Tuesday (01/13): Roatan

Roatan (Mahogany Bay):  10am-5pm
Temperature:  77 degrees

Princess Patter-Today's Activities:  Bible Study/Acupuncture Clinic/Zumba Gold & Fitness/Cards & Board games/Singles & Solos Get-together/Salon Hair Showcase/Chess lovers get-together/Knitters & Natters/Ping pong challenge/Quiet Room (Skywalker's)/Brunchtime Trivia/Party Bridge play/Scattegories Challenge/Darts competition/Best 10 Basketball Challenge/BOGO Happy Hour/Afternoon Tea/Water Volleyball/Top Deck Tunes/Brainbuster Trivia/Spanish @Sea/Spa Seminar: Relieving Back Pain & Walking in Comfort/Music with Sugar Cane/Art & Life of Thomas Kinkade/Mexican Fire Opal event/Crab Shack (Cafe Caribe)/Runway @Sea/Ballroom Favorites/70's Warm Up with Atomic Party Band/Blackjack Tournament/Majority Rules Gameshow/Comedy Magician Gary Carson/"Who Sang What?" 70's Music trivia/Music & Dancing/That 70's Night/Karaoke:  Princess Pop Star/Dance the Night Away

Cruise Life:  We are up early again. Which is fine by me. I have some camera tasks to accomplish this morning. I have to wait for the underwater cameras to dry overnight before I can open them and swap out depleted batteries for newly charged ones. I also download pictures from the media cards. Once the battery and media card are back in the camera, I place the camera in their waterproof case and lock the case. I check the rubber seals to make sure there is no lint/dust or sand. If I find something, I have to reopen the case and remove the debris. A three minute spot-check on the camera/case saves hundreds of dollars to replace the equipment because of a water leak.

We have a later excursion this morning. We're heading to Maya Key, a private island not too far from the pier.

I forgot to mention the weather. It's been raining. It started last night after we left Grand Cayman. Dark gray clouds. This morning as we slowly backed into Mahogany Bay Pier, it began to rain cats and dogs. I grabbed one of the waterproof cameras and took pictures of our arrival as well as the water that was puddling on our balcony. Standing in the rain wasn't too bad until I had to go back into the cool cabin. Brrrrr.

Water puddling on our balcony

Backing into the pier with Costa Luminosa already docked

As we were looking at the sky and seeing no breaks in the dark clouds, Hubby and I were less inclined to go to Maya Key. No, it's too late to cancel our excursion. No refund at this point. Maybe the tour guide will cancel? That's a slight possibility. We skipped putting on the sunscreen, but took the tubes with us. Apply later, if needed. We gathered our bags and headed off the ship. Much to our surprise, there were a lot of fellow cruisers leaving the ship. Like us, they had excursions they could not cancel. Several groups were forming in the shopping plaza. Oh my, we waited 30 minutes for everyone to gather in our group. We were herded like cattle and walked out of the security area to awaiting mini-vans. Hmmmmm...this was a different way to get Maya Key. Last year we took a short walk over to a small dock area and were picked up by boat for a 5 minute ride to the private island.

As we rode past the security gate to leave Mahogany Bay, I saw two guards armed with rifles. I wasn't the only one. Fellow cruisers were making comments about the rifles.

After a 20 minute ride, we were dropped off at a makeshift pier where a boat was waiting for us. Have I mentioned that the rain had not stopped? My fellow cruisers tried to cram themselves in the dry areas of the boat. It didn't matter because the sides of the boat was open to the wet weather. We took a 3 minute boat ride over to the island to find other cruisers from the Costa Luminosa (sp) and NCL Sun ships already there.

We docked at a small pier in Maya Key.  Our guide did a 5 minute presentation on activities available on the island, lunch logistics, and scheduled guided tours.  During this time, a lady pulled out her bug/mosquito spray and sprayed all around her body as we were all standing close together.  The guide put her hand out and stopped the lady.  Some of us, including myself, started coughing uncontrollably.  Apparently, the lady, did not comprehend what was going on around her and she proceeded to spray her hubby.  Really?  I leaped from the boat to get away.  This wasn't the only time we've been sprayed on this cruise.  Other times have been with suntan spray.  People, learn to spray into your hands and apply.

The rain had let up and I could see the dark clouds breaking up a bit. We dropped our bags on two lounge chairs on the beach (near the snorkeling pier). We decided to eat lunch first while the rain had stopped. Lunch consisted of salad, BBQ chicken, lightly fried fish (yum!), rice and peas, and plantain chips. Like most island lunches we have, we cleaned our plates. We sat at a table with a couple who was on the NCL Sun ship. They were far more adventurous than us and sailed with many different cruise lines to different parts of the world. I enjoy conversing with fellow cruisers and exchanging cruise stories. Sometimes we learn about cruising tips from each other.

After lunch, we gathered our snorkel gear and walked to the end of the snorkel pier. Hubby was chatting with one of the locals about college football. I immediately climbed down the ladder, put on my fins, and launched myself into the water. I had to laugh because Hubby is always the first one to jump into the water while I lag behind. It didn't take him long to realize what I had done. He followed me as we made our way out between the coral reefs. It's beautiful here underwater. Even though the sun was not out, we could still see the beautiful marine life. After a dozen pictures taken, I realized I forgot to switch my camera from P-mode to Underwater-mode. So, being the photog geek that I am, I went back and tried to recapture the dozen images I took before. Of course, the fish has changed or moved to a different spot. I think at this point, Hubby stopped following me and went about his merry way.

Reef at Maya Key

So many fish!

Fan Coral

Hubby has been a great snorkeling partner. We do the buddy system well. He's always on the look out to make sure I don't get into trouble. I'm always keeping an eye on him especially when he dives down deep to get a Kodak shot. I'm getting better at snorkeling and most recently have been able to keep up with him. We tend to stay away from the snorkeling groups. This is how I avoid getting run over (or snorkeled over). Plus we get better pictures of the marine life without someone's fins or someone's rear-end/tushie getting in the way.

We spent about an hour in the water. We saw groups of fish. Snap. Snap. Beautiful fan coral. Snap. Snap. Hubby. Snap. Snap. We had snorkeled quite a distance from the pier. I signaled to Hubby that I was heading back. It was quite chilly once we got out of the water. Some dark clouds were looming in the sky.

We were walking around the beach when the rain showers started again. We quickly gathered our bags and headed over to one of several huts for cover. It poured. Now this was a first for me. I saw puddles of water developing in the sand. Small puddles quickly became large puddles. We decided to make a run for the main building which houses the locker room, bathroom, and changing area. That was a great move as we found out the tour guide was allowing us to get back to the ship an hour early.

Hubby and I wandered around Mahogany beach and sat at one of the restaurants:

Jerk chicken meal

When we got back to the ship, fellow cruisers were talking about the rain and how uncomfortable the excursions were. In all our trips to the Caribbean islands, we've never encountered several hours of heavy rain. It might rain for an hour and then the sun would come out. Not here.

Here are a few pictures as we're leaving the island of Roatan:

Mahogany Bay area

Mahogany Bay Beach

Cabanas and private beach area

Costa Luminosa leaving Roatan

Fishing boat at sunset.  Look how calm the water is.... 

A storm is brewing ahead

Movie at MUTS tonight:  Get On Up

We hunker down for the evening and try to stay warm. No need to catch a cold when we still have a few more days on the ship and another port day tomorrow: Cozumel!

Snorkeling in the Caribbean and The Second Barrier Reef

Hubby and I have been fortunate to visit some of the most beautiful islands and beaches in the Caribbean.  We've been to the Eastern, Southern, and Western parts of the Caribbean.  They include:  Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman Island, Cozumel, Curacao, Dominica, Eleuthera Island (Bahamas), Grand Turk, Grenada, Isla Margarita, Jamaica, Martinique, Nevis, Puerta Rico, Roatan, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Kitts, St Thomas, and Tortola.

For many years, we thought the Southern Caribbean was the most beautiful and that included the three Dutch ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao.  Aruba for its beautiful beaches.  Bonaire for its beautiful underwater marine life.  Curacao for its beautiful buildings, historical rich heritage, as wells as marine life.  Of the three, Bonaire is my favorite island.  Mostly for it's untouched beauty.

Bonaire is also known as a diver's paradise.  I have to agree, more so from a snorkeling perspective.  I've been told that most areas you can walk off the beach or pier and snorkel and see some of the most beautiful marine life.  That's my cup of tea.

Here's a map of Bonaire:

Bonaire

There's a small island off the west coast of Bonaire called Klein Bonaire where Hubby and I have often drift snorkeled.  The island/beach is so peaceful.

In recent years or more like the last two years, we've uncovered another part of the Caribbean where the marine life was just...outstanding.  That would be the Western Caribbean and the world's second largest barrier reef called the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.  It passes through Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.

Here are some maps of the three islands we have visited on our recent Western Caribbean cruise:

Belize where we've snorkeled at Geoff's Caye and Sergeant Caye

Cozumel Island, Mexico where we've snorkeled at Planacar Reef

Roatan Island, Honduras

For snorkeling, my favorite place so far is Maya Key in Roatan.  That says a lot since we've visited over 20 islands.  Close behind Maya Key would be Bonaire.

Next year when we go back to Roatan, I hope to visit Tabyana Beach (near West Bay) where I've heard you can snorkel right off the beach and the further you go...well it should be pretty spectacular!  Can't wait!

Mahogany Beach - Roatan, Honduras

There's a bunch of pictures I missed and have not posted.  I thought I would do a separate post on Mahogany Beach as Hubby and I spent some time here exploring.  Mahogany Beach is part of the Mahogany Bay Cruise Center where the cruise ships dock nearby.  This area is locally known as Dixon Cove.

The Mahogany Bay CC has several shops and a few eating/drinking establishments (e.g. Gelato, Coffee Shop, and Fat Tuesday).  Once you leave the pier and head right past the Fat Tuesday, follow the paved path that leads to the entrance of Mahogany Beach.  To the left is a white building called Dolphin Isle:

Dolphin Isle is a dolphin center where you can swim with the dolphins.  There are no signs from the path or any advertisements.  I only know about it because I saw this from the bridge that leads to Mahogany Beach:  

And curiosity led us to the Dolphin Isle building.  It does cost money to enter this facility.  Whether you swim or observe.  It's free to watch from the bridge.  So, I watched from the bridge...for free.  

Back to the beach.  At the entrance to the beach, you have to flash your cruise card to get in.  As you walk along the bridge, look to your left and you will see the dolphins.  Continue along and you will enter an enclosure that houses the beach shops and rest rooms.  Walk past through this facility and you're at the beach!

There three eating and drinking establishments on the beach:  Hurricane Hole, Playa Tortugas Chill 'n Grill, and the Hideaway Fishery.  Here's two of them advertising food:  

Hurricane Hole with their advertised BBQ

On the second week of our cruise we ate at the Hurricane Hole.  Their Caribbean Jerk Chicken was devine along with their rice and peas.  For $6.95, you can beat the price for home cooking!

We continued down the path for a bit and we ended up at the Cabanas:

From what I understand, the Cabanas can be rented for the day from the ship's excursion desk.  I took a peak inside one of them and it's basically a one room hut with air conditioning and comfy tropical furniture.  Outside one of the Cabanas, I saw this posted:  

We walked past the Cabanas and headed towards the beach front.  What a view!

There's a pier to the left which appears to be semi-private as in you have to get passed a guard to reach it.  This may be included in the price of the Cabana rental.

We turned around and headed back.  Here's a view of the Caribbean Princess from the beach:

Full size chess and checkers that can be played on the beach:

Having some fun along the way!

 Next year, we'll be back for some more Caribbean Jerk Chicken!  Can't wait!

The large gray rooftops are the eating and drinking establishments:

Beach view from the cruise ship:

Having some more fun in Mahogany Bay:

Tuesday (01/21): Roatan, Honduras and Maya Key Snorkeling Pictures (part 3)

As I mentioned in the previous post, I thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling at Maya Key. It reminded me of the many times we had snorkeled off of Klein Bonaire. There we did "drift snorkeling". No guides and no crowds. No worries.

Maya Key has a beautiful reef with lots of beautiful coral and a variety of colorful fish. One could snorkel for hours (like we did) and not get tired of the endless beauty.

Hubby and I swam and snorkeled to the edge of the reef before it dropped off into the dark blue waters. When I popped my head up to see where we were, the gazebo/pier was tiny. We swam through areas of warm and cold water. We saw several groups of fish huddled around the coral. Some I had not seen before in our many years of snorkeling.

The following pictures were taken by Hubby. He is a great underwater photographer. He is patient and daring at the same time. He will dive to get that Kodak moment. Enjoy!

See the gazebo/pier in the distance? That's what I saw while snorkeling the outer edge of the reef: