Wreck Dive

I headed to Happy Divers at eight o'clock this morning to complete my fourth dive for the advanced PADI course. During the first three dives I worked on required skills for advanced certification, but for the fourth and fifth dives I was allowed to choose from a list of approved skills. I really wanted to do a wreck dive and EJ was happy to accomodate me.

In 1987 Anthony's Key Resort, near the west end of Roatan, sunk an old Peruvian cargo-liner just off the coast to allow divers easy access to an underwater shipwreck. There are other wrecks near Roatan, the newest of which is a cargo ship that went belly-up while bringing rum and hammocks to the island, but the Peruvian wreck is apparently the most accessible and the most interesting. EJ briefed me on the wreck before we got in the water. He mentioned that there are several grouper fish that hang around the wreck waiting for food from divers, as well as a giant green moray eel that lives in the sunken ship. EJ nodded approvingly as he told me about the eel, “He's real friendly, you'll like him.”

I descended into the water and followed EJ as he pulled himself along a rope leading 100 feet down to the site of the wreck. For a couple of minutes all I could see was EJ, the rope, and the dark blue ocean beneath me. Slowly, as I reached the sandy bottom, the wreck came into view. Diving the wreck really was an out-of-this-world experience. From the bottom of the ocean I looked down the side of the massive cargo liner. I followed it's main mast up with my eyes until the top of it ended about fifty feet shy of the surface of the water. EJ and I thoroughly explored the wreck, swimming past metal ladders and beneath giant masts that have long since been covered with coral. The experience was like something out of a video game or a movie, it was almost hard to believe I was really under the water looking at the thing.

We swam to the rear of the ship and as I turned to my left I saw the eel that EJ had told me about. I quickly grabbed my camera and swam towards the eel, who was hiding under a sheet of metal, excited to get a picture of the thing. After snapping a couple of shots I realized the eel was slowly slithering towards me through the water, as if to tell me to quit invading it's space. Being approached by a six-foot, girthy eel while 100 feet down was an experience I wasn't prepared for. I was pretty startled and I quickly swam backwards. Finally the eel retreated back into it's hiding place. EJ led me away but spoke up later in defense of the eel. “You did sneak right up on him”, he told me matter-of-factly.

For my final dive of the advanced PADI course I visited a site called “Hole in the Wall”. The idea was to work on underwater photography and I did get a few pointers from EJ and took a few good shots, but more than anything the dive was just another fun underwater experience. EJ led me 90 feet underwater and up into a swim-through that led to a more shallow reef of coral. The swim-through opened up about thirty feet beneath the surface and we spent the rest of the dive in shallower waters, searching for a few good photo ops. The highlight of the dive was spotting two trigger fish; a blue one that swam by us at the beginning, and a silver one that we passed towards the end. I couldn't help but be reminded of diving at Ko Tao in Thailand, where it's easy to spot a few giant, multi-colored trigger fish on every dive.

During the last few days I've been pretty unsure about my itinerary for the remaining week of my trip in Costa Rica. Originally I wanted to spend some time at Monteverde cloud forest as well as a couple Pacific coast beaches, one of which is known for it's diving and another which is known for it's surfing. After really giving it some thought though I've decided that I don't need that much more time on beaches this trip. Beaches are great but I'm more satisfied with adventurous, cultural experiences than with beaches. It all finally came together late this afternoon when I made a small discovery in my Lonely Planet book. Only five hours by bus from San Jose, Costa Rica is a Nicaraguan town where visitors can take a boat down a narrow river, lined with trees and winding past tiny villages. After a three hour ride the boat arrives at a seventeenth century Spanish fortress, strategically placed to stop foreign invaders and pirates from reaching the colonial town of Granada. The Spanish fortress thing is perfect for my itinerary. Not only will I get to visit Nicaragua and have an experience that contrasts well with the rest of my trip, but it also sets me up perfectly to visit a couple of national parks, a waterfall, some caves, and Monteverde forest on my way to spending my last day or two on a perfect Costa Rican beach.