InsideOut Travel—Searching for Utila’s Treasure

by Diane Selkirk

The warm, salty blue enveloped me as I checked my depth gauge and continued descending to 80 feet. Mesmerizing fish undulated through a wild English garden of coral and sea sponges, but it was a stationary glint that captured my attention. I swam toward the coin-shaped metallic disk, half hidden in the sand.

Excitement rose in my chest as the words came back. My diving trip to Utila Island, in the Bay Islands of Honduras, changed in nature as soon as I read the following words on the back of a tourist brochure: “According to local legend, the loot from the pirate Henry Morgan's 1671 raid on Panama is buried somewhere on the island or somewhere in her coral reefs.”

Until then, I was returning to Utila with my husband, Evan, and two friends to dive, enjoy the atmosphere and eat fresh seafood—not necessarily in that order.

	DESTINATION: UTILA
	Searching for Utila’s Treasure
	by Diane Selkirk The warm, salty blue enveloped me as I checked my depth gauge and continued descending to 80 feet. Mesmerizing fish undulated through a wild English garden of coral and sea sponges, but it was a stationary glint that captured my attention. I swam toward the coin-shaped metallic disk, half hidden in the sand. Excitement rose in my chest as the words came back. My diving trip to Utila Island, in the Bay Islands of Honduras, changed in nature as soon as I read the following words on the back of a tourist brochure: “According to local legend, the loot from the pirate Henry Morgan's 1671 raid on Panama is buried somewhere on the island or somewhere in her coral reefs.” Until then, I was returning to Utila with my husband, Evan, and two friends to dive, enjoy the atmosphere and eat fresh seafood—not necessarily in that order.				After learning the story about Morgan the pirate and his missing treasure, the goal of my visit changed, and the fantasies started. I could dive, eat, relax and find untold riches. From the sky, Utila seems impossibly tiny. First the seamounts, then the reefs rise out of the blue sea. Closer to shore, its blue water shifts through a rainbow of turquoise. The island itself—just a low green mound—is almost insignificant in contrast to the network of surrounding coral. "Unlike the rest of Honduras, the language of the Bay Islands is English with a twist—it harks back to the era of English pirates and is a reminder of the island’s rich history.” Utila has just one main street. It was heavily trafficked by two, old pick-up trucks that served as taxis; a few ATV’s that were dwarfed as entire families balanced on top; scooters whose owners transported trays of donuts or sacks of coconuts from one end of town to the other; bicycles in various states of disrepair; children in tidy school uniforms; dogs chasing cats; and—while we were there—an escaped pig. Music blared from a variety of sources competing with bicycle horns and shouted greetings. Taco stands, frying fish and over ripe mangoes made the humid air thick with a jungle odor. more >> << home << discuss article >>
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DESTINATION: UTILA

Searching for Utila’s Treasure

by Diane Selkirk