Barbareta, Bay Islands, Honduras

Barbareta Wall

Barbareta is a small private island east of Roatán, included in Roatán Aggressor itineraries and reached as a day trip by some east-end operators. The fringing reef around the island is barely dived compared with Roatán proper, and the resulting low diver pressure produces unusually healthy coral cover. The principal wall dive on the south side begins on a coral plateau at 10 meters with stands of brain coral, lettuce coral, sea rods, large barrel sponges and pillar coral, and runs to a stepped wall that drops from 18 past 35 meters. The wall is heavily encrusted with deep-water gorgonians, rope sponges, tube sponges and clusters of black coral. Reef fauna is consistently rich: hawksbill turtle, queen and French angelfish, schooling creole wrasse, midnight parrotfish, spotted moray, schooling French grunt and frequent spotted eagle ray fly-bys. Caribbean reef shark are occasionally seen in the deeper blue. Visibility averages 25 to 35 meters.