Scuba Trip: Utila and Roatan, Honduras

Justine International

Back in May, I spent three weeks on Honduras’ Bay Islands. I spent the first 2 weeks becoming a PADI scuba instructor, but after the course and exams were over, I needed a break! Fortunately, I was already in paradise so all I needed to do was get underwater. In this post, I’ll recap my fun dive portion of the trip, which included 1 day of diving in Utila and 3 days of diving in Roatan.

PADI Instructor Development Course in Utila, Honduras

Justine International

For the past year, my goal has been to become a PADI open water scuba instructor (OWSI). Two weeks ago, I completed the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) and Instructor Exam (IE) in Utila, Honduras, and now I’m finally an instructor! In this post, I’ll recap the IDC and IE.

Desert in Bloom – My Favorite Time of Year in Tucson

Justine Arizona

The word “desert” tends to conjure different images for desert dwellers than it does for our friends from moister climes (points for me for using “moister climes” in a sentence!). You moisture lovers often think of the desert as nothing but sand, and refuse to believe there’s anything redeeming about Tucson’s nature. Though some deserts are admittedly nothing but sand, the vast majority aren’t. Tucson is actually pretty green most of the year, including winter. It gets even greener in the spring and during monsoon season (my second-favorite time of year here). On top of the green, we get all …

Scuba trip: San Carlos, Mexico (April 2018)

Justine International

A week and a half ago, I made my 5th diving trip to San Carlos, Mexico. Though I’ve been quite a few times now, all my previous trips were in the late summer and early fall. This time, I got to explore the murky, chilly, yet surprisingly bountiful world that exists underwater off the San Carlos coast in mid-April.

Free scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef: my 5 days as a hostie

Justine International

Sometimes, the best travel experiences are the ones you didn’t plan. A perfect example of this: five days of free scuba diving while I volunteered as a “hostie” on a recent trip to Cairns, Australia. In this post, I’ll explain what a hostie is, and how you too can dive for free at the Great Barrier Reef.

Scuba trip: San Carlos, Mexico (October 2017)

Justine International

For the third time in 3 months, I went south to San Carlos, Mexico for a long weekend of diving. In August, I did my Advanced Open Water (AOW) certification and in September, I wrapped up my Rescue Diver certification. This time, though, I didn’t have any training to complete. It was a recreational trip in the fullest sense – a couple days of diving just for fun and nothing else!