kenword
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Paya Bay Resort July 1320, 2008
Sunday July 13, 2008
Arrived in Honduras at 12:30 after the 2.5 hour flight from Houston. We were promptly met by a driver from Paya Bay Resort (PBR) While waiting for another couple flying in on their private plane, we met a Canadian couple also staying at PBR , we drank a round of Barenas to get the trip started. Once the others arrived we were driven the hour or so to PBR. After getting checked in we went to a cove for a short snorkel, had dinner and drinks and called it a night. PBR is a beautiful little resort on the hillier Northeast side with only 10 rooms on a very scenic and diverse 26 acres; it has a large natural beach and a smaller, nicer private beach, as well as hiking paths through the garden like terrain to 2 hidden coves. It has a restaurant with a nice deck and veranda, perfect for the sunset views.
Monday morning was my first of 5 dive days with Tropical Island Divers (TID). The dive operation is located at Marble Hill Farms a 12 min drive or 7 min boat ride from PBR, depending on the number of divers or dive location for the day, they either pick you up by boat or shuttle you by car, since their was 4 divers we were picked up at the dock by our captain Jim and divemaster Ben. We went back to their dock to check in, get weights, sign waiver, etc. Ben then gave a briefing of their operation, their boat, safety procedures, oxygen location and encouraged all of us to get a Marine park tag. Ben gave a very accurate, detailed dive profile on every dive, you were free to dive your own profile or follow him, he only asked that you get back with more than 500psi. , no matter how long that took
. The typical dive day is get picked up at the dock at 8:30 , ride to 1st dive site, surface interval at nearby dock, ride to 2nd site than dropped off at PBRs dock by 1. I will list the dive sites we visited for the week computer readings for max depth, time and water temp. There are clickable links to pics for each day.
Monday July 14, 2008
1st dive Punta Blanca Wall - 79feet , 48 minutes , 81 degrees. Good 1st dive to get acclimated, get weighted, etc. 5 min ride from their dock. We spent the surface interval with a tour Marble Hill Farms where they make jellies and jams from the onsite fruit orchard of banana, guava, papaya, mango, orange, lime, pineapples, etc. They are building 3 eco-lodge cabins, and have plans for an onsite restaurant on this 26 acre site.
2nd dive Diamond Rock 70ft , 55 min , 82 dg. This site was also 5 min ride from their dock. This was a good dive with a good variety of fish, creatures, hard and soft corals and sponges, we also got a glimpse of the excellent variety of reef structure that the week would bring us.
Tuesday July 15, 2008
1st dive Camp Bay Reef 84ft , 54 min, 81 dg. This site was about 10 min east of PBR, Nice gentle sloping wall dive ,very healthy reef, lots of lobsters. We spent our surface interval at the Camp Bay beach bar drinking juice enjoying the views.
2nd dive McNabs Pinnacles 63ft , 54 min , 82 dg. This site was right out front of PBR. This was one of the best dives of the week mainly because of the underwater topography, lots of tall narrow canyons, a maze of cracks, pinnacles and chutes. My non-diving wife went along on this day and reported the snorkeling was excellent at both sites. After the dive our DM Ben asked if all 4 of us agreed, we would go on an all day trip around the east side of Roatan to dive the Morat wall, we all agreed to pitch in for the extra gas for the trip, PBR packed us a lunch, some fruit and after dive cervezas.
Wednesday July 16, 2008
1st dive Morat Wall 85ft , 56 min , 81 dg. We had perfect weather, calm seas for the hour or so ride to the site. We went up the northeast coast and then thru a natural cut in the mangrove to get to the Southside, I enjoyed talking with Bryan another DM from TID who joined us for these dives. The wall lies halfway between the islands of Morat and Barbareta. We headed north along the wall from the mooring on this dive, my safety stop was spent following a 5 foot nurse shark in the shallows. The surface interval was spent eating lunch on a dock on the private island of Barbareta.
2nd dive Morat Wall 72 ft , 58 min , 82 dg. On this dive we headed south on the wall. The vertical wall here is very lush with lots of Atlantic spade fish, barracuda, and larger reef fish, excellent visibility. We enjoyed a few beers on the ride back, a very scenic day, definitely worth the few extra dollars.
Thursday July 17, 2008
1st dive Pollytilly Wall 75ft , 58 min, 81 dg. There were only 2 divers this day but we both brought our wives so they could snorkel. Our DM Ben promised a day of cracks, swim thrus, caves and caverns, he didnt disappoint. This was a dive on a healthy reef with lots of cracks, canyons, and nooks to find some cool creatures. We agreed to do our surface interval at the next dives mooring due to excellent snorkeling nearby.
2nd dive Verde Grande 38ft, 65 min , 83 dg. This was their signature shallow dive. The dive started out in the shallows, inside the reef and followed a series of swim thrus cracks and caverns to the outside of the reef, where we briefly explored a shallow wall, then back to the inside of the reef through a maze of caves and caverns. In the cave is a bunch of dolphin skulls and bones, we were told on a couple of occasions a pod of dolphins chasing the hundreds of silversides got disoriented inside and probably drowned, but nobody knows for sure. This was a very cool dive and reminded me of the cenotes around Akumal, Mexico.
Friday July 18, 2008
1st dive Unamed drift dive 85ft, 52 min , 82 dg. It was down to only Ben and I today, so basically a private guide for my dives today. Ben decided to go to a section of reef where there is no mooring, so even though there wasnt any current, we treated it as a drift dive. This was a fun dive through more cracks and canyons, very healthy reef (broken record I know!) Bryan from TID joined us to take a few pics and try out some new toys.
2nd dive Gretchens Shell 69ft , 52 min, 82 dg. My last dive of the trip was a good one, this site was similar to McNabs pinnacles, with deep narrow canyons with sand bottoms, a very scenic way to end my diving for this trip.
Saturday July 19, 2008
Today we had scheduled PBR to take us to the Pigeon Cays, two small, uninhabited islands over by Barbareta island. The weather the day before turned angry and we thought we might not get to go, but the morning brought calmer seas and the sun peaking thru the clouds. Tom our captain for the day (and 1 of the sons of the owner of PBR) got a cooler full of beer and lunch and off we went for the 1.5 hour ride. It was just us and the couple from Canada for the trip and it didnt disappoint. We took the same route as the trip to Morat, up the coast, thru the mangrove, around Helene and Barbareta to the 2 tiny islands. Once on the island we set up camp for the day and went snorkeling, we were greeted by crystal clear water and a very healthy shallow reef. I even found a 4 foot sleeping nurse shark. We then explored our little island paradise, the island is only about 150 meters long by 60 meters wide, it has a couple of iguanas, some lizards, a few trees and picture perfect views. We had lunch and a beer followed by more snorkeling and chilling out on the deserted beach, packed up the boat, had a few more beers on the ride back. A perfect last day in Honduras.
This was our 1st trip to Roatan , but wont be our last. We did research a few of the other resorts around the island, but PBR fit our style perfectly. We didnt want to be on the partying westside, or dive on cattle boats on the south side, so we took a chance with PBR and it paid off. Our DM Ben and captain Jim from Tropical Island Divers did a great job and I highly recommend them if you want a more personal, less crowded (we never saw another dive boat the whole trip) dive experience on Roatans northeast side. I loved the varied reef structure and feel I got a great mix of sloping reef, cracks, narrow canyons, caves, caverns, swim-thrus, and vertical walls. The reefs were consistently healthy and full of sponges, hard and soft corals as well as lots of fish both large and especially smaller (puffers, juvi files, blennies, and gobis galore) and lots of really cool creatures (sea hare, lobster, crabs, fireworms, nudibranches, etc.) Paya Bay Resort is not for everyone, if you like nightlife, want to dive nitrox 4 times a day, need to shore dive or want to try different restaurants every night, then PBR is not for you, But if you want isolated, beautiful scenery, empty beaches and good food , do consider it. It is perfect for honeymooners, couples or a small dive group could take over the whole resort. The only things on this trip we didnt like were the bugs (sand fleas, mosquitoes) and electrical outages(4 while we were there), but other than that it was a great trip. YMMV!
Sunday July 13, 2008
Arrived in Honduras at 12:30 after the 2.5 hour flight from Houston. We were promptly met by a driver from Paya Bay Resort (PBR) While waiting for another couple flying in on their private plane, we met a Canadian couple also staying at PBR , we drank a round of Barenas to get the trip started. Once the others arrived we were driven the hour or so to PBR. After getting checked in we went to a cove for a short snorkel, had dinner and drinks and called it a night. PBR is a beautiful little resort on the hillier Northeast side with only 10 rooms on a very scenic and diverse 26 acres; it has a large natural beach and a smaller, nicer private beach, as well as hiking paths through the garden like terrain to 2 hidden coves. It has a restaurant with a nice deck and veranda, perfect for the sunset views.
Monday morning was my first of 5 dive days with Tropical Island Divers (TID). The dive operation is located at Marble Hill Farms a 12 min drive or 7 min boat ride from PBR, depending on the number of divers or dive location for the day, they either pick you up by boat or shuttle you by car, since their was 4 divers we were picked up at the dock by our captain Jim and divemaster Ben. We went back to their dock to check in, get weights, sign waiver, etc. Ben then gave a briefing of their operation, their boat, safety procedures, oxygen location and encouraged all of us to get a Marine park tag. Ben gave a very accurate, detailed dive profile on every dive, you were free to dive your own profile or follow him, he only asked that you get back with more than 500psi. , no matter how long that took
. The typical dive day is get picked up at the dock at 8:30 , ride to 1st dive site, surface interval at nearby dock, ride to 2nd site than dropped off at PBRs dock by 1. I will list the dive sites we visited for the week computer readings for max depth, time and water temp. There are clickable links to pics for each day.Monday July 14, 2008
1st dive Punta Blanca Wall - 79feet , 48 minutes , 81 degrees. Good 1st dive to get acclimated, get weighted, etc. 5 min ride from their dock. We spent the surface interval with a tour Marble Hill Farms where they make jellies and jams from the onsite fruit orchard of banana, guava, papaya, mango, orange, lime, pineapples, etc. They are building 3 eco-lodge cabins, and have plans for an onsite restaurant on this 26 acre site.
2nd dive Diamond Rock 70ft , 55 min , 82 dg. This site was also 5 min ride from their dock. This was a good dive with a good variety of fish, creatures, hard and soft corals and sponges, we also got a glimpse of the excellent variety of reef structure that the week would bring us.
Tuesday July 15, 2008
1st dive Camp Bay Reef 84ft , 54 min, 81 dg. This site was about 10 min east of PBR, Nice gentle sloping wall dive ,very healthy reef, lots of lobsters. We spent our surface interval at the Camp Bay beach bar drinking juice enjoying the views.
2nd dive McNabs Pinnacles 63ft , 54 min , 82 dg. This site was right out front of PBR. This was one of the best dives of the week mainly because of the underwater topography, lots of tall narrow canyons, a maze of cracks, pinnacles and chutes. My non-diving wife went along on this day and reported the snorkeling was excellent at both sites. After the dive our DM Ben asked if all 4 of us agreed, we would go on an all day trip around the east side of Roatan to dive the Morat wall, we all agreed to pitch in for the extra gas for the trip, PBR packed us a lunch, some fruit and after dive cervezas.
Wednesday July 16, 2008
1st dive Morat Wall 85ft , 56 min , 81 dg. We had perfect weather, calm seas for the hour or so ride to the site. We went up the northeast coast and then thru a natural cut in the mangrove to get to the Southside, I enjoyed talking with Bryan another DM from TID who joined us for these dives. The wall lies halfway between the islands of Morat and Barbareta. We headed north along the wall from the mooring on this dive, my safety stop was spent following a 5 foot nurse shark in the shallows. The surface interval was spent eating lunch on a dock on the private island of Barbareta.
2nd dive Morat Wall 72 ft , 58 min , 82 dg. On this dive we headed south on the wall. The vertical wall here is very lush with lots of Atlantic spade fish, barracuda, and larger reef fish, excellent visibility. We enjoyed a few beers on the ride back, a very scenic day, definitely worth the few extra dollars.
Thursday July 17, 2008
1st dive Pollytilly Wall 75ft , 58 min, 81 dg. There were only 2 divers this day but we both brought our wives so they could snorkel. Our DM Ben promised a day of cracks, swim thrus, caves and caverns, he didnt disappoint. This was a dive on a healthy reef with lots of cracks, canyons, and nooks to find some cool creatures. We agreed to do our surface interval at the next dives mooring due to excellent snorkeling nearby.
2nd dive Verde Grande 38ft, 65 min , 83 dg. This was their signature shallow dive. The dive started out in the shallows, inside the reef and followed a series of swim thrus cracks and caverns to the outside of the reef, where we briefly explored a shallow wall, then back to the inside of the reef through a maze of caves and caverns. In the cave is a bunch of dolphin skulls and bones, we were told on a couple of occasions a pod of dolphins chasing the hundreds of silversides got disoriented inside and probably drowned, but nobody knows for sure. This was a very cool dive and reminded me of the cenotes around Akumal, Mexico.
Friday July 18, 2008
1st dive Unamed drift dive 85ft, 52 min , 82 dg. It was down to only Ben and I today, so basically a private guide for my dives today. Ben decided to go to a section of reef where there is no mooring, so even though there wasnt any current, we treated it as a drift dive. This was a fun dive through more cracks and canyons, very healthy reef (broken record I know!) Bryan from TID joined us to take a few pics and try out some new toys.
2nd dive Gretchens Shell 69ft , 52 min, 82 dg. My last dive of the trip was a good one, this site was similar to McNabs pinnacles, with deep narrow canyons with sand bottoms, a very scenic way to end my diving for this trip.
Saturday July 19, 2008
Today we had scheduled PBR to take us to the Pigeon Cays, two small, uninhabited islands over by Barbareta island. The weather the day before turned angry and we thought we might not get to go, but the morning brought calmer seas and the sun peaking thru the clouds. Tom our captain for the day (and 1 of the sons of the owner of PBR) got a cooler full of beer and lunch and off we went for the 1.5 hour ride. It was just us and the couple from Canada for the trip and it didnt disappoint. We took the same route as the trip to Morat, up the coast, thru the mangrove, around Helene and Barbareta to the 2 tiny islands. Once on the island we set up camp for the day and went snorkeling, we were greeted by crystal clear water and a very healthy shallow reef. I even found a 4 foot sleeping nurse shark. We then explored our little island paradise, the island is only about 150 meters long by 60 meters wide, it has a couple of iguanas, some lizards, a few trees and picture perfect views. We had lunch and a beer followed by more snorkeling and chilling out on the deserted beach, packed up the boat, had a few more beers on the ride back. A perfect last day in Honduras.
This was our 1st trip to Roatan , but wont be our last. We did research a few of the other resorts around the island, but PBR fit our style perfectly. We didnt want to be on the partying westside, or dive on cattle boats on the south side, so we took a chance with PBR and it paid off. Our DM Ben and captain Jim from Tropical Island Divers did a great job and I highly recommend them if you want a more personal, less crowded (we never saw another dive boat the whole trip) dive experience on Roatans northeast side. I loved the varied reef structure and feel I got a great mix of sloping reef, cracks, narrow canyons, caves, caverns, swim-thrus, and vertical walls. The reefs were consistently healthy and full of sponges, hard and soft corals as well as lots of fish both large and especially smaller (puffers, juvi files, blennies, and gobis galore) and lots of really cool creatures (sea hare, lobster, crabs, fireworms, nudibranches, etc.) Paya Bay Resort is not for everyone, if you like nightlife, want to dive nitrox 4 times a day, need to shore dive or want to try different restaurants every night, then PBR is not for you, But if you want isolated, beautiful scenery, empty beaches and good food , do consider it. It is perfect for honeymooners, couples or a small dive group could take over the whole resort. The only things on this trip we didnt like were the bugs (sand fleas, mosquitoes) and electrical outages(4 while we were there), but other than that it was a great trip. YMMV!
