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CaribbLEM is a go!
Hey folks!
OK, I've been talking with some of you for a good while about this, but the time has come to make it public. CaribbLEM 2013 is a go! We just need to nail down a date. Right now I'm thinking the last week in February, 2013, but I'd like to hear some feedback from folks here before we set the date in stone. (Though we need to be quick; some people are already prepared to book their flight, and you can save a bundle if you do it early enough.)
EDIT: Dates have been set: We will be on the island from Saturday, Feb 23rd until the following Saturday, March 2nd. Given the miss-match between the ferry schedule and the airport schedule though, most people are flying into Honduras (San Pedro Sula airport) on Friday, Feb 22nd and flying out on Sunday, March 3rd. This is the only way to make the times work out. So you'll need to plan on spending a day on the mainland on each end of the vacation. I'm staying at the Apart Hotel Villa Nuria, and so are most of the other attendees. (More details in the thread.)
For those that might not remember, here's the basic concept: It's an 8 day vacation at a tropical resort with awesome activities available during the day (like SCUBA, snorkeling, hiking, kayaking, beach-life, etc) coupled with a Laser Enthusiast's Meeting every night. We will have a conference room inside to set up projectors so we can run shows, but we'll also have a few places set aside for night-time outdoor laser shows as well. Finally, we may even do a show for the general public at a local nightclub one evening.
The location will be the Coral Reef View Resort on the island of Utila, which is off the eastern coast of Honduras in Central America.
Here's what the resort looks like by day, and by night: (For any picture in this post, click on the image for a larger version.)
This is the resort that Rick (Neutrino) works at. He's the manager of the dive shop there, and he is really good friends with the family that owns the resort. (That's how he was able to get them to agree to host this event for us.) He has explained to them what we want to do, and they are very much on board. Rick has been given a free hand to organize this event, and I think we've got everything we need now to pull of one hell of a Laser Enthusiast's Meeting!
The resort is not especially posh or luxurious, but the staff is very friendly and the location is just beautiful. They have a large dock that juts out into the ocean with a bar and observation lounge at the end. Just off the end of the dock is one of the many coral reefs in the area, and you can snorkel or SCUBA dive right off the dock. Here's a few more pictures of the resort:
And some pictures of the dock, the observation deck, the reef at the end of the dock, and the bar below the observation deck:
And finally some pictures of the rooms themselves (the last one is the conference room where we'll have some laser projectors set up):
Now here's the cool part: This event is designed to be AFFORDABLE. For a single person who wants their own room, $465 covers all seven nights accommodations, plus breakfast and lunch (dinner is on you), plus all the fees to transport you from the airport on the mainland to the port, then to the island itself (via ferry), and then to the resort itself AND BACK AGAIN. So basically, you pay $465 plus your airfare to get you to the San Pedro Sula airport, and after that all you pay for are your drinks, your evening meals, and any other activities (SCUBA, snorkel, etc) that you want to do. How's that for affordable?
If you will be traveling with your spouse, or if you want to share a room with someone else, the rate for a double-occupancy room drops to just $388 per person. And if three folks want to share a room, it drops to $348 per person! (4 people is the maximum per room, and it would require everyone to be in bunk beds, but that would get you down to $327 per person, which is an incredibly low price for 7 nights plus breakfast and lunch, plus all the transportation costs.)
If you're interested in doing some SCUBA diving and you are already certified, a package of 10 dives (including boat fees, all equipment rental, a guide, and reef fees) will run you $279. And if you aren't certified yet, you can get your certification for $289, and that includes two free dives at the end of the 3-day class. In fact, if you're thinking about SCUBA but are unsure, they even offer a $99 1/2 day "discover SCUBA" class that you can try. If you decide to continue with the full certification, the $99 counts towards your certification fee. And if you used to be a diver long ago but need a refresher, they offer a free SCUBA refresher class.
But even if you're not interested in SCUBA, there are lots of other things to do at the resort. For one, there's the awesome beach. You can hang out and do pretty much whatever you want. There is a volleyball court right by the water, and a bar at the end of the dock with an observation lounge above. (Have a drink up there and sunbathe while you watch the people snorkeling on the reef.)
Snorkeling off the dock at the resort is free anytime. They have all the equipment you need for free. If you want to go out on a boat and snorkel with a guide, that costs just $15 per person including all fees. Likewise, you can rent kayaks to go out paddling, or even snorkel out of one if you want. They also have a boat that would be perfect for waterskiing or tubing, so if there is enough interest we could set of a few trips for that. There are hiking trails to explore, and a small village in town to poke around if you're into that sort of thing.
One of the most unique things that Utila has to offer isWHALE SHARKS
These docile creatures are the largest fish in the ocean. True whales (the mammals) are still larger, of course, but adult whale sharks average 31 ft in length, and some can be nearly 40ft long! They are unlike any normal shark, in that whale sharks have no teeth. They are filter-feeders and they eat plankton. They also move very slow, which makes it possible for people to interact with them while in the water. I've heard stories from people who have done this, and they say it's absolutely amazing to experience. (Note: this will be via snorkel only; despite what you see in the picture above, they don't allow tourists to SCUBA dive with whale sharks in Honduras.)
Anyway, Rick is the manager of the dive shop, and he routinely snorkels with the whale sharks. It's one of the primary reasons that people come to the area. (The reefs harbor lots of other cool sea life too, of course, but it's the whale sharks that really draws people.) And since we are planning this for the early spring, the whale sharks should be present in abundance. But just to show you what else you can see, here are more pics:
So that's the deal. Fly to the San Pedro Sulu airport in Honduras. Be met in the airport by Rick or his sister, and as a group we travel to the port, get on a ferry, ride to the island of Utila, then get in a van and travel to the resort. Once there, we check in for 8 days (7 nights) of beach fun, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, hiking, kayaking, etc, plus tons of laser fun in the late evening and night time. So it's a LEM and a Caribbean vacation all rolled into a single, affordable package.
If this sounds like a damned commercial, that's because I'm *totally* psyched for this.To be honest, I was on-board the moment I heard "whale sharks" (which was many months ago). Since then I've only gotten more and more excited about it. After talking back and fourth with Rick, his sister Sara, and several other folks here on PL, I honestly think this is going to be one of the coolest things I'll ever be involved with.
I'd like to see this as more than just a "CaribbLEM". I think this is more like a "WORLD-LEM". After all, apart from Rick, there won't be any other laserists from the island! Everyone will have to fly in from elsewhere. But I think this is an awesome way to try to get members from the US and Europe (not to mention some of the more distant lands) to come together for one hell of a party. (That just happens to be located in the middle of a tropical paradise, oh, and that will also just happen to have LASERS present!)
Rick has a 2 watt RGB projector plus a pair of 1 watt blue units that he runs with a Pangolin FB3. That's great for running graphics shows or even some indoor beam shows, but it would be damned cool if a few people were willing to bring some higher-power gear so we could play outside for a few nights. So if you're thinking about going, and you've got some higher-power solid state gear that travels well, it would be very cool if you'd consider bringing it along.
So now we need feedback! Who is interested in attending, and what dates work best for everyone? Also, is anyone willing to bring some high-power solid state gear with them? Please reply below!
Adam
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