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Have you ever dreamed about a place where everyone greats you with smiles and shining eyes? A place were days can turn into weeks and no matter how long you are staying, the people there still make you feel like one in the gang? A place where everyone is welcoming, everyone is open and everyone is easy-going? I am here to tell you that that place do exist. It is called Utila Dive Center.

 

 

The boatride that took us out from Honduras mainland to Utila was on the other hand not too inviting. When the crew started walking around handning out puke-bags I understood that this would be a rough ride. Not handling seasickness too good in my past I was worried. What had I gotten myself into?

 

 

Arriving on the island, one long hour later, I followed a girl with a bright orange shirt with UDC printed on it. She took me and five more others to Mango Inn where we could spend the first night in Utila for free, while deciding what to do on the island. I, together with two swedish girls Emma & Julia and one dutch guy named Jaap (I know! How cool name is that?!), was already sure about our reasons for the visit. And after the first beer while watching the sunset on the dock we were set to start our theory lessons the next day.

 

I spent most of my time in Utila at two places, Utila Dive Center and Treetanic.

 

 

Declan (our instructor) and Jerry (instructor-in-training) took care of us when we were at UDC. Started out being four students and then three (Emma decided she would rather be a bikini-babe sunbathing on the boats roof), to be five students in the end (two new americans joined the group on the second day). They taught us all we needed to know about diving in theory and practised skills with us underwater, all the time with a smile on their faces and a joke never far away. They made it all so easy. Dec and Jerry took us from the first day - when we knew absolutely nothing, til day four - when we all became certified divers. I, Julia and Jaap was hooked. We had to continue. Already the next day we started our Advanced course. Still with Dec and Jerry.

 

 

While the days were all spent at UDC or at sea, the nights were spent at Treetanic. A treehouse with bar. An awesome place. I went there already on my first night with Karen and Menna (the brittish girls I told you about in the previous post) and we all fell in love with the bar and the atmosphere. It also turned out to be one of the mandatory places after the sunset beer at UDC. The nights that didn't end with a beer at Tree were few, one out of nine.

 

 

The last day at Utila was sad. We had four fun dives, which I could only do two of because of a cold. Making me even more bitter. After the last beer at the dock on the dive centre we went to Tree where we shared stories about what had been the best and the worst experience at Utila. It was a great night - making leaving Utila even harder.

 

 

The boatride the morning after was completely different from the boatride to the island. I no longer questioned myself why I went there, instead I was wondering: Why didn't I stay?