It is not exactly easy to get to Roatan from Brazil. Since we had not planned the trip very far in advance — as usual — most flights were already fully booked and our options were limited. Most international flights to Roatan came through the United States, but our diver, Paulo Gonçalves, did not have a U.S. visa. So we had to take the long way around: fly to Panama, stop in Costa Rica, spend a night in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, fly to San Pedro Sula the following day, and finally take a tiny plane to Roatan. The little aircraft looked almost homemade!

Paulo had never flown before, so at first everything was new and exciting for him. By the time we finally returned home, however, he was completely sick of airplanes...

We had a full day in Tegucigalpa, so we visited the Museum of Anthropology. Shells appeared throughout much of Honduran history, used for everything from handicrafts and musical instruments to food. And for anyone who thinks dental drilling and filing are modern inventions, the museum had some very strange — and probably quite painful — examples of tooth decoration dating back hundreds of years.

Our friend Tony McLeery was waiting for us at Roatan harbor, and we set off almost immediately on our first shelling trip. Because our stay was short, we concentrated on the west coast and traveled as far as Barbareta Island.

It was easy to understand why Roatan is considered one of the Caribbean's great diving destinations. The water was beautiful, clear and full of marine life.

Unfortunately, it was not quite as full of shells!

Even after all the diving trips we had made over the years, the marine life could still be very distracting when we were supposed to be looking for shells. At least this time I had brought my digital camera and its underwater housing, so I could photograph some of what we saw and share the images with you.

On my previous trip with Tony, I had lost one of his dredges when it became stuck on the bottom and the line broke. I therefore promised to bring him a replacement. I had even made a very precise drawing so that I could build one myself and went out to buy the necessary stainless-steel parts.

After getting thoroughly dirty digging through all those pieces, I noticed some large stainless-steel tubes, about 30 cm in diameter and 60 cm long. That gave me an idea: why not simply put a strong mesh over one end of a tube and use the whole thing as a dredge?

It would certainly be much easier to build — and much easier to carry.

The idea actually worked. Unfortunately, the place where we tested it produced almost nothing. Tony kept the dredge so that he could try it in other areas. At least we knew that it was extremely sturdy and could even survive hitting hard rocks on the bottom.

One of the shells we particularly wanted to find was Conus kulkucan, a beautiful species of the C. cardinalis group. The first specimen I found was spectacular — a deep blood-red color! We found a few more afterwards, but that first one remained the best.

We also found several Fissurellidae, some with beautifully colored animals, as well as Turbo caillettii, fantastic dwarf Strombus costatus, some nice Turridae while diving, and many other interesting shells during the few dredging attempts we were able to make.

We also tried looking for land shells, but conditions were extremely dry. The only thing we found on Barbareta was actually a potamidid: Cerithidea pliculosa veracruzensis Bequaert.

Most of our diving was in shallow water, which meant that our tanks seemed to last forever. I spent most of the time collecting without even looking at my pressure gauge to see how much air I had left.

At one location, however, I decided to go deeper to see whether there was anything interesting farther down. I did not have a depth gauge attached to my regulator because I used a Citizen Aqualand dive watch on my wrist instead.

But Murphy had apparently decided to travel with me again. He must have accumulated a lot of miles in his frequent-flyer program by now...

Just as I started descending, the battery in my watch died.

The water was extremely clear, there was no current, and it was warm — three conditions that can easily mislead even an experienced diver about depth. I could feel the increasing pressure, however, and decided to begin a slow ascent while I still had plenty of air. Since I was diving along a reef wall, I could stop along the way and continue checking for shells.

After finishing that tank, I changed to another one with a working gauge so that I could keep better track of the dive.

Well... I went down to 40 meters!

And, as usual, the deeper I went, the fewer shells I found.

When diving in very shallow water, my buddy and I did not always remain together — yes, I know, that is not the correct procedure. Since we had very little time left for shelling, we sometimes searched different sections of the reef.

At one spot the current was particularly annoying. Once again, I did not have enough weight, so I kept grabbing pieces of dead coral to keep myself in position. I was heading toward a large coral head when I noticed something bright and round near the sand.

Naturally, I went over to investigate.

When I am collecting shells, I normally pay very little attention to large fish. Sharks do not bother me much either, as long as they keep their distance — although I am naturally more cautious around them at night.

As I approached the bright spot, however, I suddenly realized what I was looking at.

It was the eye of a huge shark!

The animal was much larger than I was. I knew it was unlikely to be interested in me as prey, but an animal that size could certainly injure a diver simply by striking him while trying to escape.

I moved as close as I safely could to take a photograph, but not close enough to get the picture I really wanted. I was partly trapped beneath the coral head, and if I approached any farther, the shark would almost certainly have had to pass dangerously close to me to get away.

So I left it alone and went around to the other side of the coral head.

After all, I was there to look for shells.

This was our third collecting trip in less than two months — first New Zealand, then the Cook Islands, and now Roatan. I discovered that this was probably the most effective weight-loss program I had ever tried, particularly when I had to cook for myself.

I lost six kilos!

Perhaps I should open a weight-loss spa especially for shell collectors and make everyone eat what I eat.

The price?

I get to keep all the shells they collect!