Day 5 Roatan, Honduras

Day Five of our cruise found us in Roatan, Honduras. We decided to do an excursion today but we decided not to use Norwegian to do it. I arranged it with recommendation from a fellow traveler. So we used Justin Island Tours. Here is his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Websterjustin17/
He actually has a few options to chose from. Beach Day/ Snorkeling- Roatan hosts the world’s second largest barrier reef system. The snorkeling is fantastic with reef formations just a few swim strokes from the shore at beautiful West Bay Beach. The reef gardens are ablaze with the flamboyant colors of abundant, vigorous corals; some of them topped with waving sea fan coral, which swing impressively with the movement of the ocean waves. All of this is visible while enjoying the views of abundant sea life. Immerse yourself in the beauty of Roatan!

Zip Lining- Let the wind blow through your hair and the sun kiss your cheeks as you sail through the tree tops of lovely Honduras. This is an adventure you won’t soon forget! Let the adrenaline surge through your body during this safe but exhilarating zip line tour.Monkeys and Sloths- Nearly everyone can say they are an animal lover of some sort. Many of us have had a companion animal who touched our lives in some way or perhaps had a chance encounter with a wild animal that gave a new perspective on life. Provide yourself with a memorable encounter with Roatan’s finest creatures- the monkeys and sloths. Get up close, one on one time with these amazing animals.City Tour- Roatan was founded in 1835 when several families moved to Roatan from the Cayman Islands. It is named after pirate Captain John Coxen. Roatán was once home to over 5,000 pirates! Join me on a fascinating journey around my city where I will share with you some of the history, local culture and customs, and some of my favorite locations and photo opportunities.Food Tour- Roatan is known for its many culinary delights - iguana, fried plantains, baleada, conch soup, fresh fruit and more! Join me on a tour of my beautiful city to enjoy all the incredible and unique foods we have to offer. Learn about ingredients and dishes that are important to our local people while avoiding tourist traps. Your taste buds will be glad you did!

We decided on the city tour and Monkey and sloth tour combination. I provided a deposit in USD through Paypal and paid the balance in cash again USD after the tour started. I will mention that Justin Island Tours was actually overbooked but how they handle it on the island is they subcontract the work out to other tour companies/drivers. We were taken care of by --------. He was absolutely amazing and completely made the tour what it was. We had a vehicle to ourselves so it was a private tour and not very expensive compared to what we would have paid for similar with Norwegian. As I have mentioned in my posts before there are many ways to explore ports for cruise excursions you must make sure you are back on board by the proper time or they will sail with out you. The biggest reason for this is the cruise ships face heavy fines, extra fees if they do not leave when they are supposed to.

 Port

In our mini-van my mom was in the front and Daniel is hidden

So the first part of our tour was a city tour. Which included a stop at several tourist shops as well as a market that yo can see down into the port and the cruise ship. I bought some Roatan vanilla from this market.

Everyone in the picture this time

Once we stopped at the tourist attractions we headed to the monkey and sloth reserve. This is also where the zip lining is. It was neat to watch them glide by overhead while we were visiting the different animals. My mom was feeling sore so she sat in the air conditioned store and my oldest Victoria decided to sit it out and keep Nan company. We saw Monkeys, Sloths, Parrots, Iguanas and their version of dear. It was amazing because we got to get up close and personal with the different animals. The kids and I are big time animal lovers.

 My new little friend he kept coming back even with no bribes

Love how happy Elizabeth is

 You do feel their claws on your head

He had to start on me to be moved to Daniel

 Other awesome moment with the sloth

Sloth is almost as big as Daniel is

This is where they hang out waiting for their cuddles

Unfortunately there are no pictures of Katherine with the animals. She is very afraid of animals. She was bitten by a dog and really has never recovered from it and is very fearful. She should have sat with Nan and let Victoria experience the animals. When we were done here we made another stop at chocolate shop/factory. We got to experience a demonstration about chocolate and of course purchase chocolate. I also purchased a really good coffee as well.

 Bird carved of wood. I though they were real at first

Huge turtle carved on top the building across the street

inside the chocolate factory

When we were done here we took a drive back to the port along the coast. We saw some of the very expensive homes you can find on the islands as well as some of the not so expensive homes. Dogs wander around and are strays. A huge population many of them seemed to be female and mothers. We only did a half day for our tour and went back to the ship for lunch. After lunch we had a bit of nap and hang out at the pool. I wish now that we had tried out a local restaurant for food.

Christmas Tree in Port

We did supper at the buffet and it was Asian night as we did the show. We watched the Million Dollar Quartet. It features Elivis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. We enjoyed it a lot. Even the kids which I was not 100% sure they would.

 Daniel and I waiting for the show to start

 Asian Night Decor

Our Bear Towel Animal

I loved our towel animal this evening. So cute. Once again a bit of reading and a little tv and it was off to bed for all of us. I am counting down the days to my next cruise!!

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Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area