Johnny on a Journey

ALRIGHT! Now I can start getting into the good stuff and more of the travel side of this travel blog. So today is now my second day here in Utila, but my first full day. The trip was long and exhausting but definitely worth it now that I’m here. Let’s get into the details…

I left my house on Saturday, Feb. 2 with my family around 9pm in order to get to the airport early for my 12:30am flight time. I got to LAX, said my goodbyes to my family, and headed in. Nothing too interesting happened there until my flight on Avianca landed in San Salvador. I was sitting in the aisle next to this older man and he kind of had a bad cough, but not too bad. Anyways, when we land this guy starts coughing like crazy. As soon as the captain stops speaking over the intercom about having a wonderful time in San Salvador, the man next to me just pukes all over the floor. And I mean everywhere. I quickly grabbed my backpack from under my seat to avoid an unnecessary mess I’d have to deal with, and luckily was quick enough to avoid any mess on my things. I waved down the flight attendant and everything was handled as I got off the plane. From there I got on a little puddle jumper plane to get to Roatan and I stayed there from 10am until 2pm waiting for the ferry to ship me across the water to Utila.

Once I arrived in Utila, I hired a tuk-tuk and traveled to the Freedive Utila headquarters. Upon arriving, I was met by Tex and Sheena, Tex being the owner and Sheena one of the instructors. Sheena showed me around the headquarters and where I’d be staying. I’m currently living on the dock and I cannot tell you how awesome it is to be living here. The sunsets are incredible, the people are inspiring with their abilities, and the water is gorgeous.

Today was my first day practicing skills. Tex is basically serving as my private instructor as I go through my PADI Instructors Freediving courses. PADI’s requirements are not very difficult and even somewhat boring with how low the bar is set to pass on to the next level. To give an example of what I mean, on my first day here I’ve already surpassed both the basic and advanced freediving requirements. Tex is teaching me Apnea Total’s (the best organization in freediving) tips and tricks and I have also set my goals to achieve their standards for an instructor as they are the most difficult. Some of their standards for an instructor are that I must be able to hold my breath in Static Apnea for at least 5min and I must also be able to dive at least 50 meters (approx. 164ft).

Tex and I started this morning at 7:30. He walked me through some breathing techniques and showed me how to properly breathe-up for my Static Apnea on dry land. I laid down on the yoga mat in the shade as I closed my eyes and started to breathe the way he told me through my mouth (I was wearing a nose clip). After around 5min of preparatory breathing, I took my last big breath and began the process. After what felt like a very short time (for my own personal goals that is) I finally refilled my lungs with air. Tex asked me how I felt, and I talked it through with him. When he finally revealed to me what my time was, I was absolutely shocked: 4 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. Never have I ever even come CLOSE to making it that far on a single breath. Once we moved to the water I was able to push that even further and made it to 4 minutes and 40 seconds. For my first day (and first attempts!), I was extremely impressed and amazed at what my body was capable of. I can’t wait to keep pushing and see what I will be able to achieve.

STAY TUNED!!!