Utila is the cheapest place in the world to learn to dive. It’s also full of pirates. It’s part of the bay islands of northern Honduras, composed of a strip of coral that stretches down from Belize to form the second largest reef on earth. It’s cheap, it’s cheerful and it’s full of travelers.

Back in the days when Central America was full of colonialists Utila, with its sheltered bays and proximity to the mainland, was an important refuge for British pirates. They were fierce and bloodthirsty people, feared for their ruthless attacks on the ports and towns of northern Honduras. Led by the infamous Henry Morgan, they raped and pillaged the Caribbean coast.

And then, one day, they mellowed out. Something changed. Perhaps they had spent too long in the sun, drank too much rum and decided it was time to sit back on a beach and grow vegetables for a while.

Perhaps, as some of the islanders maintain, they were told to quieten down by the British Government. Either way, they settled into a subsistence lifestyle and sat out the years until scuba diving was invented. Now the money is in refilling air tanks, not cannons.

The island has more dive schools than you can count — operations large and small, professional and shabby but all, without exception, ludicrously cheap. Diving is an expensive sport often beyond the budgets of international travellers but many of those passing through Honduras make time for Utila.

The choice of course can be a little bewildering. Some are excellent and will teach you to dive in style, but for every good school there is a bad one. Utila has little regulation and the fierce competition sometimes means that safety will be compromised for low prices. It’s worth taking the time to speak to other travellers before handing over your cash and committing yourself to a course.

Once you have found your school it’s time to change worlds and dip beneath the waves into a universe so bright and colourful you’d think it was designed by an acid freak. Only the rain forests can compare in density and diversity of species.

The coral reef is a living organism, comprised of millions of tiny polyps that grow slowly over the centuries and yet are so delicate that the brush of a diver’s fin can destroy years of growth. It is far better to float with the fish and stare into the cold and baleful eye of the barracuda as it hovers boldly in front of your mask. If you don’t fancy barracuda there are the gobies — bright yellow and blue fish that form small shoals over lumps of coral and offer a grooming service to larger fish. These, however, are just small fry.

What many people want to do is swim with the rays, turtles and dolphins. To dive with these creatures is a rare privilege but, on Utila it is one that divers are granted regularly. The waters of the bay islands are also some of the best places on earth for spotting the planet’s biggest fish — the whale shark. These monsters sift harmlessly through shoals of plankton and, if you’re lucky, you can snorkel with them between dives.

Utila is peppered by world class dive sites, every one less than an hour away by boat. The south side is characterised by calm waters and abundant coral, to the east are caves where you can swim through coral arches, tunnels and shoals of fish. On the north side, considered by many to offer the best diving on the island, the continental shelf drops off thousands of feet and cool, nutrient rich waters well up from the depths. It supports a huge variety of life and provides for some deep and exciting diving.

When you return from the depths and after your body has adjusted to being surrounded by air, not water, there are a variety of things to do. The influx of so many expatriates and travellers has led Utila to develop a cosmopolitan air. There are numerous cafes with verandas where you can sip local coffee as you watch the day go by.

In the evening the divers meet for a beer or a rum at one of the bars and share stories of adventures and big fish. The most popular hang out is the Sea Breaker bar which juts out over the ocean. Another choice, albeit a loud one, is a hangover from the pirate days — The Bucket of Blood bar. Here most of the clientele sit out on the street to save their eardrums from the thumping reggae music.

Come midnight the island’s electricity is shut off and the streets are left to the crabs. Peace returns as travellers and locals rest and recover for another day of underwater adventures. Life here is circular with one day much like the rest, the changes and excitement coming from the seasons and the new arrivals.

The sun and sea have tempered the bucaneering spirit and taught these people a thing or two about relaxation. As an old pirate once said, “relax, dive and party hard”. With too much time to think, words of wisdom come easily on Utila.