Three of us, Heather, Louise and myself, just returned from an excellent week long trip to Roatan Island, Honduras, my first trip to Central America and the Caribbean region. We flew directly from Toronto to the island, and the contrast in climate and landscape at this time of year is vast - a stark cold wintery landscape in Toronto, replaced by a lush wooded island with beautifully coloured seas and reefs. After 15 dives during the week, Heather's and my skill and comfort levels underwater have jumped a level. The reefs were in good condition with some amazing wildlife, although we understand the proper protection and monitoring of the marine environment is only slowly being implemented. We stayed at the Reef House Resort all week which was relaxed with great food, and a competent dive team we were confident with. The Reef House also provided some close encounters with turtles. Rescued, tagged and quarantined for a period in a fenced-off pool in front of the resort, before being relelased into the wild. Other than 15 dives in six days, the trip also provided two other firsts - a sea night dive, and an afternoon dive with a female group of Caribbean Reef Sharks. 
