Finally, Grant posted another blog! Grant is traveling through Central and South America, and he’s blogging as he goes. As he does, I’ve been following him. He explains in this piece why it’s been awhile since we’ve heard from him.
You’ll Nevah Wanna Leave
Posted on September 5, 2016 by Grant Cherwenuk
Utila, for those that have been the island, is remembered with dim eyes weary from epic diving, rum infused antics, and all the other nuances of life on a Caribbean rock. When fellow travelers described the island I wasn’t particularly impressed, I’d been to other tropical islands and left unscathed. Cheap alcohol, exotic women, and ruby red sunsets weren’t novelties on the journey. I lasted 10 days on Caye Caulker before I was driven mad by sand flies and oregano selling rastas, despite Utila’s charms I was convinced I would be a land-lubber again after 2-3 weeks.
Standing on the ferry returning to mainland Honduras, Utila shimmered one final time and vanished beneath the swells. My mind reluctantly ground into gear, shaking and grumbling like an old pirate after an eight-day rum bender.
Just another day at the office for Burt Reynolds
It had been five months since I had arrived on the island, I was leaving a PADI Dive Master, with a vast knowledge on the finer points of hammocking. As the haze of sun-soaked dive days and breezy docks disappeared I felt the familiar sadness of leaving a place in time that will never be replicated. It was similar to the time I realized my McDonald’s ice cream had been warm marinating liquid in a plastic bag five minutes before, you can go back to Mc-Dicks they still serve ice cream, it’s still sweet, but you’ll never repeat the experience of a first McFlurry. I know diving will continue to bring me many new experiences and friendships. Utila is a tropical paradise that is as affordable as it is fun, but without the magical combination of Dive Master Training and the wonderful souls that were with me throughout it, it’s a lumpy bag of off-colored sludge.
Before I ever took breaths through a scuba regulator, the extent of my scuba diving knowledge was marveling at the discovery channel and this short excerpt from Along Came Polly. My first dives were a blur. How do you control your buoyancy without holding your breath? How in the hell did I end up on the surface? I was a kid experiencing a playground for the first time, this place looks like fun, let’s try that pole, face plant. The first time I saw a DMT (Dive Master in Training) float upside down I was so impressed I seriously considered proposing to her on the spot. Thankfully, the skill curve in diving is the most forgiving I have ever encountered, after 30 consecutive dives (approximately 25 hours), I was comfortably performing my own underwater acrobatics, hovering upside down inches from the reef without batting an eyelid, flitting through underwater caves without kicking up a speck of sand. I humbly believed I had become something of an underwater sea goddess. Despite my alpine upbringing, battling all of my anti-beach/ocean-life sentiments, scuba diving made me realize how deep the sea ran in my veins.
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Go to Grant’s blog for the rest: http://www.losethekeys.com/2016/09/05/youll-nevah-wanna-leave/