A Divemaster
intern describes her experience in Roatan
Summer at Subway
 I
have had a fantastic time at Subway Watersports. Having travelled
fairly extensively before going to Honduras, I knew I should be
prepared for anything and everything. I had wanted to do my
Divemaster intership for sometime and found out about Subway through
a Google search on the internet. I had looked at other places as
well, but was drawn to this program because everything seemed very
well established and professional, as well as living with the other
interns. Within two months I landed at Roatan International
Airport.
Patrick met me at the airport and took me to Brick Bay, to the house
I was to live in. There I met Paula and Andy, the instructors from
Turquoise Bay where I was to be based. I also met Christel and
Lauren who were some of the other interns. At Subway it is a bit of
a tradition for the new interns to be taken for a meal. I had the
privilege of being taken to a barbecue where I met the rest of the
interns and instructors as well as other guys who live and work on
Roatan.
 The
following day, we all clambered into the back of Paula and Andy’s
pickup truck and set off to Turquoise Bay. The drive goes past the
best view on the island (there is a bar there cunningly named “The
View”) where you can look out over the reef and the turquoise waters
that lie in front of the Turquoise Bay resort. I loved the dive
shop here. I couldn’t find fault with it at all (except the sand
flies liked it as well, but that is the case across the whole of
Roatan).
Everything was going really well, and then I did my first dive. I
had not dived for over a year and although I was quite comfortable
in the water, I got a nose bleed about 5 minutes into the dive (I
had got one when I was on the plane before and I think that I must
have set it off again when I was equalising). Then, to top
everything off, when I got back on the boat I got seasick! Not only
did this earn me my nickname of Chuckie, but I hit my low point and
started to wonder if I would be able to do my Divemaster if I
couldn’t steady my stomach. The following day I got seasick again,
and then I read something about the anti-malarias I was taking which
said that they can make people prone to seasickness. So I stopped
taking them and from then on I was fine!
 A
few days later, we had been joined by more interns and we went to
spend the night on Pigeon Cay, a small uninhabited desert island
just off Barbareta. It was a wonderful trip. Boris, the Turquoise
Bay boat captain, scaled a palm tree to get a coconut. He hacked
off the top with a machete and we all drank some of the coconut
milk. Then we topped it up with rum which got the evening off to a
good start. The only other people on the island were some local
fishermen. Paula noticed that they had caught a turtle and she
managed to persuade them to give it to her so she could release it.
That was a real highlight.
What I really liked about the internship is that although there is
an overall timescale for you to complete everything, most of the
time you are able to work at a pace which suits you. Living and
working with the other interns is a real plus as you get to hear
about their experiences and help each other out if you are trying to
get your head around physics. I have come away with some really
good friends.
If you don’t have any customers you still get to dive as well which
means you get the chance to really fine tune your skills or have a
go at Kung Scuba (ask Paula)! Having dived in the Indian, and
Atlantic oceans as well as the Med and the English Channel, the
diving in Roatan is the best I have ever experienced. I saw so many
different creatures, including turtles, nurse sharks, porcupine fish
and spotted eagle rays. The corals are beautiful and at 28˚C the
water is wonderful.
After a couple of weeks, I started to think about what I wanted to
do afterwards and Patrick told me about an IDC (Instructor
Development Course) which was starting on Utila as my DM was
ending. At first I wasn’t sure if I would be ready for that, but
after speaking with everyone I felt reassured that I would be able
to complete my IDC as well. Patrick sorted out everything for me
and Paula and Andy were fantastic with helping me to prepare for the
course. I finished my Divemaster, did my much dreaded snorkel test
then set off to Utila with a stinking hangover the following
morning. I am pleased to say that 2 weeks later, I passed the IDC
and the Instructor Exam!
I would like to thank everyone at Subway Watersports for a fantastic
experience. I loved my time in Roatan and it’s all thanks to a
great team.
Emily
If you liked this story; here is what
other interns had to tell about their experience:
Intern Paul tells about his
Honduras Adventure 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?
|
