ROATAN OR BUST!

   I've been waiting nearly a year to take a BIG trip (I define "big" in this context as "out of the U.S. mainland") and just booked a trip to dive Roatan, off the coast of Honduras. I had been waiting for a "sign" to figure out where to go this year (South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa and Scandinavia being VERY high on my list as well), and it came to me last Saturday after the Glow Run. One of Rich's coworkers, Ryan, is also a dive instructor at a local shop. Rich introduced me, I asked about trips, he mentioned Roatan was coming up in September, and BOOM. My mind was made up. It's a relatively inexpensive trip (all-inclusive!) and all the organization is done for me.
   Roatan is well-known as one of the world's best reefs, often ranked right after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It also offers diving with sharks, diving with dolphins, and tours of the rainforest canopy. Who's excited? Me. THANK YOU, RICH!
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   It has been a year since my trip to Playa and Cozumel. Keeping up with diving is personally very important to me, because I had to overcome such intense fear in order to begin, and then to get certified, and then again to actually dive. Just taking swim lessons in 2009 and 2011 was a huge hurdle. Completing my Scuba certification in 2010 was another. Then came overcoming a serious panic attack before my first "real" dives in Maui. Breaking through fear and diving through arches, down walls, and within deep caves in Mexico. And swimming alongside 45' beasts of the deep—still the best day of my life. So far.
   All that to say, I have to keep swimming and diving regularly enough that I shed my fear. Caution is healthy for a diver; fear is not. And I could easily slip back into the latter if my experiences are too few and far between. This is partly why I write about my experiences, good and bad: it reminds me of what I've experienced and learned, and keeps me focused on my goals.

Here are a few of my favorite, most triumphant posts:

Cold July

Certificate

Round Two 

Certifiable!
Mmmaui

Caving

Leviathans