabin on the key to arrange a meeting time for Cajun Boogaloos, and worst of all...no modems available so I could have internet access. Even if I had been willing to pay the $ 250 deposit and $ 50 per week charge, there were no modems available. So by lunch time I was seriously regretting my decision to take the day off from diving. The next day the weather was still the same, but I jumped on the bus in a heartbeat to go diving again - I couldn't stand another day of just sitting around!
Fortunately, the weather did improve and Wednesday thru Saturday were fantastic. We enjoyed the balance of our dive week and made new friends at AKR. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to visit again in the future. I can't say that the diving on the north side of the island is better, but it's very different from the south side. It was nice to experience a little variety on this trip and take it all in. I'll still be returning most often to dive the south side of the island where I think the most interesting creatures are the most plentiful.
Sorry for the length of this trip report...I do tend to ramble on, don't I???
The first segment of our Roatan trip was an eight day visit at our favorite hangout - Fantasy Island Beach Resort. We had a room in the newer wing of the resort. This is our favorite area because we are morning people and love to wake to the amazing sunrise over the dive gazebo each morning. I have taken so many pictures of the sunrise! The room was very functional and comfortable. It was a great place to relax and rest between dives and meals. (Which means you don't actually spend a lot of time in your room!) I am a technology geek...I really enjoy the fact that Fantasy Island provides a television in each room so I can keep up with my favorites back home. (GEAUX LSU TIGERS!) I also love the fact that Fantasy Island provides free wireless internet in the lobby. I am able to use Skype to keep in touch with family and check on the home front. I also made a feeble attempt at reporting to Scubaboard, but then just gave up and let Cajuncrudiver take over
I was having too much fun!This trip I found the food much better at Fantasy Island. There is a buffet with MANY options available. I can't imagine anyone not being able to find things they enjoy eating at this buffet. The food is good, but the ice cream is INCREDIBLE!!! There are three mouth-watering flavors available at each meal. I usually managed to get second servings of ice cream every night. Fortunately I was exercising enough to keep from gaining too much weight.
Speaking of exercising, the diving was incredible as well. I have never experienced such drift diving on the island of Roatan. There was an incredible current all week long. It was fun to "ride" along and just be picked up by the boat after an hour or so, but I am a photo maniac and it wasn't the best way to snap great photos. Still, we managed to see more than our share of fantasatic sea life and got some pretty decent shots along the way. The thing that surprised me the most was the surprising presence of lionfish on the reefs of Roatan. I didn't expect to see one while we were there...but we actually saw FOUR!!! The dive shops are gearing up with tools to kill them, but I'm not sure anything will really make a difference...they're everywhere.
As usual, the dive operation at Fantasy Island was perfect for us. Daren was our divemaster and Pedro was our boat captain. What a dream team. Daren has a unique way of watching over all of his divers without becoming too obtrusive. He manages to find all kinds of incredible sea life to share with us. And Pedro is always there to help you up the ladder and to your seat. While we were diving, Pedro was on the boat slicing up fresh pineapple, watermelon and papaya for us. These luscious fruits were always in abundance, along with fresh filtered water to drink. Each dive is a joy with these guys.
After the conclusion of each dive day we always managed to take advantage of the free bar drinks that are also included in the price at Fantasy Island. Of course we had to teach the bartenders how to do the "Cajun ********"...which they did very well! This popular drink is catching on in a big way. Next time you visit Fantasy Island be sure to order one just to keep them on their toes! We spent numerous fun hours in the bar area playing on the internet or sharing our dive pictures with others on the big screen T.V. It was great fun.
After our eight day stay came to a conclusion, it was time to embark on the second segment of our adventure...diving the north side of the island from Anthony's Key Resort. Upon arrival at AKR, we were able to unload our gear in time to jump on the boat and join our friends who had arrived the day before for the afternoon dive. It was a great dive and we were amazed to see FOUR turtles on one dive! It was a great way to start our week of diving on the north side of the island. Unfortunately, the good feelings came to a screeching halt when it was time to put our dive gear away for the night. Being somewhat claustropobic, it is very difficult for me to be in cramped quarters where I can't move around. The locker room at Anthony's Key was an absolute nightmare for me. I was assigned locker #80 for the week...all the way in the back left corner of an extremely narrow, cramped locker room. I had to weave my way through MANY people who were doing their best to get things out or put things into their lockers, all the while being interrupted by divers needing to get by to reach their own lockers in the depths of the restricted room. At that point, the dread set in...every single day I dreaded the end of diving because that meant that every diver at AKR would be trying to rinse their gear in the same two rinse tanks and get their things locked away into their dive lockers...in the dreaded locker room. As it turned out, all of the boats did not always arrive at the same time at the end of each dive day, so the crowd was not ALWAYS so great...just usually. Other than the locker room, I thoroughly enjoyed the diving at AKR. Even though we had specifically gone there to dive the north side of the island, as luck would have it a nor'easter blew in and stirred things up. Conditions deteriorated on the north side of the island rapidly. AKR reacted in a very professional manner and shifted to Plan B...diving the SOUTH SIDE OF THE ISLAND!!! Since we had just come from there, I figured it was a good day to rest. Instead of fighting the wind and rain, I decided to stay in and chill out a bit. That was flawed thinking on my part. Remember the part about how I am a technology geek? Well, at AKR you are supposed to enjoy the peace and quiet. No T.V. in your room...no phone to call my buddy who was staying in a cabin on the key to arrange a meeting time for Cajun Boogaloos, and worst of all...no modems available so I could have internet access. Even if I had been willing to pay the $ 250 deposit and $ 50 per week charge, there were no modems available. So by lunch time I was seriously regretting my decision to take the day off from diving. The next day the weather was still the same, but I jumped on the bus in a heartbeat to go diving again - I couldn't stand another day of just sitting around!
Fortunately, the weather did improve and Wednesday thru Saturday were fantastic. We enjoyed the balance of our dive week and made new friends at AKR. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to visit again in the future. I can't say that the diving on the north side of the island is better, but it's very different from the south side. It was nice to experience a little variety on this trip and take it all in. I'll still be returning most often to dive the south side of the island where I think the most interesting creatures are the most plentiful.
Sorry for the length of this trip report...I do tend to ramble on, don't I???
