Bay Islands Honduras

[saltyoceangirl]

So, besides Malaria prevention, does anyone suggest other vaccinations? ie: Hepatitis, Typhoid, etc.. Has anyone heard of these being important for the Bay Islands? Thanks for everyone's suggestions and input!

 

[Cudabait]

Hey Salty,

Since you plan on doing your dive masters there, I assume you are already pretty sure who you'll be doing it with. Also, that is an indication that you have more than the average amount of time to spend there. In any case, I would suggest that you arrive on the island and pay a visit to each of the various dive businesses. (11). You can walk everywhere. I would rent a bike. Talk to the operators, take a look at their boat operations. Watch them load & leave and arrive. You'll get a quick take on who the serious operators (instructors) are and who the "hot dogs" are. If you see DM's throwing tanks through the air from boat to shore, etc. you will have seen your sign! Also, you'll get a good grasp on how much to pay. Everything in Utila is not as it seems on some web sites!! But it is the greatest place to go in the carribean, as far as I'm concerned.

Malaria and Hep prevention would be a good idea. Take DEET (Needs to be at least 30 percent) I think you may find that the rainey season is closer to like November, December and part of January. You can rent a furnished apt. for about $250.00 mo. Rooms are a lot cheaper. Food is good. People are great, All speak English. (They are decendants from pirates) As to clothes; I recently spent five weeks there and I took two bathing suits sandals, three undies, two tanks, three T's and four shorts. Anything else, you can get there. I took my own dive gear. All the schools there provide gear, even for the fun divers. Fun dives cost about $10.50 ea. when bought in 10 dive packages. That includes the equipment. Send me a PM if I can be of any help.

 

[happywulfie]

Hey there salty girl,

My name is Thomas and I'm writing to you from Utila.
What ever you want to know about the island, just let me know.!!!
I work as an IDC Staff Instructor at Bay Island College of Diving (BICD), and I have been here since August 2003. Originally my plan was to just travel through, but ended up staying...
Then I did my Instructor course in oct. 03, did some specialties and started working.
Utila is a GREAT island with a big potential for a good time.!!!
Now as far as your Dive Master goes, we obviously teach that as well. Furthermore we do it a bit different as others.
We have a lot of Dive Masters in training here at BICD, at the moment about 16, and our DM programme is known around the Island.
As well as being one of the 2 CDC centers on the island (the other one being UDC) we are the only one with the Hyperbaric Chamber. Basically we service all the other dive shops on the island (11 in total) when there is a case of decompression sickness or ear injury.
Therefor as a part of your Dive master, we will include a chamber orientation course, show you around the chamber and take you for a dry dive (inside the chamber, pressurize it down to 18mtr/60ft. and back "up"), which you can actually log as a dive..!!! Juhuuuu...
People that come and do an Open Water with us furthermore get a free insurance while taking the course.!

But Cudabait is right, a good suggestion is to walk around the island and see what the different dive operators offer. We are all tought to teach the same courses, but everybody doesn't offer the same service..!!!

Regarding your concern about the rainy season, don't worry about it.
The season will start around mid nowember and go on until start feb.

Personally I haven't taken any kind of medication since I got here, and most people who live here (foreigners) don't.!
Regarding the "DEET" for mosquitoes, first of all you can buy it here, but come out here first and see how much they like you..!!! You know, they might not even like your blood...?? hahahaha

Anyway, I will let this be it for now but as I said, PLEASE feel free to ask any other question you might have...!!!!! (banks, shops, food, medical, doctor, internet, accomodation, what ever.......)

All the best, and see you on the island

Happywulfie..

 

[DiversMom]

If you plan on spending ANY time at all on the mainland - side trip to Copan, Pico Bonito, etc. you would be advised to get hep A and B. I live on the mainland, I've had both those and typhoid vaccinations. This past Christmas two of my students had hep A.

Dengue is also a big problem on the mainland - no vaccination for it, just preventaive measures - insect repellant, limiting outside time during prime mosquito hours, etc. I've had the non-hemmorhagic variety and it is a miserable mother - 102-103 degree temp for a week inspite of aspirin. Every bone and joint in your body hurts - hence the alternate name "breakbone fever" because it feels like your bones are going to break. A week flat on my back in October, sleeping almost 24/7 with family bring me fluids so I wouldn't dehydrate. That was followed by total exhaustion for several weeks afterward. The slightest thing would tire me out.

 

[H2Andy]

Dengue is also a big problem on the mainland - no vaccination for it, just preventaive measures - insect repellant, limiting outside time during prime mosquito hours, etc.

dengue is nasty. i caught it in Cuba, around 1977-78 (I was about 11, 12) and
nearly killed me.

so, to recap, you don't need any immunizations to go to Roatan?

 

[Shrew]

most don't. I didn't. My gf got immunized when we went. We read incidences of malaria being caught on roatan, but we read it's mostly unlikely. Others know more than me, but that was our point of view from what we gathered prior to departure.

 

[DiversMom]

Most people I know don't get any....but the hep A and B vaccines aren't a bad idea to get anyway. Those diseases pop up in first world countries as well as developing nations. Once you've been vaccinated, you're good for life. My kid got those as part of her routine vaccinations for school in the US.

 

[Sels]

I lived in Honduras from 95-97 and was in the Bay Islands on and off during that time on holiday and getting certified from OW to DM. While working on the mainland, I had just about every vaccine available (not by choice)- Hep A and B, GG, Typhoid, even Rabies. Unfortunately, I still managed to get dengue twice and just about every local parasite (eat cooked veggies and fruits you can peel!). The mozzies love me, what can you do. I'm not a big fan of Deet, so I went the Avon- Skin So Soft option. Not the new lotion that comes in the green bottle. But the original oily stuff. Don't know how or why, but the mosquitos didn't bite when I was doused in SSS.

Don't know if the dive shops in Utila still operate in the same way, but at the time I was doing my DMT, many of the shops allowed you to stay on for months after completing all your required dives, diving free of charge, working now and again as a DM without pay. I suppose it saved shops the cost of paying DMs, but I reckon many DMs worked out well with the deal too.

Anyone on Utila seen Matt Awty? I think he may have bought some property on the other side of the island not too long ago. Anyway, if you see him, tell him Sels & Paul in OZ say hello. (I'm just a tiny bit envious of those of you in Honduras now as I have very fond memories.... )

 

[happywulfie]

I lived in Honduras from 95-97 and was in the Bay Islands on and off during that time on holiday and getting certified from OW to DM. While working on the mainland, I had just about every vaccine available (not by choice)- Hep A and B, GG, Typhoid, even Rabies. Unfortunately, I still managed to get dengue twice and just about every local parasite (eat cooked veggies and fruits you can peel!). The mozzies love me, what can you do. I'm not a big fan of Deet, so I went the Avon- Skin So Soft option. Not the new lotion that comes in the green bottle. But the original oily stuff. Don't know how or why, but the mosquitos didn't bite when I was doused in SSS.

Don't know if the dive shops in Utila still operate in the same way, but at the time I was doing my DMT, many of the shops allowed you to stay on for months after completing all your required dives, diving free of charge, working now and again as a DM without pay. I suppose it saved shops the cost of paying DMs, but I reckon many DMs worked out well with the deal too.

Anyone on Utila seen Matt Awty? I think he may have bought some property on the other side of the island not too long ago. Anyway, if you see him, tell him Sels & Paul in OZ say hello. (I'm just a tiny bit envious of those of you in Honduras now as I have very fond memories.... )

Hey Sels..

Matt is still here and yes you are right, he and his gf bought some land out here by Pumpkin Hill Beach... They are both working at Deep Blue Divers...

Cheers

Thomas

 

[Steve P]

What's the latest news with the fires on the mainland? Airport closures? We will be taking the "four flight package" from Chicago to Utila soon. I'll be shocked if we make it without delays.

Steve