Roatan and beyond

Well, the bad news is that we are half way through our vacation but the good news is that we aren't going to think about that and enjoy each moment of this wonderful time we are having together. Day five is Roatan Island and since this is an island we have never been to we are looking forward to going ashore. One of the really great things about this island is that the ship could dock at the island and there was no little bobbing boats involved. For an explanation see my previous blog on Belize. Once again I got up and took the short walk to the dining area to get my coffee and and went back to our room to wait for Kim to get ready. Again the weather wasn't the greatest as it was a bit overcast and there was a light rain. We went to the dining room and enjoyed a nice breakfast once again and then gathered our stuff and proceeded to the gangplank to head out to our scheduled tour of the island. The sun was trying to come out but shortly after we got on the island it started to rain. Why didn't I bring the rolled up raincoat my wife had the foresight to pack? Oh well, tropical rain, how bad could it be. We found someone holding up signs for our tour that we had signed up for and figured that maybe that is where we should go. After many people started gathering in the same area the group led by the sign bearers starting marching away from the typical tourist shopping area toward a bunch of waiting buses and cabs. We got into a small bus with about six other people and headed out to tour the island.

On this tour we had a driver and separate tour guide. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and our driver was rather scary. He was on a mission. The one main road on Roatan that we traveled was very hilly and very curvaceous and our driver appeared to be an ex-Nascar driver. I actually loved it. We made a couple of local stops to see the locals dance, make bread and sell us overpriced goods. Ask Kim about the vanilla; we still get a good laugh about that. Our tour guide gave us a lot of very interesting facts about Roatan and we were able to see a lot of the local culture. After purchasing a few things we certainly didn't need and sampling some of the local food we headed back to the ship. Since it was only shortly after lunch time we returned to the ship and had lunch on board. After all, we are on a cruise. After lunch we returned to the island to check out the local overpriced shopping area. One of the things I enjoy doing is getting a pin for my hat from every island or country we have visited and I hadn't purchased one yet from Roatan, plus the picture I posted here was taken when we went back, since the weather was much improved. After this short excursion we headed back to the ship ready for our nap. Tonight was the second dress up night and we needed to rest up so we could stay up past ten P.M. After our nap it was time to get ready for dinner. As you might have noticed by now, eating is a very big part of cruising. A quick shower ten minutes to get dressed and I was ready. Since I didn't want to go to dinner alone, I turned on the TV and as Brad Paisley's song goes; "waited on a woman". As usual dinner was great, the company was perfect and it was a wonderful evening. We went to the show after dinner and decided to throw some money overboard via the casinos. After checking out some of the nightlife on board we figured it was time to get this old body into bed.

Thursday we docked in Cozumel and since we had been there before we decided that it would be a good day to just relax on board while many others went ashore. The good thing about that is that there are often less people on the ship and therefore more available seating for relaxing. The not so good thing is that it still wasn't the Caribbean weather we were hoping for and working on that vacation tan just wasn't going to happen. After another great breakfast, we walked around the ship and found a great place to park ourselves with a good book and hunkered down for some good old vacation time relaxin'. Oh my it is time for lunch; how time flies when you are having fun. We strolled up to the dining area for lunch and rolled back on deck for a short walk. After the walk and a somewhat sunny place to sit and read we decided it was definitely time for a nap. After the nap guess what we had to do? It was time to get ready for dinner. After dinner we went to the show, enjoyed a little of the nightlife and it was time to end another beautiful cruising day with another beautiful night. Tomorrow was a day at sea when we would head back to port. We tried not to look at it as the last day of the cruise but as another beautiful day together on this wonderful vacation.


For the last day at sea we had earlier signed up for a special tour called the "behind the fun tour". We truly enjoyed the island tours but this tour was the best to us. We got to go everywhere on the ship from the laundry which is below the water level to the bridge where we got to talk with the captain. Talk about the best seat in the house! We toured through the kitchen where we were given samples of desserts to the control room where we got to see how all the ships operations were handled. We went behind the scenes of the theater and saw how the performers prepared for the shows. What an amazing tour. The tour took about three hours and we got a whole different perspective on cruising. Of course after the tour there was lunch and another wonderful day at sea to enjoy the limited sunshine and relaxation. This was a much needed and great vacation. I am back to I guess what we would call normal life now but the memories of this week will live on. It reminded me that I still love cruising and God willing I hope to be able to cruise again. God bless you all!