A Divemaster
intern describes his experience with Subway in Roatan
Honduran Adventures
 Having
decided that spending another summer in the armpit of Britain
(Middlesbrough) just wasn’t an option, I started to look around on
the internet to see what Divemaster courses were on offer. Subway
seemed to be one of the more organised internship programs so after
a few initial emails to Gillian and some very friendly replies I
booked my place on the intern programme. In all honesty….pulled a
bit of a masterstroke there, because last summer was one of the most
memorable summers I’ve had.
I arrived in
Roatan in the middle of July to be greeted by Gillian and her
friendly dive dog Lily. I would like to give a bit of advice here to
all future DM’s, if travelling to Roatan via the US listen to what
Gill says and really do allow 3 hours minimum between arrival and
departure……….TACA employees do not own hearts and if you’re a minute
after check in closes well tough luck!!!(As I found out to my
cost!!)
 So
anyway……………..Gill picked up Sarah (another intern) and myself from
the airport and took us to meet our new friends at the dive shop. I
do mean new friends aswell, that is one of the biggest plus points
about Subway, from the moment you arrive you automatically gain a
circle of maybe 15 friends, whether they be fellow DM’s,
instructors, boat captains (some of the most random quotes of my
life have come from Boris) or friends of Subway, they are all SO
WELCOMING you feel instantly at ease and makes the next big
experience that little bit less terrifying………………..the first dive!
Now for me
this was a little scary, its not the thought of going for a dive
that was scary, it was the thought of going diving with all these
awesome divers who were going to look amazing underwater and I was
going to be a slightly chubby northerner who wouldn’t be able to
sink. I’m going to let you into a little secret now…... everyone’s
first dive is a little ropey but the staff know this, they were
there once upon a time a long long long long long long time ago,
they know exactly what your going through so just remember to relax
and keep an eye out for eagle rays and whale sharks!
 Another
plus point about Subway is the amount of dives you can get in.
Diving twice a day is so much fun and believe me your competence
under water increases ten fold within no time and you can really
start to concentrate on becoming a good divemaster and more
importantly having the DM pose perfected – arms crossed, body
horizontal, air consumption minimal! You may be thinking what is the
hell am I going on about but give it a fortnight in Roatan and you
to will be striving for it!
Not only will
your diving ability increase over the first two weeks so will your
upper body strength! Believe it or not Subway has its own form
weight control programme in place, eat as much rice and kidney beans
as you like (this is the free staff dinner you are supplied by the
hotels kitchen) and move scuba tanks all day!! After a few weeks
the chubby northerner was no more! Thankfully! Yes this is a working
holiday, ever been on a diving holiday and all you have had to do is
sit on a boat while someone makes sure you have everything required
for the dive??? Whilst at Subway you are that someone, you really
learn about customer service and tend to every need of the
customers. This is important to learn and if you go diving after you
have completed your DM you will feel compelled to give the DM a hand
and tip the poor kid!! I will emphasise again you do work, but it
doesn’t feel like work once you get into a routine it all becomes
second nature and you enjoy seeing the customer feel comfortable and
enjoy themselves.
 Your
trip isn’t all about diving, Wednesday and Friday nights usually
involves a trip to the West End to hang out with all the diving
DUDES!!! You will be able to spot them; they will have long hair and
a distinct lack of upper body clothing! It is actually such a laugh
when you go to west end, no doubt if you have typed Roatan into
Google, you will have come across the Sundowners bar. This really is
the stereotypical beach bar, palm tree’s growing through the bar,
amazing view, really nice cocktails and a BBQ what more could you
ask for?? However enticing the wide selection spirits and crazy
alcoholic concoctions may be when you first arrive (and they are!!),
the truth slowly dawns on you that one night the majority of them
will be poured down a snorkel and into your mouth when you do the
dreaded snorkel test, so it tends to lose a bit of its appeal!!
 Regardless
it was an awesome bar, further down the road was the Purple Turtle
which is attached to another diving company called Reef Gliders.
Again, a really good bar, everyone goes there and you get to meet
some colourful characters. For the party animals out there, Fosters
and Fubar are open till late but due to my alcohol induced
narcolepsy I was usually passed out, generally in the street or a
quiet corner of purple turtle or stood up next to the DJ booth in
Fosters………………..ok the message I’m trying to get across is, there is
some nightclubs in the West End but I can't handle my drink and was
usually passed out by that point!! So if you want to know what they
are like I am not a reliable source of information!
Sharing a
house with the other DM’s and instructors is so much fun, you really
get to meet different characters from all over the world. Whilst I
was there I lived with 1 German, 1 Colombian, 5 Americans, 1 French
(angel fish! Helene I miss you!!!!!) 1 Australian and a couple of
fellow Brits so you really do get to meet people from all walks of
life.
If I had to
make a list of a few things to do whilst staying with Subway it
would be as follows……..
-
Take
every opportunity you can to dive and make sure you dive
dolphins den, such an awesome dive!
-
Make the
most of it, as it says on the website Roatan is a little rustic
(nice wording Gill) but it is so much fun, you will be presented
with so many random situations and will leave with so many
stories to tell your friends and family.
-
Make sure
you go to Hole in the wall, all you can eat lobster and steak
for 20 dollars and a damn fine rum punch!
-
If there
isn’t any customers go on exploration dives, they are great to
hone your skills and to have a laugh under water
-
Be good
to your instructors!!! Remember they control the severity of
your snorkel test!
 Whatever
you don’t book your plane ticket to home directly after your DM is
finished, round up the rest of the fellow DM’s and central America
is only a ferry ride away. It is such an underrated travel
destination!! Myself and three other interns visited Honduras
mainland. Patrick arranged for us to be picked up by Omega tours and
they took us to an eco-lodge for a couple of days of lounging about
in the cool bug free mountains which was such a relief after 8 weeks
slowly roasting on Roatan. Omega tours is such a cool place, you can
do any number of things from horse riding to white water rafting, I
went for white water rafting, laying in a hammock eating lots of
tasty food and drinking from their heavily stocked and well chilled
fridge! After omega tours we headed to Copan which is the nicest
little Spanish village! We stayed at Café Via Via (I would
recommend) we visited the Mayan ruins and generally chilled out for
a few days. Upon leaving Copan the troops emotionally dispersed, sob
sob (Rob wailed like a little girl) Or was that relief at finally
getting rid of me? I wouldn’t like to say! Rob and Sarah headed onto
adventures new around the rest of central America whilst myself and
Rachel headed back to Roatan for a few more dives and to catch our
flights home!
I would like
to thank everyone so much who I met whilst I was in Roatan, you all
made it such an awesome experience and I would recommend it to
anyone!
Until I see
my Roatan chums again,
Paul
If you liked this story; here is what
other interns had to tell about their experience:
Intern Emily describes her
summer at Subway
in 2006
Intern Graham describes
a typical day of a Subway
intern in 2004.
Jim and Ellen tell about their Roatan
experience in 2002
Or just read a few comments
from guests.
Sometimes
pictures say more!
(this page is not meant for parents)
Are you interested in doing an
internship with us in
Roatan?
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