Unto Us, a Son is Given!

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, was a day of sailing toward today's destination, Roatan, Honduras.  The weather was very nice - sunny against the backdrop of the beautiful blue seas of the Caribbean.  

We capped our Christmas Eve evening with dinner onboard at the upscale "The Restaurant".  We had eaten in this restaurant on a previous cruise and its casual elegance dress requirement stymied me - no shorts, no tennis shoes, no service - I had to go back to my room and put on something a bit more casually elegant.  I was miffed to say the least, but went along with the rules as it was either stick it to the man (and not eat dinner) or have a nice meal.  

This time I was prepared.  Cheryl and I split a lovely steak with peppercorns (not quite Hyde Park in Columbus) but pretty darned good), and I broke out the Bulleit Rye as my usual steak accompaniment.  After this, we decided to call it an evening and prepare for tomorrow in Roatan, Honduras.

And, on Christmas Day, unto us a Son is given! And, simply remarkable weather was given by Him to us, again and again. When we emerged from the ship about 10 a.m. to get on the tender to go ashore, it was raining like crazy! The skies were dark; it looked like ominous weather but, alas, while it rained on and off, we were usually on the tour bus or under cover somewhere and didn't get wet once!  Without our rain coats, it was a real pleasure.

A quick 10 minute tender ride between two other large ships put us into the dock area of Roatan, Honduras.  Roatan is part of Honduras' Bay Islands and famous for its stunning coral reefs, world class diving, white sandy beaches, and lush jungles.  From Roatan, we took a 60 minute bus ride to our first stop:  a boat tour of the mangrove forest through its canal.  The small boats we took (2 for our group) were quite hard to get into and out of (as they were deep but had a low-ceiling roof), even for relatively healthy people like us, but we managed with the help of the local team.  

The mangrove tunnels are near Jonesville on the east end of Roatan, and are considered one of the most beautiful and exotic natural landmarks on the island.  Its narrow passages are shaded by a tunnel-like canopy and contain all sorts of wildlife, including crocodiles (as we heard a number of times "keep your hands inside the boat").  No trouble following that suggestion!

After our excursion in the other-worldly canals, we went next to a rustic beach in the Punta Gorda area where we were entertained by lady dancers doing a local dance.  The one in charge came into our group seeking someone to come up with them and, not surprisingly, Cheryl was the first.  After she finished, a pretty young dancer came into the group looking for a man to dance with her.  First I said "no thanks" as Cheryl chimed in with "he'll never go up there" and then I said, "Oh what the hell" and got up and shook it for about 30 seconds with her before the song finished.  Out of character while I was stone cold sober, but I figured who cares!  Gotta stretch your limits once in awhile, don't you?

From there, our final stop was A.J.'s Monkeys and Sloths, a sort of "nature preserve" (a fancy term for an adult petting zoo).  This was our first sighting of sloths and they really are cool creatures.  While we had been warned in our talk last night that hugging sloths were verboten to prevent them from being stressed (per a new 2025 regulation), the guides encouraged us to do so and they seemed to enjoy it.  We also saw Scarlet Macaws (a beautiful bird), but the highlight were the Capuchin Monkeys.  We went into an enclosure where they jumped on our heads and shoulders and ate little niblets from our hands.  

We had been warned that they'd steal wallets and sunglasses so we had those tucked away safely.  They were a blast.  Not sure this is the best life for them but our guide, "Fluffy", said that they had this as their job and were treated to excellent veterinary care and great food.  In fact, their life span in this form of "captivity" was significantly longer than in the wild (35-50 years vs. 15-20 years) so maybe it isn't so bad a life for them after all.  They were certainly entertaining and seemed to enjoy the interaction with all of us.

Back to the tender and then to the Viking Mars, ending a nice day (again, without rain).  We enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner including turkey and gravy and capped it off listening to beautiful piano music in the ship's atrium, all while I sipped a wonderful Irish Coffee.  Of course the booze always makes me sentimental so I sang, quietly, to Cheryl my favorite Irving Berlin song, "(I'll be Loving You) Always".  She enjoyed it.  Funny how after 36 years of marriage we still really like each other.

Tomorrow we head to Belize (British Honduras), the next country north in Central America.  It is the only Central American country without a border on the Pacific Ocean and a major site for the Incas and Mayans.  We're doing a tour of Belize and then an air boat rode.  More on that later.

Again, Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night.