Day 4--Roatan, Honduras

April 29th

Today was our 2nd stop--Roatan, Honduras.  We didn't have to wake up as early--I think our excursion left at around 9.  

 This was our picture that we got taken as we got off the ship.  Garrett kept saying that they were the worst pirates he'd ever seen.  I just thought that was so funny that he even noticed that, or even cared.  

 This was a view from our ship as we were heading to where the bus for our excursion was waiting.

 And another shot from further away just before we got on the bus.  

This was a description of the excursion that we signed up for:

"Travel off the beaten path on a guided tour that offers an exceptional introduction to the undeveloped area of Roatan's East End. Enjoy a scenic boat ride through a mangrove area and a lively music and dance performance celebrating the heritage of the Garifuna tribe."

 We took a short bus ride to this beach and we were told that we had about 30 minutes here to relax and shop (although there weren't any stores open here...hmmm....kind of strange.)

 so, we just kind of hung out.  It was pretty, at least.

 Not the best picture, but oh well.  

 Then, we were going to go on a boat ride around their little area to see the mangroves forests. Our guide told us how the mangroves are very highly protected  because they are so important to their island.  Apparently, mangrove forests are found throughout Roatan and play an important role in protecting the coastal shoreline from storm and wind damage. Mangroves are also important breeding grounds for marine life.

 A view of the Caribbean Princess from our little tour boat.

 Going out on the tour

 I think these two pictures are of the same shipwreck, but I guess there are lots of shipwrecks in this area.  There were two specifically in Dixon's cove, where we were.  

From the internet:

"Two wrecks grounded close together within the confines of Dixon Cove are familiar to all Roatan residents.  Both wrecks have been decaying here since the 1970s. Stories abound. Some claim one ship, with a cargo of lumber, ran aground in a storm. The second ship came to assist, and also ended up on the reef. The lumber was off-loaded in a futile attempt to save the ship, and was collected by local residents. Others say the cargo was marble. One version maintains one was a Cayman-owned vessel run aground intentionally for insurance. Rumors persist that the ships were involved in the Nicaraguan revolution, then abandoned. Longtime residents report that the wrecks were two separate incidents. One did carry lumber; the other carried paint. Both ships caught fire and were abandoned, what remained of their cargos pillaged. During an attempt to tow the ships out to sea, they broke free and came to rest in Dixon Cove."

 Our ship in the background with the same ship wreck as above

 They told us that this was the "Black Pearl" and the same one that they used in the movie.  But Garrett was skeptical and later looked it up on line.  This was a smaller version of the ship, but never used in the filming of the movie.  

This is a picture of it that I found online.  

 After we got off the boat, we then got back onto the bus and drove for about an hour and came to the place where we would watch the dancers from the Garifuna tribe. It was ok.  It wasn't anything great.  They performed for about 20 minutes.  

 This little cutie was probably the best part.  He was the son of one of the dancers.  After they danced, then they invited some of the tourists up to dance with them.  They snagged Jim.  He was a good sport about it; it was cute to watch him dance.  

 This was the same little boy.  Not sure if this was his dad or not.  

We could shop a little bit there, but then we left and stopped at some other road side "shops" to buy local jewelery or treats.  The bus then took us back to the ship.  We were docked here at "Mahogany Bay".  

This was a good aerial shot that I found online.  

Jim and Georgia decided to go back to the ship for lunch and a nap.  Garrett and I decided to stay at Mahogany Beach.  You had to pay to ride this chair lift down to the beach, or you could just walk.  We decided to pay and ride it.  

 Riding over the first time.  

 We found a restaurant on the beach and went in to have lunch.  

 Look at that huge plate of nachos and that fun drink!  Garrett had Jamaican jerk chicken that he said was really good.  After we ate, we found a place to change into our swim suits, then went down to the beach.  

 This was at the end of the chair lift, with our ship right along side of it.  

 Looking at the beach from the water

 Garrett went snorkeling and I hung out on a beach chair and read.  It was perfect!

We started to head back, but decided to ride the chair lift a couple more times (to get our money's worth--according to Garrett).  I just enjoyed the ride.  

When we got back to the ship, we cleaned up and went to dinner.  Tonight we just went for hamburgers and fries instead of any nice dinner.  It was so good!

 After dinner, we watched this juggling show.  You can't see it very well in the pictures, but he is juggling knives while balancing a sword standing on his forehead while another sword is twirling on top of the one standing.  It was pretty impressive.  

Then we went to watch a dance show with the Caribbean Caliente Dancers.  I was surprised at how risque it was in places.  I would've left if I had my kids there.  After this show, I decided to go to bed because I think I had too much seasickness medicine in me.  I switched my patch because it had been 3 days, but then was worried that the new patch would take time to kick in, so I took one of Georgia's pills.  My head was swimming and I was having a hard time focusing on things.  I felt better in the morning though.  Jim and Georgia and Garrett went to watch Bert Stratton again (the piano player) and then came to bed.  I think one of the side effects of the sea sickness patch (which I never noticed when I wore it in 2005) was that it affected my eyesight.  I couldn't focus on any words when I was reading books.  I had to take my glasses off and hold the book right up to my face.  I had a hard time reading menus, too.  It was so weird!  It stopped when I took the patch off.