Tuesday (01/21): Roatan, Honduras and Maya Key (part 1)

This morning we sailed into Roatan on a sea of glass.



It was a partly cloudy morning with only a slight breeze and calm waters. In a distance, we saw NCL's Norwegian Dawn coming into Roatan's older port called Coxen Hole.



Our Captain swung our ship around and slowly backed into Mahogany Bay. We backed in quickly in comparison to last week. We were on schedule and docked around 9am. Our group was to meet down in the Mahogany Shopping area around 9:15am:



We followed our tour guide and boarded a boat near the entrance to Mahogany Beach:



We headed out for a 3 mile boat ride towards Maya Key. Here is our Caribbean Princess:



About 15 minutes later, we arrived at our destination. Maya Key was a nice surprise for us. There was a beach, marine and wildlife rehabilitation center, and snorkeling site.

Here's a map of where Maya Key is located:

We left the boat and headed towards the beach to find lounges and check out the pier. Here is floating platform off the beach:



Here's the beach area:



The walk along the long pier:




Maya Key is also a marine park:



Here's the area we snorkeled in. The water was so clear and so calm to swim in. The ladders are used to climb down into and up from the water. Once in the water, we followed a trail of floating plastic bottles that led us out into the main part of the reef. We had to be careful going around and over the reef to get to the deeper area of water.



Looking from the pier back to towards the beach:



Can you see my fine feathered friend?







Our early lunch. Stomach over mind. A partial foodie picture. You get the idea...it was yummy!



The pool area:



The marine rehabilitation area:



More birds:




The airport was a mile away from Maya Key:



This was my favorite snorkeling area. We were allowed to go as far as we could in the water. There were areas in the water that was warm and then cold. For a partly cloudy day, the water was still clear enough for pictures.

My camera's battery final gave up and I had to stop taking pictures. Maya Key was a beautiful place to visit. There was something for everyone to enjoy and participate in.