CoCo View
Resort, Roatan, Honduras:
...10 years later, the same diver paradise.
from the July,
2004 issue of Undercurrent
Dear Fellow
Diver,
It had been close to 10 years since I last visited CoCo View Resort.
The hiatus didn’t reflect how well I thought of CoCo View: one
of the top places for serious dives in the Caribbean. There were just
too many other destinations to visit when I get a vacation.
The CoCo View I remembered had lots of good diving, four boat dives
per day, unlimited shore diving, night wall diving, and a great variety
of coral, sponges, and colorful reef fish and critters ... a cabana
over the shallow water flats, where I could watch fish lurking in the
shadows ... a wall open to the sounds of the sea ... a light breeze
blowing through the screens ... and notorious no-see-ums, pesky bugs
that leave red welts about the size of a pencil eraser ... plentiful
but unspectacular food ... plenty of other divers around for swapping
lies and stories ... and bargain prices.
Most of all, I remembered it as a respite from Northern California,
where the 50-degree water and 15-foot visibility requires a full 7mm
wet suit with hoods and gloves.
As I rode CoCo View’s motor boat through the mangrove channels
to the resort, my stateside concerns washed away. The warm, humid, sea
air carried on a gentle breeze transported me to a state of immediate
relaxation. After a resort briefing, my partner and I headed to our
cabana, looking forward to an afternoon dive. And she could join it!
Unlike the past, there was no checkout dive for us, although a group
of first time arrivals were required to do the checkout dive. We filled
out the requisite forms and waivers and displayed our C-cards. One guest,
with a logbook but no C-card, was not allowed to dive the entire week.
They asked me for a contribution to the local dive chamber and whether
I knew how to use the dive tables, a tough question for someone as computer-dependent
as I. My hems -- and haws -- did not affect or limit my diving.
Head divemaster Osmond gave a short orientation, emphasizing that divers
were responsible for their own profiles. They assigned us individual
cubbies and storage areas, seven steps from the boat, near two large
fresh water rinse tanks. They assigned my partner and me to one of four
EZ Diver boats for the week, ensuring that we got to know the divers
onboard and that we didn’t repeat sites unless we cared to. We
had 12 divers on our 50-foot E2 Diver III. Most of the deck was covered
to protect us from the elements, and an area was dedicated to cameras
-- the crews handled camera gear well. BCDs and regulators were set
up before every dive on aluminum 80s filled to 3,000 psi, and between
dives they offered snacks of pineapple or coconut.
CoCo View almost built its reputation on one dive site, Mary’s
Place. It had been closed to divers for many years, but it’s open
again, but only to divers who take the mandatory once-a-week briefing
to be told not to stir up the bottom, to keep moving, and not to hit
the walls with tanks. It wasn’t the dive it could be, because
the group was herded through it without the time to look and appreciate.
On the other hand, Calvin’s Crack was super -- a dramatic topographical
relief, combined with the deep blue backdrop of the Caribbean. At Forty-Foot
Point there were schools of jacks, several barracuda, and free-swimming
moray eels, two of whom engaged in a toothy turf battle. My dive buddy’s
eyes became the size of saucers, wondering if she was going to have
to “save” the underdog. Methinks someone must be feeding
the fish in the area, but I did not see our divemaster, Jimmy, participate
in this practice, though he did “call” the fish by free
flowing his regulator. By the way, most sites are less than a 10-minute
boat trip. For the second morning or afternoon dive, you get dropped
off along the way, and then dive as long as you want before coming ashore
at the resort.
Jimmy gave solid pre-dive briefings, pointing out the current, which
direction to travel, where to find the creatures, and what our profile
would be. He was good at finding interesting animals, and never hurried
us. While it was group diving, I often lingered, took photos, figured
out where the group was in the clear water, and caught up. With CoCo
View’s freedom there is responsibility. The boat heads out twice
and after the first dive drops divers, sometimes with no more than a
20 to 30 minute surface interval, at various destinations for a second
dive that they end on shore. Nitrogen can build up, so I made it a practice
to make 5-minute safety stops. A longer surface interval would give
more latitude on the second and fourth dives that end at the resort.
Many sites had plenty to see during the stop. But diving isn’t
deep, so one can still get plenty of bottom time. The profiles typically
began on top of the reef, then a short swim to the wall and over the
edge to a planned depth of 70 feet. (My deepest plunge was 96 feet.)
I’d follow the group, moving along the wall for up to 25 minutes,
rise to the reef top and swim back, piddling around under the boat until
the 60-minute stated dive time was up. Of course, when I dived off the
shore, there were no restrictions.
In May, we had no current or surge, 100+ feet of visibility, and water
that was 84 to 86 degrees. A couple of days the wind kicked up 4-5 foot
swells, which made climbing the stern ladders more difficult and potentially
dangerous. In these conditions, they floated a current line, so I removed
my fins well away from the slapping stern platform, and then pulled
myself to the stern, handed up my fins, and climbed aboard. Or I could
swim underwater to the unique wet-well in the center of the boat, remove
my fins, and simply climb the ladder to emerge on the main deck amidships.
Nifty.
A great range of colorful corals -- plate, pillar, brain, lettuce, staghorn,
and elkhorn -- huge barrel sponges, other sponges from brown to blue
and wild red to purples, and prolific sea fans dominate the landscape.
The coral is in good shape, though staghorn and elkhorn have deteriorated
since I was here last, most likely from runoff, silt from development,
and storm damage. Because the staff stresses good buoyancy control and
offers a clinic, hopefully the damage is not diver-caused. I watched
the divemaster gently help another diver up from the floor where he
was trying not to have an impact, but in his effort not to touch anything
with his hands, he was kicking coral and gorgonians. Unlike a decade
ago, I didn’t see a nurse shark, and the divemaster said he hadn’t
seen one in a year. Nor did I see any large parrotfish. Squid, barracuda,
and grouper were prevalent, as were French and Queen angelfish, small
parrotfish, trumpet, and boxfishes. Everywhere, individual reef fish
in awkward poses presented themselves at cleaning stations. I even saw
a small school of chromis at a cleaning station on a green brain coral.
Christmas tree worms and feather dusters sprouted from many coral heads.
On one dive an eagle ray passed me within 10 feet, lazily winging its
way across the grassy flats. I saw sea horses on every dive, and those
were a rarity the last time I was here, but then again it seems to me
it’s only been in the past few years that divemasters anywhere
could find seahorses with any regularity. By the way, many sites are
within 10 minutes from the entrance to the channel. Our longest boat
ride was 30 minutes, but we often cruised the blue water looking for
whale sharks, which occasionally appear, although we saw none.
One night the moon was full, the sky clear, and the air balmy, so my
partner and I had dinner and waited for dark. Tanks are in a rack for
the taking. The first divers in the water at night take the strobe from
the night dive station and a numbered tag that corresponds to their
room. They turn on the strobe when they hit the water. After a 100-yard
swim across the sand flats while following a chain placed for navigation,
they attach the strobe to an underwater buoy as a guide back to the
chain. Each diver is to attach his room tag to the buoy before visiting
Prince Albert, a wreck that is crawling with critters, from brittle
stars to octopus. CoCo View Wall offers dramatic relief, while Neuman’s
Wall offers its wall as well as access to beautiful shallows, from 5
feet to 20 feet. Upon return, the diver is to remove his room tag. If
there are no other tags on the buoy, it’s his task to bring the
strobe back.
My buddy and I turned left toward CoCo View Wall. A large barracuda
escorted us on our seaward side. I probed the cracks and holes in the
reef, my lights shocking resting fish and illuminating the red eyes
of shrimp. Brittle stars, barely visible in the bottom of sponges during
the day, were everywhere, as were arrow crabs and banded coral shrimp.
We turned off our lights. The full moon made its way through the water
column, silhouetting the wondrous shapes of the wall. The white sand
bottom reflected the moonlight so we could see farther without the lights
than with them. I wiggled my hand to stir up the cyalume-colored phosphorescence.
Moving back toward the opening in the wall, I saw dim glowing UFOs floating
in space -- the next group of night divers. We did a quick tour of the
Prince Albert wreck and swam back to the beach, concluding a day of
five hours underwater.
I think wrecks sunk just for divers create a contrived experience. There
is no story of storms, darkness, or hidden reefs leading to the history
of the vessel -- the only story being the hoops they had to go through
to get government approval to sink the vessel. For some reason, the
sunken Mr. Bud, sitting upright on a sandy bottom, seemed different.
The wheelhouse window is looking out onto the wall. Sitting in the helmsman’s
chair in the blue water of the Caribbean, I reflected on the Andrea
Gale, another fishing boat resting at the bottom of the North Sea, while
watching the glassy sleepers, angelfish, and small groupers, as well
as barracuda who patrol the structure.
During cocktail hour, I enjoyed a smashing piña colada, a reasonable
$3.50 (beer and sodas ran $1.00-$1.50). Food served for the cafeteria-style
dinner was ordinary, a cut above mediocre, though I suppose fine by
third world standards and CoCo View prices. Still, I never went away
hungry. There was generally a choice of beef or chicken, and fish, and
one night steak and lobster. The beef and fish were typically overcooked,
the fish bony and strong flavored. A barbeque -- chicken, pork chops,
and pork ribs -- on the cay was the best meal. While the salad bar was
excellent, the vegetables were often overcooked. But desserts would
always save the day. Coconut cream pie and key lime pie were the highlights.
Lunch was generally a hot entree, sandwich, pasta salad, rice and beans,
and soup. Breakfast is fresh fruit, cereal, pancakes, waffles, eggs
fixed any style, sausage, bacon, or ham. The kitchen staff and servers
seemed to have an occasional “attitude,” shall we say. Once
after Ev, the owner, had given them some instructions and turned her
back, they made faces at her, in full view of guests. We did go out
on our own one evening; two couples and the 15-minute cab ride billed
to our rooms were $15/couple. Dinner at the recommended Romeo’s
featured dry lobster served with tartar sauce, a poor substitute for
a steak, and good shrimp. The setting was scenic, although enhanced
by the aroma of French Harbor’s industrial yet colorful waterfront.
West End town is more for expats and tourists, with a lot of pretentious
white kids in dread locks, and shops and bars.
My rustic yet comfortable cabana, the size of a large master bedroom,
made me feel as if I were on my own private island. The seaward wall,
only a screen looking out on the reef, allowed a fresh breeze and the
sound of the waves to be our constant companions, lulling us to sleep.
With the help of overhead fans, I was very comfortable. There are rooms
with A/C, but they are not cabanas, and they are 10 feet from the water,
whereas the cabanas are built over the water. The housekeepers always
had our room prepared when we came in from our morning dive and placed
fresh flowers in the bathroom daily. And we had plenty of hot water.
But I spent little time in my room, since I was usually diving (I did
19 dives in 5.5 days). Some people played ping-pong, pool, or shot darts.
And, while there are kayaks for paddling the mangroves, Rebecca, the
activities director, tried to get people excited about kayak races and
hermit crab races -- two activities that will probably never excite
the abundance of middle-aged and older divers who visit CoCo View. A
small gym has aerobic and weight machines; they have a spa and massages
(without upscale subtleties of dim lights, soft music, or the privacy
to disrobe). And wireless Internet connection, for a fee. While they
offered a dolphin swim at Anthony’s Key, Anthony’s had sold
out CoCo Views spaces. The night boat dive did not happen, nor did the
night out on the town, because too few people signed up. But I took
the island tour on my last day. The botanical garden’s collection
of native and nonnative plants was surely worth the visit, and at the
iguana farm we had plenty of photo ops with incredible lizards, in a
variety of greens, reds, yellows, and oranges. Traveling the length
of Roatan, the contrast of local squalor and emerging wealth, due largely
to Americans moving in and development, is stark.
Change is coming to CoCo View. Owners Bill and Ev Evans completed the
sale of the resort the week before we arrived. The new owners, I was
told, are executives from Holiday Inn who had been looking for a dive
resort. The promise was they were going to keep the ambiance, and the
staff will be the same, by and large good news. But perhaps this article
will help them make a few improvements at the edges, while keep the
CoCo View experience, one highly regarded by years of faithful returnees,
intact.
P.S. from Ben: In 2003, many Undercurrent readers reported serious cases
of food poisoning at CoCo View, which we reported on. The problem, apparently
due to Honduran cheese, seems to have been solved since last August,
and we have had no further reports of illness. Our reviewer, known to
eat everything in sight, had no problems, nor did anyone during his
stay. So, case closed.
Diver’s Compass: Depending upon season and accommodations,
prices run from $700-$900/diver/week, double occupancy, diving and food
included. ... CoCo View incinerates its garbage, and the strong smoky
smell often permeated the rooms. ... I took a red eye from L.A., arriving
at CoCo View at 11 a.m., through San Salvador then on to the Roatan
airport. A CoCo View rep helped us clear customs with all our bags quickly.
... Nitrox was available at an additional charge of $6/tank or $100/week.
... They have good gear for rent, including computers. They offer certifications
from refresher to divemaster courses and specialty courses. There is
also a camera, video, and digital center, with a helpful staff able
to solve basic photo equipment issues. ... I got one no-see-um bite;
my partner had many, and they weren’t fun. Some people are more
susceptible than others. Use a repellent with at least 30 percent DEET.
I use the strongest that I can find. ... Each boat had oxygen, a first-aid
kit, and a radio. ... Contact CoCo View at www.cocoviewresort.com,
800-282-8932 or 352-588-4132..
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