WEST CARIBBEAN CRUISE
on the CARNIVAL VALOR
Day 4 � January 25/06
Drink of the day - Caribbean Breeze.
Today's port of call is Roatan, Honduras. The ship anchored directly onshore, so no small boats to ride this time.
The excursion we chose for this port of call was called "Pirates, Birds, and Monkeys of the Caribbean". We weren't sure what, exactly, to expect.
The day was a rainy one. It rained pretty hard. That didn't put a damper on our spirits though!
The excursion took us to Gumbalimba Park. What an awesome excursion. This island, in hindsight, was our favourite by far (such a small, lush, beautiful tropical island); and this excursion was the cheapest, as well as the best of all. Both Gary and I agreed.
The park was absolutely beautiful. We started in Coxen's Cave (home to Captain John Coxen) which had a lifesize statue statue of the pirate captain; a small watering hole with a complete map of Roatan in it; treasure; pirates weapons mounted throughout; as well as picturesque art depicting the history of Roatan.
We hoped the rain might have stopped by the time we got out of the caves, but no such luck. We next walked through the botanical gardens, which were breathtaking. Then we crossed a long swing bridge (THAT was a bit dicey!) into the bird sanctuary.
In the bird sanctuary, there were lots of different types of birds - some caged, and some not. We got to hold a parrot and get our pictures taken with the parrot.
Then we moved on into the monkey sanctuary. It was funny, because the monkeys would just jump on you with no warning at all! The first monkey that approached on of the guys in our tour scared the heck out of him. It was very funny. That is, until the first monkey jumped on me and scared the heck out of me! It's not that they are scarey in any way. It's more the "surprise factor". You're just not expecting it. These monkeys were so cute, and quite the little pick pockets. There little hands would get into your pockets, into your purse (if you weren't smart enough to secure it), they'd even steal your hat! LOL
The monkeys were quite wet, and a bit muddy because of the rain - but what the heck - so were we! :o)
After the monkey sanctuary, we headed back to the beginning (or exit). It was funny when we got to the bird sanctuary, because there was another tour group just starting the tour, and they had all squeezed themselves into the macaw aviary to try and keep the rain off of them. LMAO
Our group didn't mind the rain at all, and I can't speak for everybody else, but I know that Gary and I loved this excursion - rain or no rain! I even tried the local cuisine at the end of the tour. :o)
The park also offered canopy tours; however, we had one booked in Belize, so we opted to not do the canopy here.
Back on the boat, we finished the evening with a show in the Idahoe Theatre - Christopher Alan Graves in a Big Band (tribute to Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis Jr.). He was very good, and I was quite surprised at how many of their songs I actually knew! LOL
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