Utila: Where the Whale Sharks are to Abound

Utila, one of the three Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, is a scuba diver’s paradise.   The reefs are spectacular and seemingly endless.  The added bonus is supposed to be the nearly daily sightings of whale sharks. 

I came to Utila with time to kill before my sister was to arrive in Guatemala.  In addition, after finding out that the dives here are virtually 50% of what they cost in Belize, I decided to make use of the opportunity.  I knew nothing about the whale sharks until I landed on the island and found the opportunity of snorkeling with them irresistible.

Coming of the ferry you are accosted by all the various dive shops offering you free accommodations and endless other perks if you come and check them out.  I first headed to one of the well reputed dive outfitters.  They had accommodations inland amongst a mango grove with a nice restaurant and swimming pool.  Their dive shop looked quite spectacular but was quite a ways walk from where you slept (10 mins?).  So I made use of the first free night’s accommodation and decided to go exploring on the following morning.

In this manner I stumbled on Alton’s. Another recommended dive center with rooms right on the water.  They didn’t offer a swimming pool, but with the Caribbean Sea one step from your front door, who can complain about that.  Their dive packages were a tad bit cheaper, they offered free accommodations while diving, and they were right on the water.  The decision was simple and within an hour I changed venues and signed myself up for dives on the following day. 

Now, two days later, my ears are completely waterlogged, my stomach and face are sunburned and my hair is likely permanently salt-crusted.  I’ve done 4 dives, seen fantastic reefs, number of turtles, with one exceptionally large one sleeping a couple meters away from me, plenty of tropical fish and some other unidentifiable species.  Others from my group saw eagle rays and eels.   I unfortunately was not lucky enough and none of us were lucky enough to see the famed whale sharks.  We searched for them on both of our diving days but to no avail.  Apparently they are not as plentiful as we were made to believe.  It might be one of those rouses to get the tourists to sign up with the various dive shops.  Regardless, since I hadn’t known about them before coming, I can’t really be too disappointed at not seeing them.

Tomorrow will likely be a break from all the diving.  Instead of making use of my flippers, I’ll switch to oars, take out a kayak, and paddle up to a lagoon, through a canal, past mangroves and onto the opposite side of the island where a beach will be awaiting.