Making our way from Barefoot Cay, a gorgeous secluded outpost on the west side, to the famed port town called French Harbour, known for its vibrant fishing community, local markets, and beautiful coastal scenery, we knew we were in store for one of our best days in Honduras yet. You see, we were about to get an exclusive perspective from the locals themselves about the prestigious dive scene in Roatan. And from the divers we’d spoken to thus far, it was apparent something truly special was in store for us.
Why so obsessed with this little island in the Caribbean? I’m so happy to tell you … Vibrant coral, endless tropical fish, calm and still waters, squadrons of squid, reef sharks galore, sunken shipwrecks, this place has it all. And because the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) helps to oversee the waters here, the 65 square miles of marine and coastal ecosystems are protected and monitored. You might be asking at this point, why would the Edges of Earth team travel to such a well-known and regulated dive destination, when the site itself seems to defy our own moniker? Well, where there’s marine havens, there’s often marine destruction as well.
This type of dedication to one’s home is something worth celebrating, and an attitude worth bringing into our own homes. Our expedition to consciously explore the world is not just about seeing the most remote and untouched places on earth. It’s about meeting people on the frontlines of conservation, and learning from their experiences and stories. So, for as much as we were excited about the dive sites and seeing what lies beneath the surface we were even more excited to meet the people who spend their days down there in the name of conservation.
And so we left French Harbour to make the five minute journey by boat to Big French Cay to meet Bruce and Omar. These two were graduates of the RMP’s dive scholarship program who transitioned out of their primary careers to bring people closer to the ocean. Through the Protect Our Pride Program, scholarships are granted to locals so that they can become divemasters or instructors. This opens up opportunities to be employed in the diving industry and educate those coming to the island about conservation, restoration and best dive practices—as outlined by the RMP supported dive centers.
The program has been operating for a whole decade now, offering open water through to divemaster certification. Over the years, the RMP team observed that entry-level dive certifications were less successful in their completion rate compared to advanced divers. Recognizing the competitive edge that higher certifications could give locals in the dive industry, RMP began offering only divemaster and instructor scholarships.
This level of training is intense and requires a real sense of passion and commitment. It’s a huge time investment and often can be a strain on the body when diving so frequently. But, for those obsessed with the ocean, getting the diving skills to navigate many challenging conditions, support others in the water, and understand the intricacies of the ocean a LITTLE bit better, is totally worth the commitment.
Even though Omar has swapped his pursuit of “fire” for “water,” he still revisits the former when duty calls. In fact, he was called in on the day we were meant to meet him! The night before our dive day at around 10pm , the only public hospital on Roatan tragically burned down due to three decades of inadequate electrical infrastructure. The community had long been advocating for a new hospital, but were met with continuous delays and deferrals. The fire forced the issue, as smoke lingered into the following morning, starkly illustrating the dire consequences of the neglect. It's unfortunate that such a catastrophe was necessary to catalyze action. But fortunately, there were no casualties thanks to volunteers like Omar.
Despite his 20 hour shift, transitioning from diving in the morning and afternoon, to working all through the night to fight the fire, Omar still seemed ready to go for our dive the following morning. He was stoked to show us his underwater sanctuary, the place that he now calls his second home.
Taking a one minute boat ride from the dock at Big French Cay to the site, we were surprised this is what we were dropping down into. Thinking we were going much further out to see the wonders of Roatan for the first time, our expedition team looked at each other a bit disappointed. But, the guys assured us, this would blow our minds and that their front yard truly was something to write home about.
So, we backrolled in and started our descent.
Our time thus far with the patrol team had highlighted some of the more harrowing sides of Roatan’s marine ecosystems. We’d had the chance to learn about their work maintaining the protective regulations throughout the Marine Park and observed the research team work on coral restoration around the island. But today was the first time we got the chance to see what this team of researchers, scientists, patrollers, educators, marketers, conservationists and dive pros were actually working to protect.
This is what everyone had told us about leading up to our expedition chapter here, and what the locals recapped with vivid detail and deep emotive description. Diving Roatan was utterly perfect. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves here to prove it.
Roatan has seen its fair share of bad news in the media, with some of its more troubling instances never even reaching mainstream attention. For example, since 2020 there has been a mysterious disease that caused corals that were formerly thriving for thousands of years to die off in a matter of weeks, according to this report by VICE. The disease itself is called stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) and it managed to travel all the way from Florida, throughout the Caribbean, and then down to Honduras, where it wreaked havoc in Roatan. While the global pandemic was well underway, there was another one sitting beneath the surface, wiping out 20 entire coral species through 18 countries.
And what they were showing us is also why they upended their fruitful careers to ultimately make a shift into the world of professional dive guiding and training. For them, there’s a desperate need to show people the underwater world in the most effective and sustainable way possible. To open people’s eyes to both the beauty and the devastation. To show them first-hand why they should care and how it affects and impacts them. If we want more underwater exploration, the chances to see places like Roatan, or even the ability to dive in general, we need to do our part. Getting trained by RMP has enabled Bruce and Omar to act as ambassadors, reaching those they take out in a much more intimate and personal way.
Bruce, the military vet now divemaster and bodybuilder, was clearly beyond comfortable underwater. With thousands of dives during his time in the military, and training for his instructor certification today, it was clear his passion sits firmly with the sea. “I’ve always wanted to save people and our planet. It’s always been a duty of mine to serve, in one way or another. Today, I’ve chosen to do this to give back to my home,” Bruce shared as we came up from an hour and a half long dive, one for the books I might add. It was the same sentiment for Omar, which was even more apparent given his commitment to the community and the ocean in real time, right before our eyes.
The times we have been most inspired on expeditions are when we meet local leaders like these two. When we meet people willing to stand up for the things they believe in, take risks, go the extra mile to educate themselves and note that their passion sits with supporting others. Seeing two people so passionate about their home, alongside the rest of the RMP staff that we encountered, left us with a sense of hope. When a community can rally around things they care about, change is possible. It’s never easy, but it’s always an option.
And when you start to effectively bring people into the scuba diving world, you have the power to convert them to life-long advocates for our natural world. Omar left us with some parting words, in his first ever interview in English too, and he reminded us that the journey despite its challenges is still worth it: “I didn’t pass my instructor certification the first time. I was upset at first. But, that’s not going to stop me from trying again. It’s my responsibility to show others why my home is worth protecting.”
To be continued …
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