Embarking on the Caribbean Pearl II from Utila, one of the Bay Islands a few miles off the north coast of Honduras, we made our way along the coast to an area unknown to the region’s tourist diving operations. As we got close to the cays, our crew grew increasingly nervous, perhaps justifiably so.

 

This part of Honduras has long been a major route for cocaine trafficking into the United States from South America, and the region through which we were sailing was well-known for its use by certain cartels who preferred moving their cargo by sea.