Divemaster diverson

kimberly's here! my little travel buddy arrived wednesday and is currently passed out on our couch/bed, sleeping soundly. we've occupied ourselves pretty well thus far with sun and books and beer in the ocean. we dont really get sick of each other at all, since i kind of work at the diveshop now and spend much my day there. i work there now. funny.
how did this develop, you ask? well ill tell ya. i came to roatan with sara and amber for their "last week." we were meant to sit on sand and vegetate and decompress from our maniacal travelling. right. we somehow ended up getting certified to dive and never even making it to the real beach. alas. after a week's stint in costa rica, i returned here and was properly roped into the advanced course. at about this time my trip was mysteriously extended, and i was tragically forced to be here for another month or so. naturally, i finished up my emergency first responder training and am currently in the middle of my rescue diver course, to be finished tomorrow. from there, ill be a divemaster trainee. hee hee...
so there it stands. ill be in paradise for at least another month or so, working in the diveshop, talking to people, and diving like crazy.

this is a picture of the diveshop with duncan and katy in the hammocks. a humble little space, but i spend many an hour there, and the view of the ocean is perfect. the picture was taken from the dirt road that separates the shop from the dock and the water.
yesterday i did my first rescue scenario... whoa. this consists of me going on a normal, inconspicuous dive when suddenly (the strategy is "when im not paying attention") someone pretends to sink to the bottom, panic, stop breathing, etc. yesterday it was anders, a swedish dmt who spontaneously lost consciousness. swedes are heavy. but i got him up and gave him cpr and almost killed myself dragging him into the boat. he lived and i dont think he suffered too much braindamage.

this is me with nick's kittens in my bed. theyre stupid cute. every morning, he throws them into my couch/bed to wake me up. its really no wonder im always in a good mood here. but it makes me miss thomas, and even guppy a little too. okay, kids, im going to the beach, but email me. paz.

Neverneverland

yay pictures!!!
if the stars are aligned and my fingers are crossed and i upload them one at a time, i can get some pictures up here. super!
the first is amber and sara and i sitting in half moon bay a couple days after we arrived in roatan. pre-diving. the second is a hilarious sleeping bird whose head completely recedes into its round fluffy body when its sleeps. i freaking loved that bird. then thats marti and i in monteverde, at the continental divide. funny that all the water on one side of you flows to the atlantic and all on the other side goes to the pacific. spit one way and it meets africa, spit the other and it goes to china. very cool.
the third is a pretty recent photo of me, jamen, duncan, katie, and tom in west bay. days off from diving are few and far between here, but on this day it just so happened that quite a few of my good friends here had a little time. so we went to the swanky beach and played frisbee in the water and drank monkey la las. katy (on the right) and jamen are probably two of my favorite people ever.

this is a picture of me and my current casa. that little couch is my bed and i dont really have anything else. i think i might need to make some adjustments before kimberly comes on wednesday...
a little update... i think i might be into this whole diving thing. ive done my open water and advanced certifications, and if all goes right ill be doing my search and rescue, and potentially my divemaster before i leave. i dive everyday and wish i dove more. today i swam with a giant hawksbill sea turtle with two remoras attached. not freaking bad.
ill probably get a little job and finish out my trip here, diving and not carrying my 35 pound pack around sweltering central america. anyone have any thoughts about this? email me.

Roatan, Phase dos

hidy ho!
well, marti and i parted ways saturday at the bloody crack of dawn, that sucked. i had a ton of fun with her, and for the little time that she was here, we conquered costa rica. we saw some cool shit in the forest, foremost of which, for me, was a lolinga. super duper cute. we had quite a little adventure trying to get dinner our last night in san jose, something which should have theoretically been one of the easier things to do in central america. after checking out a local karaoke bar sung in drunken spanish, an overpriced italian place, and a place that had RUN OUT OF BEANS, we threw up our hands and went to what looked like a dive bar called restaurante peru.
well, restaurante peru was a honduran restaurant run by chinese, and we think, might have been a house of ill repute. there were two men by the window who persisted and attempting to bring us beers, as if another would be more pleasing than the first, and i think one kissed marti's hand. ha! there was also a honduran wicked witch of the west lookalike with hair extensions, and a guy that marti nicknamed mad eye moody. the topper was the white honduran gangsta with a fanny pack and about 6 gold chains around his neck. oy. we ate our comida typica stirfry and got the hell outta there.
im back in roatan now, and i just started my advanced certification. to cut costs, i think ill be moving in with a couple of the dive instructors, sleeping on their couch. totally free, but since ill have a kitchen, i might once in a while cook for them. roatan is beautful and amazing and i saw a seahorse yesterday. mf cute as crap.
diving is going to be my downfall. i do it all day and night and then i dream about it. its like flying, but more interesting and you have a better view. my only complaint is that i cant take the arcade fire down with me and cry like a little bitch into my mask. not too bad a complaint, really. but seriously, im playing wth sea turtles and sting rays and crazy fish and giant lobsters, and having a ball.
so im off, i have to do another dive in a couple hours and call the airline to extend my trip.