Caribbean Adventures

     Upon leaving Galveston on the Crown Princess, we were at sea for two days. Not much to say about that. Lazy days in the growing warmth.

     Day 3 was in Roatan, Honduras. Roatan is a unique port. There is a narrow channel that the ship has to BACK into! The channel is so narrow that if the wind is too high or from the wrong direction, you can't come in. This was the case on our first attempt. 

We joked that this was the last cruise ship that didn't quite back in right!

     We tried to get docked but were forced to cancel our approach. After an hour of waiting, we were finally able to get to the dock. Lucky for us, the Captain moved out our departure time to accommodate the hour we lost waiting to get ashore. 

Our excursion was lunch and snorkeling at Tabyana beach. (BBQ chicken, burgers, rice and beans) We brought our own snorkel gear and were free to snorkel in the bay all we wanted to. 

The beach from our spot!

     Our first snorkel was good. We saw a wide variety of tropical marine life and parrot fish. Some of these fish were pretty good size. Second snorkel we hit the jackpot! Saw a good sized crab crawling across the bottom. Then we came across the largest green Moray eel I've ever seen in the wild. Then we saw what looked like a barracuda. Was shaped like one; had light black stripes like a tiger. Then it was time for a little pampering. Massages on the beach; $20 for 45 minutes!  Had a body that felt like it was filled with jelly after that one!! Drove by the original cruise dock which we inaugurated 11 years ago. We were aboard the first cruise ship to come to Roatan in late 2002. There was a fancy ceremony with music and local dancers. The dock itself wasn't much but a concrete pier that opened onto narrow dirt roads that lined the village. They have built the area up nicely in 11 years and have since built another pier called Mahogany Beach where our current ship docked. Much more modern with several nice tourist shops. Got some good sunset pics.   

Day 4 was in Belize. We had to tender (board a small water taxi and shuttle five miles to the dock facilities) and the morning sea was a bit rough. We set up our own tour on this one and didn't use any offered by the cruise ship, so we didn't have to leave with the "herd". The sun is brutal if you are directly in it and we were feeling the effects of yesterday's adventures (even with using sunscreen and laying around in the shade). We boarded a boat and went out about 40 minutes to a place called Caye Caulker. 

Beachside on Caye Caulker

     From there it was a short jump to the reef. The reef along Belize is second only to the Great Barrier Reef in length. We snorkeled along the reef. Drinking water on our tour boat was not in a bottle as we are used to, instead it was in a plastic bag that looked like a melted ice bag. You nipped off a corner with your teeth and squeezed out a drink. First time I've ever had water like that. Forgot to get a picture however, so I guess that's a good excuse to go back! The surf was really up and it was pretty rough. We did see another eel today, but he was much smaller than the one yesterday and much deeper in silty water from the surf.  Next we moved a short distance and in shallow 4 foot water, we got out and were surrounded by sting rays and nurse sharks. Similar to Stingray City in the Cayman Islands, the stingrays swam in and around you. The difference here was the nurse sharks. 

Coral along the Reef

Conch shell on the bottom...

Conch shell above water with the sand washed off.

     Again, got some good photos. Lunch was in one of the hotels on the island and Brad had a local dish of chicken with rice and beans. The chicken coating was good, flavorful but not spicy. 

The View after Lunch!

     We trooped back to the ship through much smoother waters. The wind had died down and the waves were much nicer to navigate. There were FOUR cruise ships in port. Two NCL ships, us, and a Carnival. One of the NCL ships was the Norwegian Star, a ship we sailed on through the inside passage of Alaska. You know you've cruised a bit when you start running into ships you have previously cruised on!

Check out the size of the wave behind us! Seas were a bit "rough".

     Day 5 Cozumel. Arrived to heavy clouds and the threat of rain. In fact the waves and currents were so bad that the Harbormaster had said that all diving and snorkeling activities were not to be allowed today. As we found out, that affected our excursion but did not ruin it. Arrived at a new pier we had not been to before--Punta Maya. Went out to the main drag with "not so specific" directions where to meet our tour. After asking a couple of folks, and walking farther than the directions said, we arrived at the meeting place. Nobody was there! Found a representative across the street and all was good. Picked up and were transported south of town to a small restaurant that also provided diving and jeep/dune buggy tours (and their lunch special--Fried Lion Fish!).

Our meeting spot for our Jeep tour of Cozumel.

     We had to wait a bit on others to join us and in the meantime the rain arrived. The downpour stopped in time for us to head out on our drive. Brad drove and we had a nice retired couple from Arizona (originally from Wisconsin) along with us. Drove first to the southern tip of the island--Punta Sur. Saw lots of salt water crocodiles and a lighthouse. 

Impressive beach with dramatic waves coming in. Saw a ruin that was a Mayan weather station. The wind would blow through the small openings at the bottom and escape through the holes in the top. The volume and noise of escaping wind would alert the residents to growing or diminishing winds. Ruins aren't very large on Cozumel because the island would get the brunt of hurricanes and the gods were thought to live there, so the normal folk didn't. 

The ruin. Can hardly see him but there is a big Iguana on top of the ruin.

     Stopped at several places to shop. One was on a nice beach made up of craggy volcanic-like rock formations. Not sure if it was volcanic or coral but it was impressive. 

Had to wear shoes to walk here. Otherwise the rock would mangle your feet.

Again, check out the wave action!!

     Toured a place that sold native Tequila. True Tequila is only made from the blue agave plant and only in certain regions of Mexico. Like Champagne, Tequila can only bear the name if it is from these regions in Mexico.  The stuff with the worm in the bottom is mescal.

The region in green is the only place in the world where true Tequila is made.

The Blue Agave, from which Tequila is made.

     Had a nice lunch of fajitas and chips. The skies opened up again and it rained off and on up to and including when we boarded the ship. The storms were in advance of a cold front and the seas were rough all night. The temps the next day (another sea day) were only in the 60's! Tomorrow back in Galveston and on to our next adventure.

Galveston harbor from our ship. The Ocean Star museum is at the top left side of the picture.