New forum description...

[El Orans]

Bay Islands Everything you always wanted to know about Roatan & Utila, but were afraid to ask.

I'm sure that all of you that have actually been there can come up with a better description for the Bay Islands forum than this one.

Feel free to post your suggestions here.

[RoatanMan]

I'm sure that all of you that have actually been there can come up with a better description for the Bay Islands forum than this one.

Everything you always wanted to know about Roatan & Utila, but were afraid to ask.

How about: Traditional home of the Sand Fly?

I am looking beyond even that question~ to the forum name itself.

As we struggled in the past with how to divide out forums for Central American dive areas, finally moving Belize and Glapagos to distinct identifiable forums- using "the Bay Islands" cuts some important rocks out of the mix.

What to do with the rest of the isles that range from the Western Caribbean of Maiz/Corn Islands (Nicaragua), then North to San Andres & Providencia (Columbia), Cayos Moskitos and all of the other dots below the Cape of Honduras...

Then sweeping up and West to the Bay Islands which not only include Roatan and Utila... familiar names today, as well as Guanaja (familiar in the past, maybe in the future as well), as well as Cayos Cochinos (often asked about) and Cisne/Swan (the unknown treasure)... plus many dozens of rocky dots that constitute the so-far inhabited Islas de la Bahia.

How does one delineate forum that should encompass all of these dive possibilities without resorting to the obvious and most popular "Bay Islands"?

[Papa_Bear]

Southwestern Caribbean Islands group?

[tadeotadeo]

Roatan man said it best "Western Caribbean" would be my vote/recomendation.

[Bay Island Diver]

Roatan, Utila and Guanaja - A pirates den of divers and yachties.

[rd2dive]

I like Bay Islands just fine. That's what they are. . .

[halocline]

I like "traditional home of the sand fly" but it could be improved to "traditional home of the sand fly and water borne staph infection"

That'll keep the riff-raff away!

[El Orans]

Still looking for a good description...

I'd prefer something similar to the Cozumel forum...

"World Class Marine Park drift diving, renown cuisine and great hospitality. The island with a Mexican heart and a Caribbean soul! You’ve seen the Corona commercials, come experience the reality."

Surely we can come up with something similar or better?

[parrotheaddiver]

Well maybe not a better description...but.....how about

One of the last Banana Republics it has more different types of corals than anywhere else in the Western Caribbean nice wall diving... if you want to get lost or escape visit there before it become another cruise ship stop over

that's it...that is all I have on a thursday afternoon at work....

I don't know it is a great place to go...laid back away from reality...no phones tv's internet (of course that is starting to be available) where else can you lay in a hammock and not hear anything but the wind and the water....

[RoatanMan]

Well maybe not a better description...but.....how about....

Yeah, I was never thrilled that my flip comment about sand flies got written in stone. My bad.

It is the original Banana Republic, but the dichotomy continues. The Banana Republic was a term applied to the Spanish Mainland of Honduras, given to it during an era when the Bay Islands were still firmly under British control.

The dichotomy also further applies when you describe the diving, especially on the most visited island, Roatan. You can't describe the physical diving of Roatan without the hard to understand divergant description of the South Side versus the North. Two radically different worlds, both have their plusses and fans, but totally different.

You can prefer or reference the Cozumel label, but thank gods in heaven that isn't the Bay Islands, yet.

After months of reflection, I would throw out something like "The Original Pirates of the Caribbean safe harbour", for it truly was.