I'm in Utila now, one of the Honduran Caribbean bay islands located at the arse-end of the worlds second largest barrier reef. Honduras is one of the cheapest places in the world to do good scuba diving, and so I have come to do my Advanced PADI certification as I start making my way down to Panama City to catch a flight over to Colombia at the end of the month.
Its costing me USD 299 to do my Advanced PADI course, which essentially gets me the 5 adventure dives and theory tests you need to do to get Advanced certification, a couple of extra free dives and four nights accommodation.
Unfortunately, the accommodation is shared dormitories. Unfortunately the shared dormitories are bunk-beds. Unfortunately my bottom bunk is foot to foot with Peter from Chicago. I hope I don't touch feet with Peter from Chicago during the night. Peter may well be hoping the same thing, and if he's not, he should, and probably will be, if/when he sees the state of my scabby feet. In Peter's favour, he is a short-arse and his feet do not stick out the bottom of his bunk-bed. Against Peter, is the fact that my feet dangle out significantly from my bunk bed, dangerously close to his bed. I will sleep diagonally in my bunk-bed to minimise my dangling. That is the sort of guy I am.
I haven't slept in a bunk bed in a long, long time. Actually that is a lie, I slept in a bunk-bed 8 weeks ago when I made the fatal mistake of leaving it to my friends to book all the accommodation for our US road trip, and thus ended up invariably sleeping in bunk-beds, the floor and on one night an upside down tent. But apart from that, I haven't slept in a bunk-bed for a long time, and I don't intend to make a habit of it after Utila. I don't think Peter from Chicago will either, if/when he sees the state of my scabby feet.
Prologue: This morning I did my two free dives. They were largely uneventful apart from the sighting of one poxy small sting ray, and a near-sighting of a whale shark, the largest fish in the world. Oh and I was sea sick on the scuba diving boat, in water that was about as choppy as a jacuzzi on its lowest bubble setting. I hope my PADI instructor didn't notice that, or if he did, that it doesn't mean I automatically fail my Advanced PADI certification, simply for being a woose.
