Utila... Reflecting on 2016
Growing up in Wisconsin and the Midwest has its perks. Access to the world's best cheeses, beer, and sausages. The World's Largest Music Festival, America's largest waterpark and the world's greatest concentration of them. The proximity to the Great Lakes. The changing of the leaves in Autumn, which also lends itself to restocking on delectable venison. Being a short drive from urban centers like Chicago, and even closer to natural wonders, like Kettle Moraine forest for hiking through a stunning evidence of the last Ice Age. The pace of life is slow and the people are friendly (even if it is a display of passive-aggressiveness).
It has its drawbacks, too. The pace of life is slow, for someone with a thirst for knowledge and experience. It's regularly viewed as a flyover zone and doesn't gain much national or international recognition; I almost always have to reference Chicago or Canada while describing its relative position in the US. Growing up, I swear it took at least six months to a year before trends, fads, and pop culture to diffuse here. When it does get recognition, its for one of two things: sports (the Packers and Badgers) or to be the butt of a joke (in the movie "2012", there were several jokes about my Home State before disaster struck). On top of it, it is expensive to fly to and from Milwaukee... Sometimes ticket prices between MKE-UIO and ORD-UIO differ as much as $700 for the same dates, but usually around $400. And it is colder than Hades in Winter, something I refused to get accustomed to in my nearly 29 years of life there.
Another drawback was not realizing my full potential or that my dreams could become a reality. My parents enrolled me in swim classes at an early age and my love for water blossomed. Some of my favorite Summer memories involve going to Illinois to visit my dad's family and learning how to water ski, knee board, and properly dislodge a rival from a tube. When we would go fishing as a family in Pewaukee Lake, Eagle River, other rural parts of Wisconsin, the marina in Racine or elsewhere (especially with my Bumpa. When he began hitching his fishing boat to his car, I knew I was in for some quality time with one of my idols), I was more curious about what was in the water than removing it. In fact, I dislike(d) fishing so much that I would annoy everyone by recasting my rod every few minutes without caring whether I snagged even seaweed on my hook.
I remember getting my first mask and snorkel. The rubber was white and the trim was blaze orange. I held onto this equipment well past the point it formed a waterproof seal to my face, and it was never properly replaced. Only with swim goggles. Snorkeling in small lakes and ponds in the Midwest is not very interesting. The visibility is low because of brown algae blooms and prolific Elodea/seaweed growth in the swimmable regions... Going past the buoys was forbidden as it would interfere with water sport enthusiasts and increase the risk of danger and personal injury. Summertime is marked by increased productivity, and that is not limited to plant life.
In fact, I never properly snorkeled until my trip nearly two years ago to Panama. The vibrant display of vertebrate and invertebrate life inspired and drove me to explore deeper. Ten months later, I was to go to Útila, Honduras to get my diving certification... But ended up in Máncora, Perú to accomplish this. On my first dive, deeply nervous at first, I fell in love. A couple months later, I dove in Puerto Lopez. I intended to dive, as well, in southern Perú and Chile this past Summer. Those didn't occur for varying reasons. One day I will explore the kelp forests of the Pacific coast, in the Southern hemisphere. GOD, I LOVE THE WATER. I WISH I COULD SPEND ALL MY TIME AROUND IT.
And then arrived December 2016. I had yet to make any sort of plans for Christmas and New Year's. The combination of work-related exhaustion, taking Master's courses, renewing my teaching license, and debilitating tinnitus and hearing loss killed motivation to even think about the future, let alone enjoying life. But, with less than three weeks to go, I forced myself (literally) to book a plane ticket. I resolved on finally making it to Útila. I applied the deposit I made a year prior to lodging and specialty courses. Although I was actually excited, I still hadn't packed until the day my flight departed. Honestly, I didn't begin until about four hours before my departure time. This is how exhausted I was to the core.
The travel from Quito to Útila wasn't a walk in the park either. Sometimes I think that it is intentionally difficult to get out of Quito. I don't know whose fault it is but it surely is somebody's. A brief flight to Bogotá, an eight hour layover (the shortest one I found) until a flight to San Salvador, then Roatán, and a one-hour ferry ride. In total, it took me 20 hours to arrive from my origin to my final destination, an island 2000 km /1250 miles from my origin and I was dead (figuratively, and pun intended). So dead-tired, in fact, that I missed my morning dive the following day.
Útila is stunningly beautiful but strange for an expat-gringo living in Latin America. You can pay for things in Lempiras (Honduran currency) but US dollars and Euros work just fine... No need to exchange currencies. You can speak in Spanish if you want, but locals will instinctively respond back to gringos in English. It wasn't until my fifth day on the island that I met a Honduran who wanted to sustain a conversation with me in Spanish. (Gracias Rodolfo!)
I spent majority of my time studying for two specialty courses, both of which I passed. I completed these with the Bay Island College of Diving (BICD). Concurrently, I did the Wreck and Night specialties. This required me to read and review concepts, techniques, and equipment for two different dives... Luckily they are similar. This occupied my time through the 29th, as I was studying in between dives. For three days, I went out for two deep dives to the Halliburton wreck in the afternoon, and one night dive. I checked my dive computer on my first day off and looked at my no-fly time, of which I had more than four hours of no-fly time... And this was sixteen hours after my most recent dive. Check out the videos below for footage of my dives. Unfortunately on the wreck dive, I didn't bring my GoPro the time I saw either a gigantic hawksbill or loggerhead turtle nearly the size of a VW Bug (no exaggeration!!!!) feeding under the boat at 30 meters as a 12' moray eel jetted out to warn us of its presence.
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| The sendero to Pumpkin Hill |
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| Pumpkin Hill Beach |
Another drawback was not realizing my full potential or that my dreams could become a reality. My parents enrolled me in swim classes at an early age and my love for water blossomed. Some of my favorite Summer memories involve going to Illinois to visit my dad's family and learning how to water ski, knee board, and properly dislodge a rival from a tube. When we would go fishing as a family in Pewaukee Lake, Eagle River, other rural parts of Wisconsin, the marina in Racine or elsewhere (especially with my Bumpa. When he began hitching his fishing boat to his car, I knew I was in for some quality time with one of my idols), I was more curious about what was in the water than removing it. In fact, I dislike(d) fishing so much that I would annoy everyone by recasting my rod every few minutes without caring whether I snagged even seaweed on my hook.
I remember getting my first mask and snorkel. The rubber was white and the trim was blaze orange. I held onto this equipment well past the point it formed a waterproof seal to my face, and it was never properly replaced. Only with swim goggles. Snorkeling in small lakes and ponds in the Midwest is not very interesting. The visibility is low because of brown algae blooms and prolific Elodea/seaweed growth in the swimmable regions... Going past the buoys was forbidden as it would interfere with water sport enthusiasts and increase the risk of danger and personal injury. Summertime is marked by increased productivity, and that is not limited to plant life.
And then arrived December 2016. I had yet to make any sort of plans for Christmas and New Year's. The combination of work-related exhaustion, taking Master's courses, renewing my teaching license, and debilitating tinnitus and hearing loss killed motivation to even think about the future, let alone enjoying life. But, with less than three weeks to go, I forced myself (literally) to book a plane ticket. I resolved on finally making it to Útila. I applied the deposit I made a year prior to lodging and specialty courses. Although I was actually excited, I still hadn't packed until the day my flight departed. Honestly, I didn't begin until about four hours before my departure time. This is how exhausted I was to the core.
The travel from Quito to Útila wasn't a walk in the park either. Sometimes I think that it is intentionally difficult to get out of Quito. I don't know whose fault it is but it surely is somebody's. A brief flight to Bogotá, an eight hour layover (the shortest one I found) until a flight to San Salvador, then Roatán, and a one-hour ferry ride. In total, it took me 20 hours to arrive from my origin to my final destination, an island 2000 km /1250 miles from my origin and I was dead (figuratively, and pun intended). So dead-tired, in fact, that I missed my morning dive the following day.
Útila is stunningly beautiful but strange for an expat-gringo living in Latin America. You can pay for things in Lempiras (Honduran currency) but US dollars and Euros work just fine... No need to exchange currencies. You can speak in Spanish if you want, but locals will instinctively respond back to gringos in English. It wasn't until my fifth day on the island that I met a Honduran who wanted to sustain a conversation with me in Spanish. (Gracias Rodolfo!)
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| On the Útila Dream Ferry |
I spent majority of my time studying for two specialty courses, both of which I passed. I completed these with the Bay Island College of Diving (BICD). Concurrently, I did the Wreck and Night specialties. This required me to read and review concepts, techniques, and equipment for two different dives... Luckily they are similar. This occupied my time through the 29th, as I was studying in between dives. For three days, I went out for two deep dives to the Halliburton wreck in the afternoon, and one night dive. I checked my dive computer on my first day off and looked at my no-fly time, of which I had more than four hours of no-fly time... And this was sixteen hours after my most recent dive. Check out the videos below for footage of my dives. Unfortunately on the wreck dive, I didn't bring my GoPro the time I saw either a gigantic hawksbill or loggerhead turtle nearly the size of a VW Bug (no exaggeration!!!!) feeding under the boat at 30 meters as a 12' moray eel jetted out to warn us of its presence.
(On my final fun dives, I saw so many amazing creatures including an eagle ray, Christmas tree worms, drum fish, moray eels, file fish, a gigantic trumpet fish, boxer shrimp, etc.... But my GoPro was not charged. It seems that when I don't "expectantly" look for things is when they come out in droves! The memories will last with me for a lifetime though and continue inspiring me to dive)
This dive trip solidified a few things for me.
- That I need to take better care of myself. Yeah, working is inevitable but I can and must take breaks. Taking care of myself includes taking care of my relationships, too. I hope my friends and family back in the USA forgive me for my lack of communication.
- Becoming a dive master and instructor is in my cards. Nothing connects me more than being underwater. It also feeds my yearning for learning. I can't wait to purchase my own dive gear and travel around the world to use it. However, I SUCK at underwater navigation, and I need to work on that badly.
- This was my fourth Christmas in a row away from Wisconsin.. While I do not miss the snow, cold, or damaging my clothing with salt, I do plan to return for the following Christmas. Somewhat to please my friends and family. But I haven't experienced a family Christmas since my Nana passed away in September 2014, nor Bumpa in July 2013. Maybe I have been avoiding that. After my Grandma Smith passed in 2003, holidays were never the same. Actually, they really changed after her cancer diagnosis. I think I need to confront that, too.
- While Útila is amazing and I will return here in the future, I like going places that have grit and challenge. Even if it is having only one language to speak, and that language not being English, i feel it helps me to broaden my perspective. You don't grow if it comes easy to you. Y me gusta hablar español, aun cuando yo falta confianza in mis habilidades.
- Lastly, I am a grownup. This hasn't prevented me from forgetting to constantly apply sunblock, resulting in getting commentaries about my sunburns. It looks more painful than it feels. My skin tone and ability (or lack thereof) to produce melanin just happens to come with growing up in Wisconsin.
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