Tuesday, April 15 - Roatan, Honduras!

The largest of the Bay islands, Roatan lies approximately 30 miles from the northern coast of the Honduran mainland (30miles long, 5 miles wide).  The pre-Columbian indigenous peoples of the Bay Islands are believed to have been related to Paya, Maya, Lenca  or Jicaque, which were the cultures present on the mainland.

 The ship terminal at Roatan is called Mahogany Bay and is owned by the Carnival group.

During the 16^th and 17^th centuries, over 5000 pirates called the Bay Islands home.  They stashed their bounty throughout Roatan, which today draws treasure hunters from around the world hoping to find the valuable booty.  The island of Roatan is also legendary for its natural beauty.

Mayan Indians, pirates, English settlers, descendants of African slaves and Spanish conquerors all settled on Roatan at one time or another, lending fascinating diversity to the island.  Christopher Columbus set foot on its shores on his fourth voyage, and during European colonial times it attracted a wide array of settlers from military forces to buccaneers.   In 1797, the British defeated the Black Carib tribe for control of St Vincent Island and deported many of the native Indians to Roatan, beginning the island’s rich Garifuna heritage.

David and I did a half day excursion which included island sightseeing, and a trip to ‘Sherman Arch’s Iguana Refuge and Fish Nursery.  Over 2000 iguanas call the refuge home and we were delighted to be able to see and feed so many!  

Next we visited one of the magnificent homes atop of First Bight community.  It was such a hot day!  The owners of the home had a few little stalls, Hummingbird feeders and best of all, COLD beer (local - Salva Vidas)!!!

   

Then to the ParrotTree Plantation resort for a refreshing glass of punch and lunch.

The view from lunch

David tried the other local beer - Barena - with lunch!

A quick stop at the port shops and then once aboard, we readied ourselves to attend the evening’s Showtime production – ‘Caribbean Caliente’, which included just ‘the best’ music from the Caribbean – songs such as Cucharacha, Tequila, Bailarmos, Copacobana, Smooth and from artists such as Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan and so on…. Loved it!