It's not hard to find sea turtles in Roatan; diving or snorkeling. (Photo by Lori Lair)

ROATAN, Honduras - All things must change, but there is one constant in Honduras' slice of the western Caribbean: the reef.

There are hundreds of miles of it -- part of the second-longest reef in the world.

"All coral, all reef; it has made the Bay Islands," said Sergei Luperto, a dive instructor on the island of Roatan. "That is why people come here."

The Bay Islands hug this coast of Honduras. Roatan, at nearly 33 miles long and 4 miles wide, is the largest and most developed of the islands, 35 miles off the Honduran shore.

There are smaller, less-populated islands in the chain, such as Utila and Guanaga, and there are microscopic islands on which there might be one house and a boat dock.

Roatan is an anomaly of Central America. It is part of Honduras, and Spanish is the official language, but it is probably more English than Spanish. It's definitely bilingual and, in spots, trilingual: Some locals speak a derivation of Creole.

At one time this was a British colony, and in fact its capital, Coxen Hole, is named for an English pirate. Longtime residents speak English, and business names are in that language.

This has contributed mightily to Roatan's popularity with tourists. The island's airport has expanded and can handle direct flights from the U.S. and Europe. Several cruise lines now make routine stops at Coxen Hole. With all of this has come money, lots of it, and resorts are popping up everywhere.

"What this island thrives on is tourism and protecting its reefs," said Julio Galindo, owner of Anthony's Key Resort and a former mayor here. "Protecting the reefs is crucial to preserving what we have here."

It doesn't take scuba-diving lessons or specialized skills to see the splendor of the reef. Grab a mask, snorkel, fins and kick out (but wear a T-shirt to prevent sunburn on your back).

The water is almost bathtub temperature and has high alkalinity, so it's easier to float among the fish, barely kicking. Explore the coral, but avoid kicking into it because that is painful to the body and harmful to the coral.

The views are splendid.

In the first 30 minutes of snorkeling inside the reef, we spied a sea turtle, stingray, barracuda, green moray eel and the ubiquitous reef fish: zebras, clownfish, parrotfish, tangs and damselfish.

On other excursions we also saw humongous sponges, brain coral, pufferfish and boxfish. There was a huge lobster. And large seahorses clinging to mangrove branches -- just a few minutes' swim from our resort room. Unfortunately, whale sharks did not make a visit during a week of diving and snorkeling.

"The sponges are the best in the world," Luperto said. "You can't even see them this big in the Red Sea. And the seahorses have made us famous."

The island is practically one continuous reef, according to dive operator Kevin Brown.

"You can see just as much snorkeling as diving," he said. "We'll see pods of dolphins, sometimes a Caribbean reef shark."

Most American visitors arrive on Saturdays because Continental, Delta and TACA airlines have direct flights (Continental from Houston and Newark, N.J.; Delta from Atlanta; TACA from Houston). Continental and TACA both have Sunday direct flights (Continental from Houston, TACA from Miami).

All flights from the mainland to the Bay Islands stop in La Ceiba, the third-largest city in the country, but when we arrived, we learned that the Roatan airport was closed for the day because of weather.

Fortunately, there is a ferry that runs twice a day to the island. With the inclement weather, it was an extremely rough trip on the 450-seat ship, but we arrived within 90 minutes.

The resorts are on the west end (the island's east side is rugged and has no paved roads). Most resorts have 30 or fewer rooms, but there are some larger ones: Harry Morgan Resort in West Bay (116 rooms), Fantasy Island in French Harbour (106), the Mayan Princess in West End (60) and Anthony's Key Resort in Sandy Bay (56 bungalows). None of these is in the five-star category, but all provide exceptional individual service.

We chose Anthony's Key because it has the largest dive fleet on the island and has consistently been considered one of the top dive-operated resorts in the world. Its rooms are on stilts overlooking the reef and aren't equipped with clocks, televisions or phones.

Anthony's Key is the longest continuously operating dive resort here -- it will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2008. In addition to a fleet of 11 dive boats, it offers weekly dolphin and shark dives, and has a dolphin experience -- where people can pet and swim with dolphins. Other activities include horseback riding and kayaking.

"I have a very comfortable feeling staying here," said Donna Matson of Hollywood, who was making her 12th visit to Anthony's Key in the last 10 years. "It's beautiful here. It's easy to get here. And the reefs are gorgeous."

The resort has three scheduled dives and two snorkel trips per day. Even if there is just one snorkeler, a boat goes out.

"We used to get the hard-core divers," said Brown, who has managed the 25-person dive staff for 18 years. "But there is so much more to do now. So many different things. Not everybody dives every day."

The mandatory waiver form is waved in the face of every guest before anyone sets out for diving or snorkeling. Yes, accidents can happen. The resort's hospital has three doctors and an emergency medical technician on site, along with one of the busiest hyperbaric chambers in the Caribbean -- helping divers get over the bends.

Because of winter storms, conditions were rough for two of our dive days. Unfortunately, a diver suffered a heart attack on one of those dives and died at the resort hospital. The resort said it was the first death of a recreational diver here in more than 20 years.

Anthony's Key is also home to the Roatan Museum and the Institute of Marine Sciences. Each summer, hundreds of youths descend on the Sandy Bay resort for a week's study of bottlenose dolphins. The research center participates in worldwide fish counts and frequently has college students on site doing internships.

Even for snorkelers or those not comfortable in the water, the resort offers its dolphin experience, which is particularly popular with cruise-ship passengers.

Snorkelers are divided into groups of no more than eight to an instructor. The groups are shown the different parts of the dolphin and then get to pet, pose with and swim alongside the mammal.

The resort has 15 dolphins, and each eats between 15 and 30 pounds of fish each day, so herring has to be shipped down from the northeastern U.S.

"We pamper these guys," said Eldon Bolton, who has been working with the dolphins for 16 years.

For the landlubber and less than adventurous, there's plenty to do out of the water, too.

There's shopping in Coxen Hole or West End (beware of the potholes in the latter).

There's a rain-forest zip-line tour, where visitors scoot along tree tops at close to 30 mph. There are 18 lines with 24 platforms, and 2 1/2 miles of cable. The ride descends 200 feet to the beach and Carambola Gardens, which teem with macaws, green parrots and monkeys that have a predisposition for stealing hats.

Other Roatan attractions include Arch's Iguana Farm, with more than 2,800 iguanas, and the Butterfly Gardens. There are also beaches, numerous trails for hiking or nature walks, and off-shore fishing.

There are a number of funky restaurants on the island, including the View, Dian's Garden of Eatin', and Miss Jenny's Lusty Lizard Bar and Grill, which caters to National Football League fans on Sundays.

Roatan is undergoing rapid change. Americans and Europeans are lured by a cost of living that is relatively cheap for the Caribbean. Land values have climbed, resort developments of varying success have denuded hillsides (creating muddy conditions in the rainy season), and a shopping center promising American establishments is under construction in the middle of the island.

"I've seen many changes," said Galindo, "and it has all happened very quickly. It was different. It was quieter."

Fortunately, despite all the growth and upheaval on Roatan, its glorious reef remains a reassuring constant.

IF YOU GO:

At Anthony's Key Resort, high igh season runs from Jan. 5 to Aug. 30. During this period, seven-night dive packages are priced from $999 (per person, double occupancy), snorkel packages from $899, leisure packages from $699. Four-night packages are priced from $589, $529 and $429, respectively. One-night rates are also offered, and accommodations are priced lower from Aug. 30 to Nov. 22, and from Nov. 29 to Dec. 20. Information: www.anthonyskey.com, (800) 227-3483.