Half a dozen members of the Patowmack Dive Club of Washington DC spent a week at Utopia Village from 21-28 January 2012. It was one of our club’s better trips for several reasons, some of which were due to luck and some of which were not. (1) We saw the first whale sharks that had been sighted for four months, (2) The conditions were great – sunshine, no rain, no sand fleas, (3) The food was fantastic, (4) The accommodations and service were great, with personal attention from the on-site owners, (5) The dive operation was very professional, and (6) The natural beauty was spectacular, both above and below the water. What more could anyone ask?

The trip was an adventure from the beginning. Delta cancelled our flight from Washington at the last minute, but we still arrived in San Pedro Sula aboard American Airlines just in time to catch a local CM Airlines flight direct to Utila. The aircraft was an old Czech-made turboprop that took 19 passengers. There wasn’t quite room for all of the luggage. One diver luckily had his regulator delivered to him just as the dive boat was departing the next morning. Although the plane was completely packed, smelled of fuel, and was not air conditioned, it still beat taking the ferry.

We were met by a Utopia agent at the little Utila airport and pretty soon we were in a van and on our way to town, where we boarded the dive boat, “Miss U” (holds 20 divers), and headed for the Utopia resort, about 20 minutes up the coast of the island. That was the only way to get there. Not only were there no roads connecting the town to the resort, there was not even a walking path. If you like privacy, this is the place to get it. But we found that Utopia had WiFi, so everyone with a smart phone ignored the chance to completely divorce civilization and tapped away when they weren’t doing something else.

Utopia Village, a small place with 16 rooms, can accommodate about 32 guests. But only 20 of them can be divers, since that’s the limit for the dive boat. Including our group, there were 19 divers and 3 non-divers (one of them my wife) there for the week – so everyone got to know everyone. The rooms were very comfortable and squeaky clean. Chef Peter ensured that everyone ate very well (and the food was all healthy). Each day began with a full American breakfast buffet – a little different each day. After two morning dives, a tasty lunch would be served. Dinner offered a choice between a seafood dish and something else (chicken, pork, pasta – but not steak) and included a special dessert. Most meals were near-gourmet quality and decent Spanish and Chilean wines could be purchased rather cheaply. On our last day (a non-dive day), we were treated to a luscious fish barbeque and lazy day on the beach of a small uninhabited island.

We had heard that sand fleas could be annoying, so we brought plenty of deep-woods DEET spray – but it turned out we didn’t need it because the breeze from the sea kept the little critters away. However, that same breeze (which was present during most of our stay) sometimes made the sea a little rough along the coast of the island. The area right in front of the resort was great for diving or snorkeling – with the reef beginning as soon as you got into the water and a steep wall only 100 feet from shore. There were plenty of opportunities for free shore diving, day and night, but one night our group was washed back over the beach in the heavy surf before we could get underwater. The nice sandy beach had ended at the water’s edge, so we got a few bumps as we aborted the dive. The good news was that the entire resort staff turned out to help us get back on shore! Another day, we took a trip to town in a small boat and were obliged to cover ourselves with a large tarp to avoid being drenched by the heavy spray. Like I said, this was an adventure!

Of course, we had gone there to dive, and dive we did – except for my wife, who was content to work out on her Kindle. There were excellent dive sites all around the island. The reefs were vibrant and we saw lots of morays (green and spotted), eagle rays, lobsters, porcupine fish, a couple of big nurse sharks, and much, much more. Oh, did I mention the whale shark? We saw her on two occasions. Here was the drill: If the dive boat spotted a whale shark, an alarm was given and we divided into two groups. One group donned mask, fins, and snorkel and squeezed together on the stern. The other group waited for the next pass. Once near the giant fish, the snorkelers entered the water like paratroops in combat, cameras in hand. It was mass confusion, but it worked.

Anyway, would I go back to Utopia? Yes, yes, yes!