Day Four: Roatan Honduras

We got up early-ish for our first land day of the cruise. Roatan, Honduras is a beautiful island in the Caribbean all of 1-2 miles across and 43 miles long. We had a day of Kayaking and snorkeling planned, so we loaded up our plates and then met our tour group on the pier. After a short bus ride, we arrived at the West End of the island for our workout of a day.

Snorkeling happened after we arrived at the Sea Breeze hotel. Owner Keith drove us up the mountain and explained some of the politics of living as an American on an island in the Caribbean (daughter trilingual and going to school here, and in the States, and mother is Dutch…foreigners want to keep dirt roads filled with potholes, while natives would LOVE to be able to have paved roads…) We had 3 snorkeling/kayaking guides who got us loaded up and walked across to the crystal blue waters lapping up on the beach. While waiting, I noticed my Baby staring at this Honduran guy standing off to the side. As he was not AT ALL his type (read: ugly and looking mostly like he was reeree and stemming on the feeling of his finger up his nose), I wondered out loud what he was looking at.

“You didn’t see that?” he asked.
“No…he cruisin’ you? Looking for a bit o’ the White meat?”
“No…he kept holding his thumb to his nose, then putting his fingers together like he was smoking something. I think he was trying to sell me drgs right here on the beach.”
“Typical. You get that a lot when we’re on vacation. Druggie.”
Sadly, that is the case with us when we are in the nations that traffick heavily in drugs. In Cancun alone, within a few blocks, Baby was offered crack, pot, a whore (the dealers’ sister) and a one-legged whore (his brother, once he got the gist that we were gay.

So we slip on our gear and climb into the water with the beginners’ group (I’m prone to foot cramps and slow swimming, so Babyman thought it prudent.) We saw turtles, spiny lobster, and clownfish, plus a long blue Jack. About an hour later we swam back to the beach and headed to the hotel for lunch. The house parrot greeted us, while the house Lab pretty much wandered around getting petted and scratched behind his ears. The house rat stayed in his/her/its cage and just ate while we waited for lunch. Yes…pet rat. About 10 pounds, huge brown, and kinda creepy, they had him perched in a cage near the patio lounge where patrons ate.

Kayaking began after lunch, and we rowed from our beach about a mile down to a stopping point, where we rested and strolled around the beach area for a bit. I’m in decent shape, but I do not kayak every day, so my shoulders ached after a bit. Mostly because I was trying to keep the ship righted and my Boo was, I assume, doing the same thing. Whatever the case may have been, there was way too much work involved and we still had to paddle back. Ouch.

The paddle back was easier, as we stayed a little closer to the shore, but I will pay for it in suffering for the next few days. When we returned, we had about an hour to kill before we returned to the ship, so we walked around the little city and shopped a bit and took pictures of the plants and vegetation. We returned just in time to board the bus and ride back to the ship, with freshly minted copies of “Twilight” and “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” on DVD. Who knew Honduras got DVD’s before the rest of the world?

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Lunch, ping pong, miniature golf, nap, dinner, then walking around the ship awhile before bed. The evening was lovely and the weather near-perfect, so we set sail through the night for the next location: Costa Maya.