We arrived in Honduras around noon and it had been raining, but that didn't stop these dancers from greeting us at the pier. We hadn't even docked the boat yet and they were already asking for tips. It was fun to watch them from the ship because you had an unobstructed view. We all clapped and cheered and these dancers ate it up! It was fun! I was amazed at how lush and green this area was. The jungle goes right up to the road. It was beautiful and we hadn't even stepped foot on land yet. 
These guys were playing all sorts of music as we disembarked. Roatan is truly a 3rd world country. There are kids begging in the streets - trying to sell you things, run down homes with people living in them, etc. There is a lot of poverty here and it makes you grateful for what you do have. Despite this, the people were amazing - so friendly - and everyone wanted to offer you a ride (even if it was only 1 block!). 
This tiny island is privately owned and it's called "Fins & Flippers". This is where the whole gang will be spending the day. It is a short 5 minute ride by tender from the port to this little piece of heaven. 
Ah - the sand between your toes is such a great feeling - especially if the sand is smooth and free of broken glass and shells! 
This is our "where's waldo" picture! I'm in there - somewhere! Can you find me? This was the path that led to the beach area and the gift shop. It was beautiful with the groomed trees and lush gardens. There was so much foliage that you couldn't really see the water, restaurant, or gift shop until you were right up on it! There were beautiful flowers and even interesting spiders that caught your attention at every turn. Now, I'm not a spider fan - but these things were very unique and interesting to look at. The webs alone were so intricately fascinating!
This is the first view of the ocean and beach that you get when you come off of the paved path! This took my breath away - it was beautiful. I could have sat and looked at this all day! The funny thing is that we were all talking about our day on Roatan and how we were "going to the beach" and that "we'll be tired of it in 3 hours". However, when it came time to leave we were all sad and didn't want to go. I don't think that any of us would have minded another 6 hours at this beautiful location!
This is the pier that you walk out on to prepare to snorkel! Ah - we heard that Roatan was the #2 spot in the world for diving and snorkeling but we had to see for ourselves! OH the coral and fish were amazing! Way better than in the Caymans! We snorkeled over a coral shelf and that opened up to about 10 feet deep. As you continued on you come to the "drop off" (you know - like on Nemo) and it seems like there is no bottom to the ocean. The blue color at the drop off was one of the deepest hues of blue I've ever seen. There were jelly fish and schools of fish every where! I saw a barracuda and Tim found a sand biscuit (looks like a puffed up sand dollar). There was coral of every color you can imagine and even a few LSU fish (yes - they were purple and gold!) We could have snorkeled all day - but it was time for lunch!
There is a restaurant on the island and they are known for this - it's called FUNDIDOS. It's basically beans and cheese fondue in a clay pot with homemade chips. This was absolutely delicious. We accompanied it with some shrimp and fried plantains and 2 pina coladas by the pool! DELICIOUS! After lunch there was a little more snorkeling and some shopping at the gift shop. I picked up the coolest vase here. It is handmade 100%. They dig up the clay, mush it with their hands for a while, shape it (without a wheel) and then fire it (in an open fire pit) and then they paint it and fire it again. I figured if I was going to by myself something it might as well be something I'd use. I love this thing - it is currently on my table with flowers in it! Come on over and check it out!
To put a little icing on the cake - today is Aonika's b-day! Several months ago, I had arranged for a cake to be delivered to our table on this night. Aonika had no idea - as you can see from this picture! Christy treated her to a strawberry daiquiri and she was showing us how yummy it was. Little did she know that Atri was right behind her with a yummy chocolate cake - complete with candles.
After dinner we decided to play "it's in the bag". This is a sort of reverse scavenger hunt. You load up a bag with some items and meet in the designated area. Then the leader calls out what she's looking for and if you have it you run to the "drop point" and you get points based on how fast you got there. The plan was for Christy, Aonika and I to all bring a bag - but I wimped out and Christy was late so it was all up to Aonika and what she had in her backpack! Fortunately Christy showed up in time to save us with a few items that she had and Aonika didn't (like a picture of Ben Franklin). Here you can see our items on the table. We dumped them out for easy access. This was a fun game. Only 3 teams showed up. Tim was the runner. (He got to wear red lipstick for points too!). We had a blast! What another great day! Maybe next time you'll come along and play with us too!
1 comment:
Ha ha! I want to see a Pic of Tim in red lipstick! That would be GREAT!
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