My Summer in Honduras
Added to website: 26 November 2005
Coral Cay’s site in Honduras is based on the Bay Island of Roatan, in the town of St. Helene. St. Helene lies to the east end of Roatan, separated from the main island by mangrove swamps. Hence, the town is only accessible by boat! The Bay Islands’ Voice magazine writes of St Helene “ if you can make it here you can make it anywhere. Completely isolated fishing community with no cars or electrical grid”. It is as yet untouched by tourism. Islanders earn their livings through the coral reef, mainly through fishing but it won’t be long before tourism, in the form of dive operators, enters St. Helene, as on the main island of Roatan.
Coral Cay’s mission statement is to “provide resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate poverty through the protection, restoration and management of coral reefs”. Coral Cay wants to map the reef to suggest conservation parks to protect valuable areas, as well as to isolate aesthetically pleasing sites for scuba diving. They work along side The Bay Island Environmental Management Project (PMAIB), instituted by Honduras’ Ministry of Tourism. Also they aim to show local people how to dive safely, to gain internationally recognised diving qualifications. Thus when tourism comes to St. Helene they can embrace it and become actively involved, rather than allow the proliferation of foreign dive operators. Already areas have been set aside as marine parks, and several of the local men have embarked upon their PADI Open Water qualification.
Our role in this was to learn the species of fish, algae, coral, and invertebrates associated with the Caribbean coral reefs, then, having passed our tests, survey and map transects of the reef itself. I successfully learnt approximately 200 fish, 60 algae, 180 invertebrates and 60 species of coral, and passed most of my tests first time. (Much to the annoyance of other volunteers, who muttered “bloody Cambridge student” on a regular basis!) Next we were taught to survey competently. Surveys take place over a 10 m transect with teams of 4 divers. Diver 1, “physical” mapped the area and took readings such as depth, salinity and temperature. Diver 2, “fish” recorded the numbers of different species of fish seen within the transect area. Diver 3, “coral” recorded the different corals spotted, and diver 4 “algae and inverts” marked down the types of these creatures seen. Coral Cay in Honduras has successfully mapped most of the coastline of Roatan in this way. I contributed to surveying transects south of Barbetta, an island to the east of Roatan.
Our living conditions were basic but that just added to the fun. We stayed in a wooden house built on stilts on the shore. Plumbing was limited and the toilet situation was interesting to say the least. We had many chores to do each day, including cooking, collecting drinking water, pumping well water, setting up the boats in the morning and washing up. However difficult and gruesome the chores were (feeding the local pig our scraps springs to mind) it was incredibly satisfying to feel integral to the running of the camp. I am pleased to say that I was not at all fazed by the basic conditions, and apart from the odd cheese craving I didn’t miss any of the luxuries of home!
My time with Coral Cay has lead to me to conclude that their efforts really are valuable. The data collected is fairly rigorous in that everyone is required to know the variety of marine life to a high standard of accuracy. Perhaps more rewarding for me was to see the interaction of Coral Cay with the local people of St. Helene. Before my experience I was conscious of the slightly colonial aspect of our project, with us going to “teach” the local people how to do things “properly”. However my conversations with the people of St. Helene made me realise that this is not how we are perceived by them. Indeed, talking to Dan, our cox, he spoke of his experiences diving; 35 or 36 thousand dives! Up to twenty a day, going down with one tank fishing for conch until the air ran out, heading straight back up to switch cylinders and heading down again. He recalled itchy skin, aching joints, and even the permanent paralysis of one of his friends following diving; all symptoms of the bends. However he also spoke highly of Coral Cay’s efforts and successes with running the PADI courses, where people are made aware of how to reduce these risks. Even after Coral Cay has left this part of Honduras they will be suitably qualified to dive safely, both when they are fishing and when tourism hits the island.
However much of what I learnt was more personal. I was pleased to be able to cope with meeting lots of new people, but not just that, but actually to make new friends. I also learnt from the experience how important it is to be confident in and happy with who you are. It sounds clichéd and I guess it is, but I realised that by having confidence in yourself its much easier to confidently interact with new people.
Perhaps more significantly the month away gave me an opportunity to contemplate my future away from the academia of Cambridge. Speaking to staff who had opted to spend much of their lives travelling or working around the world made me realise that these opportunities exist for me too. I am now considering a gap year to spend some time travelling or perhaps working for Coral Cay for a few months as Science Officer. I am even learning Spanish this year in preparation for visiting South America in the future!
In conclusion I have had an amazing summer. It was a truly rewarding experience, and the diving was fantastic! I saw 2 6ft nurse sharks, a 5ft green moray eel, and a turtle!
- Ruth Corrigan
