Wednesday, 2/16:
Another overnight of on-again, off-again rain and wind. In the morning, things lightened up and the wind subsided considerably. Breakfast of omelets, mango, coffee and toast with everyone. It was still raining off and on so after breakfast that meant a game of Phase 10. When things cleared up and the rain stopped, we took a long walk on the beach. Then we headed back to eat a fabulous lunch of chicken quesadillas and guacamole. Clay was still feeling the effects of La Turista so I was the only one diving with Clearwater this afternoon. Things had been in chaos at the dive shop due to the two days of no diving, so they were scrambling to accommodate all of the people who wanted to go out. They had taken a couple of divers out in the morning but it had been pretty rough on the water. Michelle Ostoff had been one of the divers that morning and she told me that, because of the dark and overcast skies, there were a lot of big fish on the reef hunting in the twilight. I went out with four other divers and Denisse. The divers were going out as part of an advanced open water course and were doing their navigation unit. I was the tag along.
Dive 5: Quarantine Buddy: We went out to Quarantine Buddy, a site with an open, sandy bottom and columns of coral. Saw three rays, a Peacock Flounder, Hogfish, big Groupers, a Trunkfish, turtle and millions of small fish. At the end of the dive, we did our safety stop in the coral nursery. They are trying to re-establish Elkhorn Coral. They take pieces and attach them to a one of a series of scaffolding columns. When they take, they are transplanted and epoxied into place on the reef. Coral die-off is an imminent threat to the reef of Roatan. There is an illness circulating in the Caribbean that has already wreaked havoc on the reefs surrounding the island. Transplanting is one way to combat the die-off. Another is to inoculate the affected coral which seems like a Sysiphus-like task at best but at least they are making an effort.
Got back and up to the house. Everybody had caught a water taxi and gone to West Bay to hang out on the beach and swim. They ended up having a great time and said that the water, that was so churned up on our beach, had been nice and clear down there. Their stay had included snacks and adult beverages that Nicci had so expertly captured.
In the middle of the afternoon, I spotted Guy and Dolly in the little bar building so stopped to chat. They were sharing a couple of shots (“One of the perks of ownership”, says Guy). They gave me a lot of interesting info about a lot of different things. I had mentioned the agoutis that seem so at home around the area. “Watusas” is what they called them. They apparently just nonchalantly hang around and are totally comfortable as long as you stay in the little bar or by the pool. Otherwise they spook easily and will vanish in a second. “The are delicious,” added Dolly.
When everybody returned, the kids took off to shower and change. We had dinner reservations for Oasis at 6:30. It was our first beautiful sunset in three days so the kids were enjoying a drink on the water. We decided to head to the Oasis early and were practically the first and only diners there.