On April 16th, 1999 I set out to discover more of Central America. Since I wanted to learn SCUBA diving first, I headed for the Bay Islands in Honduras (and ended up staying there for too long). This involved over 3 very long days of travelling by bus (and boat) from Panama City to San Jose to Managua to Tegucigalpa to Utila Island. Yes is was very long bus ride indeed. I hooked up with a Danish guy in San Jose who was also headed for Utila. On April 16, we finally arrived!! And then the adventures began...

SCUBA DIVING in Utila!!!

There's nothing quite like being weightless underwater surrounded by a beautiful coral reef and all of its sea creatures. I really picked the right place to learn SCUBA diving. SCUBA = Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, I actually learned the meaning of the acronym from Family Ties, not from diving. Yes, television does pay off.

Top Five Coolest Ways to Die While Diving 5. Running out of air and drowning 4. Being eaten alive by a team of tiger sharks 3. Having your head ripped up by a passing motorboat's blades 2. Going REALLY deep, REALLY fast and having your body implode and your skull crushed by the intense pressure 1. Surfacing too fast from a deep dive, holding your breath, and having your internal organs explode on the surface Left: Scooped up remains of a diver who experienced Cool Way to Die #1. And yes, it was very COOL to watch.

Honestly, SCUBA diving is a very safe and rewarding sport. I recommend it to everybody. Try it and I am sure you'll be hooked! There are so many places on the world to dive and so many different things to see. I know that when I go someplace for vacation, diving will be on my "to do" list.