| Shelling
on Roatan, Honduras by
Marcus Coltro |
It's not easy to get to Roatan from
Brazil. Since we hadn't planned the trip (as usual), flights were
fully booked and there were not many options. Most flights to
Roatan come from the US, but our diver, Paulo Gonçalves,
does not have a visa, so we had to fly to Panama, stop in Costa
Rica, stay one night in Tegucigalpa (Honduras' capital), fly to
San Pedro Sula the next day, then take a tiny plane (it looked
home-built) to Roatan. Paulo never flew before, so for him everything
was very exciting at first (by the time we got back home he was
sick of it...).
We had a whole day in Tegucigalpa,
so we went to the Museum of Anthropology. Shells were present
during most of Honduran history, from handicrafts to musical instruments,
and also as food. And for those who think dental drilling or filing
are modern developments, we saw some very weird and probably painful
adornment of teeth from hundreds of years ago.
Our friend Tony McLeery was waiting
for us in Roatan harbor, so we took off right away on our first
shelling trip. Due to our short stay, we remained on the west
coast and went up to Barbareta Island. I understand why Roatan
is one of the best diving spots in the Caribbean: its waters are
very beautiful and full of life. But not full of shells... The
marine life is quite distracting even after the many trips that
we have taken. At least this time I had my digital camera with
its underwater case, so that I can share some images with you.
Since I lost one of Tony's dredges
last time (it got stuck and the line broke), I promised to bring
him a new one. I had made a very precise sketch to build it myself
and went to buy stainless steel parts. After getting dirty selecting
those parts, I saw some big stainless steel tubes, about 30 cm
of diameter and 60 cm long, so I came up with an idea: why not
put a mesh on one end of the tube and use it as a dredge? Not
to mention that it would be much easier to build and carry. Indeed,
the idea worked, but the place where we tried it brought no results.
Tony kept the dredge and will try in some other places. It is
very sturdy and even resists hitting hard rocks.
One of the shells we were looking
for was Conus kulkucan, a beautiful species from the C. cardinalis
group. The first one I found was amazing, dark blood-red! We found
others, but this first one was the best. We found several Fissurellidae
-- the animal is beautiful in some of them, Turbo caillettii,
fantastic dwarf Strombus costatus, nice Turridae while diving
and many other interesting shells in the few dredgings we did.
We tried to get some land shells, but it was very dry and the
only thing we found on Barbareta was a Potamididae: Cerithidea
pliculosa veracruzensis Bequaert.
Most of our diving was in shallow
water, so our tanks last forever. I used up most of the time without
even looking at the gauge to see how much air I had left.... Just
in one place did I go to deeper water to see if anything could
be found. I don't have a meter gauge with my regulator, I use
a Citizen Aqualand watch on my wrist. But Murphy again traveled
with me (he must have lots of miles on his frequent traveler program...)
so the battery went dead just as I was going down. The water was
very clear, no current, and warm. All three things that can mislead
even experienced divers. But I felt the pressure and decided to
return slowly while I still had plenty of air, and since it was
on a reef wall, it was easy to stop and check for shells. After
I used my first tank, I changed to another one with a working
gauge so that I could control my bottom time better. Well, I went
down to 40 meters! And as usual, the deeper you go, the fewer
shells you find.
Usually when diving in very shallow
water, my diving buddy and I do not always stay together (I know,
it is not the right procedure...). Since we did not have much
time left for shelling, we each went to a different part of the
reef. The current was very annoying - again I did not have enough
weight so I kept grabbing pieces of dead coral to stabilize. I
was going straight to this large coral head when I noticed something
bright and round near the sand and went to check it out. I usually
don't pay attention to large fish when I am collecting shells,
and don't bother much with sharks as long as they don't come too
close, but of course I avoid them especially at night. When I
got closer to the "bright spot" I realized that it was
the eye of a huge sand shark! These sharks are not man-eaters
but one of this size (much bigger than I) could harm you if it
hits you when trying to get away. I got as close as I could to
take a picture, but it was not close enough since I was stuck
under a coral head and if I tried to get closer, the shark would
certainly hit me to escape. I left it alone and went to the other
side of the coral head to check for shells.
This was our third trip in less
than 2 months, first New Zealand then Cook Islands. I discovered
that this is the best way to lose weight, especially when I have
to cook for myself: I lost 6 kilos!
Perhaps I could open a weight-loss spa for collectors and make
them eat what I eat! The price? Well, I would keep all the shells
collected!
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