, but it's been a week and neither dive shop has responded whether nitrox is available. Any advice?
You're now changing gears from AI Dive Resort "machine" to the little-grass-shack model, both can be good, but obviously requires adjusted expectations.
Expectation #1 (?): Your prior Roatan choices are more large scale and likely have stateside staffers monitoring and answering email queries, AKR and CCV, for sure. You are selecting from rental homes that are not in the SCUBA business, they are not in the tour business. They are renting pillows and pools.
Expectation #2 (?): You may have broadly assumed there to be retail dive ops within spittin' distance of your immediate target residential neighborhood. Not that I'm aware of...There might be a couple of houses that have dive flag signs, but not orbiting in the same solar system as a dive shop, not even by Caribbean standards. They may be pumping air, but more likely they're getting their 4 tanks filled on West End with every other "real" dive shop's compressor. Getting nitrox? Prolly maybe not.
The use or search for nitrox begs another question. You will be very lucky to get two dives on any given day. Remember, you are switching from RHR, CCV, AKR's "
Dive Vacation" to instead a "
Vacation with some diving".
[The Octopus/Blue Bahia website put it in their own words, breaking down a "Dive Vacation" as a ten dive package. Your experience at AKR, CCV, and RHR ranged commonly from 18 to 27 dives in a week as the expected norm, note the distinction]
Nitrox is simply not an indicated (necessary) tool for a two-a-day schedule. If there is no technical need for it in any given neighborhood locale, don't expect the offering of it just to pad the bill.
If you look at the limited website for "Octopus Dive School" which appears to be associated with
Blue Bahia, look at the tanks loaded on the boats. I see no Green/Yellow nitrox markings apparent. That's a good indicator.
Your other option,
Sundancer, references their dive provider as Coconut Tree (which is not in Sandy Bay) but they have their own real website and can supply all the nitrox you might wish to purchase.
I know CCT from observation, I have never seen Octopus. If I were to look at their images shown and web presence alone, I would say CCT wins the beauty contest. But is that what's important? Again, I'm looking at the website, and that's how they portray themselves, Octopus looks a bit primitive and small... I think I might like that better than CCT which altho is glossy, it is the McDive of Roatan.
You're going to be lucky to bang out those ten dives as represented in the "full blown dive dive dive package", getting details upon arrival won't really cost you much time or effort upon arrival. Don't fret, go with it.
If you use the phrase "Sandy Bay", most will assume that it's the one on the North Side, Western end. Old timers might get fuddled as there are three different places named Sandy Bay.
Expectation #3 (?): The diving and access thereto will be the same as your prior experiences on RHR or CCV, AKR.
There is no shore dive access. The reef is outlying by 1/3+ mile.
Expectation #4: (no question mark here) You're looking for a new and different experience on an island which has obvious attraction for you. Go for it... try something new, just understand that as you adjust "
your needs", you select "
different presentations and offerings"... Your
expectations must be adjusted accordingly.
Not a bad thing.
I was born in your fine city and now live just a bit east of you...
