Day 4: Roatan, Hondurus

It's time for my favorite day of the whole trip! We pulled into Roatan, Honduras around 7, but with the two hour time difference, Peyton and Hayden were just getting up. It's pretty nice to watch the view of coming into port from the comfort of your own bed. 

Calib refused to get up to see the sights, however. 

The water was clear, and the port was adorable. It was nice and calm and relaxed (there were no guys with machine guns at the end fo the pier like in Costa Maya!) 

We were just hanging out, watching them dock the ship, when I took another look at our shore excursion tickets. Originally we had been scheduled at 11:15, but I didn't even think about the fact that with the change in itinerary, we might have to go earlier. I checked in just in time, but it was a mad dash to get down to the pier. Our awesome butler held the elevator for us, and we actually made it with time to spare. That morning was not my favorite, but the day turned out awesome. 

Remember how Asa and I sold our tickets to the Bucs/Giants, and Bucs/Cowboys games for a hefty profit? Well, we used those two sets of tickets for two excursions. One for everyone, and one for just me and Asa (I'll get to that later). Excursions are expensive, so I wanted to be sure to pick the very best one. We went with the Maya Key Private Island. Here we could snorkle, and have various animal encounters. There were replica Mayan Ruins, and lunch was included. It was very highly rated, and it wasn't as pricey as some of the others. I was sold. 

Luckily, the boat to get over to our private island was just steps away from the cruise ship. It was just a short five minute ride. 

See our boat over there? We were not far away at all. 

When we arrived on the island, we were met with a very nice lady who explained all the activities going on that day. 

But you could also just wander the island on your own time if you preferred that. 

Our first stop was snorkling. Now, the rental gear was not included, and when I saw the rental gear price online, I decided it was more cost effective to buy our own (Since renting and buying were about the same price) here in Florida and just bring them along. Surely we will use it sometime, right? 

The snorkeling was quite different from what I did in Hawaii. You waked out to the end of a long pier instead of just going out from the beach. 

At the end of the pier was a hut to keep you out of the sun, and a little seating area, where there were snorkel guides happy to help you with any questions. If you wanted to go out, but felt uncomfortable, they were happy to escort you with one of those little lifeguard floatie things. 

Asa, Peyton, and Calib went in first. (Snorkle gear is still expensive, so we bought three and figured we could take turns). 

Calib is pretty uncomfortable using a snorkle though. He HATES it, but I was happy he at least gave it a go. The water was about 4 or 5 feet deep by the pier, it was clear, and there were some fish to see. But you could also follow along a guides trail (by an underwater rope) out to the drop off. It went from about ten feet deep to 140 feet deep, but it was amazingly gorgeous. I made Asa go out first to check out if the kids should go. 

Some parts were more shallow than others, and I knew Peyton would want to go out to the drop off. The water was calm, and so Asa took him out. As you would expect, Peyton LOVED it. He was in heaven. I'm not sure why I ever doubted him going out there, he's such a good swimmer (probably better than me), but sometimes the thought of a large body of water is daunting. 

After Asa and Peyton had been out once, I decided to join them. There were less fish than I saw in Hawaii, and they weren't as colorful, but the underwater landscape was so different. The rocks and the coral were awesome, and although I was nervous, I'm really glad I went out to the drop off too. 

Mom decided she was going to give it a go. 

She stayed where she could touch, but she also has a hard time with a snorkle. She swears she's oing to get better before we go back to Hawaii. 

Hayden gave it a go too. His snorkel skills are not the best, he keeps going under and then taking in water, and his swimming skills made me a little nervous in the open waters. 

So he stayed where it was shallow, but he still got to see a few fish. 

After snorkeling for awhile, we went to the animal encounter, in which we got to interact with some of the animals on the island. Maya Key works as a refuge for injured and confiscated animals, and some of them you can get up close and personal with. 

They let you in a few at time to feed and pet the capuchin monkeys. The guides were awesome, and took my camera to take the pictures for us. He took a ton, I'm only posting about half of them, and he made sure the every kid got to pet and hold one of the monkeys. 

In case you're wondering, their names are Stinky and CoCo, although I couldn't tell you which is which. 

Calib was super uncomfortable at first, when one of them tried to go down his shirt, but he warmed up to them. 

We decided we would go in two groups of three, and not knowing if Hayden would freak out or not, Asa and I decided we would go with him. He did a good job though, and stayed pretty calm. 

That monkey loved Asa, I think he would have sat there all day. 

On our way back down to the beach, we visited with some of the other rescued animals. 

I loved this Margay, how adorable is his? He looked like a spotted Maybel. 

The whole island was really pretty, although I was warned to bring bug spray for things like sand fleas. I sprayed us all, but we still ended up with a few bites. Just, so you know if you ever go, bring your big spray. 

But look how pretty! 

They also had pool access, which was lovely. 

Lunch was included, it was pretty standard fare, but I will say the rice and beans was delicious, and I am not a rice and beans kind of girl. 

So, you know, how some people come to Florida and they're freaking out of the tiny lizards we have everywhere, and we don't think twice about them? That's sort of like Honduras. Except, these lizards are GINORMOUS. They freaked me out every time I saw them. 

Asa took advantage of the bar on the island and had one of his favorite drinks of the trip, and it was only 6 bucks. I thought that wasn't too bad. Oh, and everyone takes American dollars, and gives you back American dollars, which is nice. 

We decided to climb up to the top of the hill to visit the replica ruins, and on the way we saw all kinds of birds just hanging out in the trees. That first green one, he talked. 

He only said "Hello" and "Goodbye", but Hayden loved him. 

They also had some snakes and things to check out along the way. 

At the top of the hill, we got to climb on some replica Mayan ruins, which was pretty cool. 

There was a fun courtyard to play in too. The boys tried to play hide n seek Tom Sawyers Island style, but Calib immediately stepped in an ant hill and bailed on the idea. 

Inside the ruins they had some mini museums for the boys to learn a bit about the Mayans. See, totally counts as a home school day. 

On the way back down, Asa decided to see if the birds wanted to hang out. 

They had large sticks you could hold for the birds to be on, but Asa was the only one who convinced the bird to climb aboard. 

They were so tame, they let you get right up to them. 

There weren't as many tropical flowers as I thought there would be. It was mostly just greenery. 

Oh, and there was this giant scary Honduras spider the boys spotted. 

The island also has three rescued sea lions.. For an added cost you can get your picture taken with these guys,and do some interactions with them. I thought about it, but when we went over to their enclosure, this guy was sitting right there....

...and we were able to pet him and interact with him (though it was through a fence, it was for free!) 

Everyone got their pets in! 

He felt rougher than I imagined...

... and those whiskers are no joke. 

But he was so sweet, and let us pet him. 

Eventually he decided to hop in the water, so we watched him swim for a little before we went on our way. I decided I didn't need to do the encounter, since I had just done one of our very own. 

The view from the island is pretty great, no matter where you go. The water in the Caribbean (at least this part) was so blue and so clear. 

But for real, watch out for those guys, they are fast and terrifying. 

We decided before we left, a couple of us would go snorkel one more time, while the rest of us hit the pool one more time. 

My snorkeling buddies and I decided we wanted to head out to the drop off one more time. 

Though I'm pretty sure Peyton would have done it about a million more times if he could have. 

Look how clear that water is! It was warm too. 

After the snorkel, we jumped in the pool for a bit. 

On our way out we ran into a few more of those guys, which apparently are on the verge of extinction and found nowhere else in the word. 

I don't know if you can see him over there on the sidewalk, but there he was. 

You had all day to enjoy the island, and boats left every half hour to take you back whenever you were ready. 

The dock for our tiny boat was just on the opposite side of the dock for our big boat. So convenient. 

It was something like $90 a person for the excursion, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was such an awesome day, and there was so much to do. 

When we got back to the pier, we decided to check out the shops around port, and of course, I took everyone's picture under the Honduras flag. 

Every port had some kind of entertainment when you got off the ship, but these guys were really rocking it. 

I liked the shops here way better. First of all, in Mexico, everyone is trying to haggle. (Which Peyton loved, and nobody else seemed to mind, but for a girl with social anxiety, it's just the worst) It was much more relaxed here, although I did get a handmade bowl, and talked the guy down from $25 to $20, so yay me! 

We even sampled some local chocolate and weren't pressured to buy anything, which was nice. 

Asa found coffee, which was cheaper than it is at Target! 

Peyton wanted some Honduras money, so he bought one of these. 

So, the port was lovely, and I hear Roatan is pretty nice, but the main land of Honduras is not necessarily a place you want to be. (Check out that first license plate there!) 

Anyway, a lovely port stop. If you ever get the chance, you should totally go there. 

Back on the ship, and Asa felt obligated to have another (disgusting) Moscow Mule because it was the drink of the day. 

And Made had come and left us some chocolates while we were out. 

No worries, Asa had a toasted almond to wash his chocolate down with. 

I love that our room was on the side of the port most of the time (although not in Cozumel), which made for some lovely views outside our window. 

Oh, and this is my Teddy Bear, Teddy. I got him when I was five, and I gave him to Hayden before Asa and I went on our anniversary trip, because he was having a little separation anxiety. He brought Teddy along for the trip, and it got me thinking, Teddy has probably been to 48 states. (He lost that eye somewhere in California when I was puking along the twisty 'scenic' coast line) I feel sort of bad I didn't take him to Hawaii or Alaska, but now he's an international traveler! 

We hung out in the room for a bit and relaxed... 

...before heading up to the top deck. 

See that island behind me and Asa? That's Maya Key! 

And that pier with the hut? That's where we were snorkeling! Right there in the open waters. 

We had gorgeous weather... 

...and we pulled away as the sun started to set. 

Which gave us some pretty awesome views. 

Seriously, my favorite port. Maybe I'll get to go back someday. 

We still had some time to kill until dinner, so we enjoyed the ship for a little. 

And watched the sunset. 

Hayden did kids club, while Asa and mom made money in the penny slots. 

I, however, lost money. 

And they rubbed it in. 

A drink was in order, because it had been at least an hour since his last one. 

Let me tell you, those 5 o'clock somewhere Margaritas are fruity, and pretty good. I'm not really a drinker, I hate the taste of most alcohol, but that stuff I could drink. 

Asa... living the dream. 

We picked up Hayden from kids club to change for dinner, but he had to be back for Survivor Night, he had been looking forward to it since he saw it on the list of activities. 

We also stopped by the shore excursion desk to surprse Peyton. Asa and I had plans to go on a Sting Ray Encounter and Snorkel for our excursion in Cozumel. Mom, Calib, and Hayden were not all that interested in going, but Peyton had wanted to go. We were going to make a date day out of it, but it felt selfish to leave Peyton behind. Remember when Asa and I went to Discovery Cove and swam with dolphins? The whole time I was there, all I could think about was how much Peyton would love to go. We can take him anytime (well, we have to have the money, but we don't have to worry about getting there), and I just thought if we went to do the Sting Rays, and we had the same feelings, there would be no bringing him some other time. Along with all the amazing perks, we also got a $200 on board credit. We had to spend $150 of that for unlimited internet so mom could access her classes, but the other $50 could go towards the excursion for Peyton. There really didn't seem like a reason not to do it. So, we went down to the desk, added him, and surprised him with his ticket! 

Dinner that night was at Moderno. My favorite port, my favorite excursion, and my favorite restaurant. The place was awesome. If you ever go on the Norwegian Star, and you don't have the dining package for Specialty Dining, but you are going to pay the cover for one place, this should be the place. 

You start off with the salad bar, but it's not just any salad bar, it's super crazy full of all kinds of things they make on Masterchef. We gave a lot of it a try just to see if we liked it. 

Just an FYI, ceviche is not awesome, and heart of palm is even worse. Never again, blah. 

But all in all, it was a good salad bar, so many options! 

The drink was also super strong, but Asa didn't seem to mind. 

They brought out Brazilian Cheese Bread, and it was just like what they have at the Food and Wine Festival, excpet it was fresher and warmer and more delicious than it's EPCOT counterpart. 

Ok, so Moderno is kind of like O'hana, except it's like O'hana on steroids. They also give you these cards to show weather you want more food (green)... 

...or you're all done (red). 

Then the guys start bringing out skewers of meat. 

(Oh, and Hayden got to drink out of his wine glass yet again) 

So these meat skewers aren't just any meat. No, they have rack of lamb, ribs, and filet mignon. It's CRAZY. 

They also bring you out all kinds of sides, including plantains. PLANTAINS you guys! And they were the best ones I ever had. 

My camera died during dinner (I might have taken a few pictures on the island that day), so I didn't get a lot of pictures at Moderno. But, just know it was awesome. 

I took Hayden back to the room to change for Survivor night, and when we got there, we had a towel animal! 

I think it was the oranges for eyes, but this one was my favorite. 

Our clocks were returning back one hour that night, and they gave us a nice little notice so we didn't forget. 

Asa and I hit the pool that night, and we were the only ones in it, which was pretty awesome. 

I also decided I had to use the bathtub at least once. I did however learn I'm not a fan of bathtubs on cruise ships. Holy waves! 

Even though I was feeling it, mom was back to working on her laptop. She never did get motion sick from reading again though. 

And Asa had some more beverages... I know it seems like a lot, but he spread them out, and don't tell him I said this, but he got some real girly drinks. Cort would be proud. 

Hayden loved his Survivor night, and when we got back, Made had brought us another movie for night time watching. 

That was a lot of pictures, but it was all my favorite things in one day. Not that any of the other ports were bad, and our excursion in Cozumel (which I'll share with you soon) was a blast, but this day took the cake for sure. 

Next Up: Cozumel, Mexico!