No Tampons?!?

109 days to go.....  guess who's counting        :o)

So I got an e-mail from Andy with Utila Dive Centre today, answering some questions that I had about my arrival, packing, etc....  and Andy was kind enough to send me a response to all of my questions as well as a  document with tons of information including an outline of the course schedule and a packing tip list.  (Very Helpful!)  I'll elaborate more in a moment, but let's get to the interesting part...  Listed under the "What is not available on Utila that you may need." section is Tampons......  Tampons?!? Seriously!?!  No Tampons?!?  I apologize to the sensitive men reading this but SERIOUSLY, NO TAMPONS?!?  It's a DIVING Island....   I just don't get it   Needless to say, I've now made mental space in my luggage for enough tampons for myself (which I'd planned on brining anyways) and for the unfortunate female that I may meet who didn't know.....  They are small and don't take up much space anyways.  :o)

So on to the stuff that the rest of you may find interesting.   Once I land in Utila I'll take a $3 (approx) cab ride (which I suspect will be on a golf cart) to the Mango Inn to check in to the dorm room that I'll be staying in for the first few nights. Once I get that over with I'll find my way down to the Utila Dive Centre, and Hopefully as mentioned before, I'll be able to get a dive in that day! Andy confirmed that I should wait till I'm on the island before finding an apartment. I guess it's best to see them in person and also see where they are in relation to the Dive Centre.  I'm sure that my motivation to find an apartment will be high, so I'll probably spend my first few days doing some fun dives and finding a place to call home for a while.

The Utila Dive Centre & the associated Mango Inn have some great facilities!  All three of their classrooms have air-conditioning and access to internet. There are 4 dive boats as well as they have their own 24-hour back-up generator.  The Mango Inn has a lovely deck and a pool (which we can use), restaurant and more internet   :o)

The Dive Master course schedule itself runs for approximately 4 weeks, Monday through Sunday, which I do believe means 7 days a week... Days begin anywhere between 7:00am and 10:00am and go from anywhere between 5:30pm and I think around 8:00pm (even later if doing night dives)  There seems to be plenty of down time and fun-dives worked into the schedule, so I'll be able to enjoy the island while studying and working as a DMT (Dive Master Trainee).

The Island is also home to the Utila Centre for Marine Ecology and other Marine Study Projects, so I will also have the opportunity to join in on boat survey trips looking for the rare Roughed-Toothed dolphins and WhaleSharks!! (yup! I said WhaleSharks!!!) I'm sure that I'll find lost of ways to fill up my limited free time!

Isla de Utila

Útila (Isla de Útila) is the third largest of Honduras' Bay Islands, after Roatán and Guanaja. The island is surrounded by vast coral reefs with prolific undersea life and is in a region that marks the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest in the world. Approximately 30km off the mainland of Honduras the small island of Utila is just 11 km long and 4 km at its widest point. 

Starting to come together

Slowly but surely things are beginning to come together. Don't get me wrong, I still have a lot to organize and process before January arrives, but some of the pieces are in place.

All of my flights have been booked for a few months now. YEA!! Here is the quick run-down:

      Jan 16th      YYZ -> MCO

      Jan 17th      MIA -> SAP

      Jan 18th      SAP -> (LCE) -> UII

      Mar 6th      UII -> (LCE) -> SAP -> MIA

      Mar 8th      FLL -> YYZ

So I'll be leaving Toronto on January 16th and making my way to Orlando, arriving early afternoon. I'm thinking of staying in Coco Beach, FL on the night of Jan 16th. (about an hour outside of Orlando) I have a feeling that come January I'll be fairly desperate to jump into an ocean! Plus, Kennedy Space centre is there, and I'd love to spend a few hours checking it out!

My flight to San Pedro Sula from Miami doesn't leave until early evening on the 17th, so I'll have all day to slowly drive down the coast & explore. I wanted to give myself an extra day in Florida on the way down just incase there are flight delays out of Toronto... it will be January after all! Then mid-morning on Monday January 18th I fly from San Pedro Sula to the island of Utila (via Le Ceiba) With any luck I'll be on the island in time to catch the afternoon dive boat!! :o)

My tuition with Utila Dive Centre includes the first four nights accommodations in a dorm room at the Mango Inn, which is connected with UDC. That will give me a few days to settle in and find an apartment to call home.

As I mentioned I still have tons to figure out. Car rentals for Florida as well as my hotels in Coco Beach and San Pedro Sula still need to be sorted out, but there is lots of time for that still. Work has been rather crazy these past few months, and I'm hoping that after October 15th I'll be able to take a few days off work to relax & then begin to prep.

I've been trying to think about what I'm going to need to pack and how I'm going to bring everything with me. The flight from SAP to UII is on a local airline which has a baggage restriction of 50lbs..... given that my dive gear weights about 25lbs I'm thinking that I'll be paying some extra baggage fees on that flight.

I'm going to be bringing the following dive gear with me....

BCD, reg set, mask, snorkel, fins (split-full foot), 3mm wetsuit, booties (just in case), weight belt (no weights), dive flashlight (2), underwater slate, horn, dive computer, log books, underwater camera housing and I'm sure a few other things that I'm forgetting to mention. I won't even start on my list of drugs and lotions that I have!! Lets just say that I'll be bringing enough pills, sunscreen, bug spray & neosporin to fill up that other 25 lbs of baggage allowance! LOL!

Sooo much to think about, I have lists coming out of my wazoo!! Thank god for my iPhone and the wonderful packing list App that i have

:o)