Clearwater Paradise Resort, Guanaja, Honduras: Undercurrent 10/2024

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Today, it seems, most Caribbean divers visit heavily populated islands, where after deplaning, they grab a taxi to the hotel and drive through streets packed with cruise ship tourists: Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Bonaire come to mind. These once-charming islands are today urban centers where divers go restaurant hopping, meet the hotel staff only when they have an ice bucket delivered to their room, and watch TV at night. And dive with a couple dozen other divers who seem to rotate daily.

I've had good trips to most of these islands, but I feel far more adventurous when, after I deplane, I have a boat ride ahead to some out-island and an isolated resort where the WiFi might not always work; I'm served home-cooked meals that reflect the culture, no tourists are shouting or automobiles rumbling, and The Milky Way is the after-dinner entertainment. One of our writers recently returned from such a place in Honduras' Bay Islands, and here is his story.

- Ben Davison, publisher

Reaching the Clearwater Paradise Resort requires a 75-minute ferry ride from Roatan, after a 20-minute cab ride from the airport. And then a second wind-in-your-hair boat trip. And Tom Smith, who has owned the resort for the year, offered cold drinks as his captain sped us through the channel cut to the North-East end of Guanaja, on the opposite side of two other dive resorts, Clark's Caye and Dunbar (Tom's daughter, Elizabeth, manages Clearwater). Besides my partner and me, three other guests were on board. I introduced myself to the diver sitting near me: "I know what your favorite color is!" She smiled, as we both admired her pink luggage, pink shoes, pink shorts, and pink top. A dive instructor, she had won a free trip at DEMA and brought her daughter (an ex-cop and martial artist). Another diver instructor was the fifth guest. As we neared the resort, Tom pointed at the ocotes, pine tree species Pinus montezumae, and told us Columbus called this the "Island of Pines." Peeking out from a hilltop behind the pines and palms were the large balcony terraces of our home for the next seven nights.

A busy Guanaja reef While the dive crew took care of our luggage, we walked up to the secondfloor dining veranda, where Catalina, the friendly main server, gave us a rum punch. A dozen hummingbirds sipped at feeders, and a fist-sized jungle frog studied us from the balcony edge. Tom pointed to cans of Deep Woods Off and suggested we keep ourselves lightly spritzed to ward off the no-see-ums. I worried about the buggers, but Off did its job, though light long sleeves and light long pants helped. Having emailed ahead our answers to questions about diving certifications and experience and food preferences, our only task was to sign waivers. The eight-room, three-story main building felt like a warmhearted, cool-looking big bed and breakfast, with a friendly and helpful three-woman kitchen/housekeeping staff and three-man dive team. (Spanish is their language, but they speak enough English to communicate easily.) The third floor hosts a veranda game room with a pool table, foosball, books, board games, and TV....

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