First I need to apologize for being completely undisciplined about updating the blog, but recently it has seemed like such a big job catching up that I’ve been avoiding it, so, to fix that problem I’m going to just start off a couple days ago when I had a really awesome day in Roatan, Honduras and fill in the gaps later.
Dec 2
Annette had said that she really liked Roatan and she could actually see herself going there for a vacation sometime, and I couldn’t agree more. There is something there that the other Caribbean ports lack. First the landscape is lush. Trees grow densely all over the island. A lot of the ports here are very sandy and about the only trees that grow are palms. Roatan seems close to jungle and the locals have the sense not to cut all the trees down around their houses. That is another thing, there are lots of real locals and obvious local economy. Even in the heavily touristed spots people are not too aggressive in selling things. In Costa Maya the cruise ship was the only game in town and it felt that way. Everyone on the boardwalk was a tourist and everyone was clamoring to sell something.
So we arrived in West End, Roatan by taxi which was a bit expensive, but our fare included round trip service to the ship. We told our cabbie that we wanted to go snorkeling and eventually after a couple stops we found the office of the Marine Park. They rent snorkel gear for $5 a day and Half Moon Bay which has very easily accessible reefs is just steps from their front door. So we donned our snorkel gear and plunged in. I got to try out my new underwater camera, which was really fun. I think I got a couple of good pictures, but I still have to figure out how to get them onto my computer. The water clarity also left something to be desired. We were told there was a storm blowing in later in the afternoon which was kicking up waves and churning up the sand in the bay. Underwater pics later. I'm having trouble getting photos off my camera.
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| Coconut water man. |
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| Eric on main street West End. |
After snorkeling we went to a bar to get some food and drink. The food selections were very American, but that was the theme of this particular bar. It was pretty much full of expats. I’d say is was about a 50/50 split between tourists and people that had moved there. It was a nice place right on the beach and I got Daniella the bartender to give us a bunch of returnable bottles that we’ll open up into glasses and bring one back for Daniella. The Sprite returanables are great. They’re green and have little dimples all over them. I haven’t seen them since I was growing up in Virginia I don’t think. We might make them a tip jar too. It’s good to make friends.
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| The Bar. |
After that we just wandered up and down the road a bit checking out the local businesses and observing the street scene. People were just hanging out and enjoying the warm weather and generally paid us no mind. We found our cab driver waiting for us around 2:30. Our pick up time that we set with him was 3:00, so we were happy to see that he was there and we wouldn’t have to worry about getting a ride back, but we wandered around some more and found him napping when we got back. He was a nice guy. Didn’t speak much English, but I tried to ask him which Honduran beer was the best. I think I understood Sala Vida to be the choice. I’ll have to give it a try the next time around.
Roatan definitely has the best feel of any port we’ve been to in the Caribbean. It’s more like the European ports in that you feel like you’re visiting a place, whereas in the other ports we were in it felt like the tourist industry, and sometimes just cruise ships themselves, had actually created a place. I guess that’s fine if you’re just looking for that product, but for me, I’d much rather see different places that have real people with their own lives very independent of mine. When I travel I’m more interested in seeing how other people live, rather than trying to bring my own life along with me.
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| I know what you're thinking. In our country these signs usually have a red circle and a slash. |
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| There were other Super Minis too. Super mini Diane, etc. I've yet to meet these women, but I can't wait. |
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| Reef. |
Dec 4
Yesterday we had a fairly uneventful sea day. It was rather a long day for us having a morning of cleanup and maintenance and then a morning show followed by the art auction that we donate a few pieces to, to raise money for a scholarship fund at the CMOG, then lunch at Bistro which is very good but heavy sandwiches and then more cleaning in the shop. Then we had dinner in the main dining room which is always a treat, but that meant 2 big meals in a row, but I don’t think I overdid it. I did get to the gym for a bit before dinner.
Today we had a great visit from Steve Gibbs, the director of the Glass at Sea program. He arrived at around 11am and we walked around and looked at the shop and the glass we were making. He was very complimentary about the work we were doing and the way the shop looked which was nice.
After the tour he took us out to lunch at an amazing little restaurant called Michael’s. They had an AMAZING beer list! This assessment is colored by the lack of color in the beer on the ship as a rule. Eric tells me it was much worse on Solstice, and to be fair there is one Belgian that you can get on the ship (very light though) and maybe 2 English ales, but they are very filtered and smooth. Ok but not a lot of character. But I digress. There were a couple IPA’s on the list and a german dark lager as well as Magic Hat #9 which has special nostalgia for me, being a Vermont beer, and about a dozen others. Anheuser Bush was not represented. So I ordered an IPA which I haven’t had since leaving Seattle, and it made me very happy, but when it came it turned out to be in a Belgian bottle which is basically a wine bottle. A LOT of beer. Oops. I’d thought I was getting 22oz, which is plenty, but it wasn’t a big problem. Everyone pitched in. Then there was the Fresh Mozzarella which wasn’t technically Mozz. But I can’t remember what they called it. It was awesome and served with fat slices of obscenely fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes. Then I had more tomatoes in my beet salad which had real blue cheese and fresh green beans (the kind that turn a bit purple) and the beets were golden beets and cooked to perfection. I do not think that I can imagine a better meal. Transcendent.
So back on the ship I went to the gym again because we’re going to Tuscan again for supper. Another 2 big meal day. I’m definitely taking in extra calories this week. Lots. But had a good workout. Ran a few miles and lifted some weights, then to Tuscan where they stuffed us. Prosciutto, Cioppino, Ribeye steak, mac and cheese (which I had to mostly skip over due to space issues) and gelato. Woah. Serious.
Oh here’s a thing. They are replacing the lawn. They are changing from rye grass to some other type of grass that is a warm weather grass. They tore two sections up last night. Just rolled them right up, and today in port they were rolling down the new grass, BUT, apparently they were a couple square yards SHORT. AND Eric said that this same thing happened on the Solstice. I think someone may be in trouble. I’m glad I’m not that guy. Our friend Andrew, the Environmental Officer, is in charge of the grass on the ship, so he was late getting to dinner with us. The shortness of grass was NOT his fault, but he had to make it work the best he could. So, major operation, and this was not the main area of the lawn which I believe will get done the next Miami day. I’m curious to see what it looks like. I’m betting you won’t even be able to tell. Our greenskeepers, Rod and Eugene, are amazing.
So seriously. More updates in the coming days. And some catch up on what’s happened in the last few weeks too. So stay tuned.
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