Roatán, Honduras

We decided to do something new for the holidays and took a 7-day Western Carribean cruise out of Tampa.

A friend told me not to book my port or land trips through the cruise line because there were great deals once you get off the ship.  To play it safe, I did a 50/50 option.  On two out of four stops, I booked through the cruise line and the other two we dicided to be adventurous and somewhat wing it and try what my friend had suggested.  At the end of the week, we decided we had the best experience with the excursions we booked through the cruise line.  This is where “You get what you pay for” really meant just that.  We consider “Best experience” based on quality, but not necessarily fun level.  So in my opinion, if you really are on a tight budget, there is nothing wrong with less quality experience if you can look on the lighter side of a crowded van or non airconditioned vehicles.  It just all depends on what defines a good day for you.  Overall, we took something away with every trip and learned so much history and culture, it was wonderful!

Our fist stop Roatan, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras’ Bay Islands. The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan. It is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) long, and less than 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) across at its widest point. Source: Wikipedia.  It was a beautiful day.  Temperature: 84 degrees, warm winds and low humiduty.

From the top deck, we admired this lush green land and were excited to go on our first adventure!  It sure looks pretty from up here.

 

 

Port of Roatán

Roatán Pirates Bay

We decided to go to Pirate’s Bay purchasing a package offered locally.  It was a twenty minute ride through town, parts of the forest and some hills.   We spent the day on the beach for about five hours.  Upon arrival, a line of tourist shops welcomed us and everyone wanted us to buy something.  We went straight to the reception table and received our complimetary fresh fruit drink, grabbed our towels and walked around the beach before settling for the front row.  We were the first ones there!  After admiring some Mayan carvings, we decided it was time to relax…

Local Cuisine

I’m glad we stuffed ourselves at breakfast before leaving the ship because the food at this resort was so expensive but the beer and rum were not, so I tried a local beer and was pleased with it, nothing like a cold pale ale on a warm day at the beach… lounge, sip, lay back, repeat…

At the end of the day we stopped for gellato before returning to our ship, headed to the top deck to waive goodbye to Roatan and admired the breathtaking view of the mist in the mountains before the sun called the curtains down.  We had a lovely day.  As the sun tucked itself in for the night, we blew a kiss good night and anticipated a gourmet dinner, a good night’s rest and another adventure tomorrow in Belize!

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