| Roatan |
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| Sunday, 15 May 2011 00:00 |
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At 610m depth- yes that’s right we discovered the deepness of the world. However, to get there was a long way. First of all, we finally left our car in Belize with a mechanic and were free again. In our usual rush tempo we headed to Honduras. After 3 days travelling almost non-stop we reached the island Roatan. Another Caribbean dream, unfortunately most dreams are pricy. Anyway, the decision for Roatan was clear because of one reason. Karl Stanley takes tourist with his sub Idabel on underwater expedition to a depth of 300m, 460m and 610m. One of my dreams since childhood came true when we decided to go on an expedition. Only two other subs worldwide are open for public and Stanley is the only one who goes to 610m. With great anticipations and a good portion of adrenaline the adventure could start.                                                        The space in the sub was limited but enough and after the first meters underwater it got cooler. At ca. 92m is the limit of photosynthesis and at 520m starts the perpetual darkness. In total darkness you can see a lot of strange creatures. Don’t freak out, if the fishes start to lie upside down in the water. No they aren’t dead due to the darkness they don’t have orientation. Moreover, the animals down there are adapted to their environment. For example, fish have huge eyes and a lot of animals are fluorescent. Through the big window in the sub we had a great view of over 180° to explore everything. The windows had a certain shape and therefore we saw everything a lot smaller than in reality. Karl had two laser points with which he could show us the distance of 10cm and we quickly realized how big everything down there was. Some of the animals are descended from prehistoric times, for example the sea lilies are older than the dinosaurian and survived all these centuries. Besides all the bizarre crabs, corals and fishes we saw the dumbo octopus. We had luck; normally he lives even deeper and only comes a bit up at night to feed. Anyway, we had the chance to see him and with his big ears he is really a funny guy. After 3 ½ hours was the deepest dive of our lives over and we couldn’t really realize all these impressions at the moment.
For sure, we explored the reef around the island Roatan also on the usual way. Diving and snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea is spectaculars. Fishes and more fishes, corals like in a garden and on every dive one or more highlights, like sharks, turtles etc. The diving on Roatan is quite cheap and really recommendable. After so much adventure and new impressions we packed our bags to see more of the world.                                     
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 May 2011 21:40 ) |