Day 2 on the reef, and a spectacularly paintable discovery

(click on image to enlarge)

Pico Bonito, as seen from the island of Utila

Watercolour, watercolour pencils and crayons

©2011 Charlene Brown

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef extends from the northern tip of the Yucatan peninsula along the Mayan Riviera, past Belize and Guatemala to the Bay Islands of Honduras, Utila is the smallest of these islands.

The first painting I started on Utila focused entirely on what I could see of the coral beds looking down into the shallow water close to the shore (augmented by what I could remember of the underwater view I’d had during an inept couple of minutes of snorkeling.)

It wasn’t until the second morning we were on Utila that I discovered this stunning view looking back toward the Nombre de Dios (Name of God) mountains on the mainland of Honduras. They get a fair bit of rain on the mainland, so none of this was visible when we first arrived. Pico Bonito, on the right, is the tallest peak in this part of the range.