Our next stop on our Western Caribbean cruise was the beautiful island of Roatan, Honduras. (If you missed part 1 on New Orleans and Cozumel, read about it here.) We woke up early so we could sit on the balcony and watch as we sailed into port. Barry enjoyed his coffee and took in the beautiful view as we neared the harbor.
We had a private tour set up for the day through Rony’s Tours. Rony’s is great, and we would recommend them to anyone visiting Roatan. They work with you before arrival to set up a customized itinerary for the day, choosing from activities including snorkeling, fishing, ziplining- something for all interests and all ages.
I had let them know it was very important to me to see sloths while we were there (I’m kind of obsessed with these crazy creatures). We found our driver and guide for the day, Andy from Rony’s, at a prearranged meeting spot right outside the port gates. He confirmed our plans for the day with us, making sure we’d have time for our priorities, then we headed straight to an animal sanctuary. Andy introduced us to a guide there, and they took us on a tour to see the birds and butterflies. We then went to find the monkeys. We held them and petted them, and one climbed onto Barry’s shoulder. As the monkey perched there and I took pictures, Barry got a strange look on his face and said, “Something feels warm…” Sure enough, the monkey had decided to pee on his shoulder. I could not stop laughing. The guide was so excited, saying, “This is good luck! This is good luck!” This just made me laugh harder. (By the way, Barry is an Auburn football fan. Later this same day, it was announced that Nick Saban was retiring from Alabama, so Barry is now a believer in this good luck. Hahaha!)
It was finally time to see the sloths and I was beside myself with excitement. They let us pet them a little so we could get used to them and they to us, and then we were able to hold them. They give you a little hug as you hold them, and I loved every minute of it. This was for sure the best part of the animal sanctuary for me. Our sloth’s name was Priscilla and I felt like we bonded. Barry wouldn’t let me ask if we could take her home with us.
We checked out a swinging bridge and a few more animals and met back up with Andy for our next stop.
Andy then drove us to the highest point on the island. There was a beautiful view of the harbor from this site. Looking down at our ship we realized just how far up we’d actually driven. There were several booths set up in the area with locals selling souvenirs, so we did a little shopping while we were up there. You can see Andy behind us in one of the pictures below, standing in front of what he told us is the best souvenir spot on the island. He was friends with the owner, of course, but we did find some fun things.
Our next stop was the highlight of our day, if not the best part of our week. I knew from a previous visit to Roatan that there are multiple orphanages on the island. On that visit we were able to drop off clothing and gifts with one of these. When arranging the itinerary for this day, I’d asked if we could visit a school this time to take much needed supplies. We had brought some backpacks filled with notebooks, pens/pencils, markers, glue- anything we could think of that a school might need, as well as socks and underwear and some small toys.
We were so disappointed to find out that because of the time we were there (early January) the schools were still closed for the Christmas holidays. However, Andy had made a call to his boss, and they had arranged for us to visit a church that sponsored what we were told was an area for young children. We had no idea what to expect, but we had prayed that our supplies would go where they were needed. We drove to the church and the nice ladies working there gave us a tour of the building, as well as a small connected clinic where physical therapy students saw patients in need of physical rehab. Then they said, “We want to show you the area for the children.” We walked into the room, looked at each other, and both of us had our eyes fill with tears. It looked like a small classroom, and we could see shelves with a scarce amount of school supplies. This was where our supplies were supposed to go and could be used.
I hesitated to share this story, because we certainly don’t want any affirmation or pats on the back for this. But I decided to share it to remind you that if you ask God to help use your gifts to help someone else, He will answer that. And also to encourage you to consider this on your next vacation. Not everyone has the opportunity to go on weeklong mission trips to faraway places. But we can almost all take a couple hours out of a vacation to find something like this. Not to mention that there are so many things we can do to help right where we live. Any blessings we have been given in life only multiply when we are able to share them with others. As we walked back to Andy’s car, wiping tears away, he said to me, “Your husband is a big guy. And now I also know he has a big heart.” It was a very special experience.
From here we headed to West Bay Beach. It’s a beautiful beach area with a restaurant and a few shops. We ate a delicious lunch, spent time on the beach, and I got an excellent beach massage. There was snorkeling available from here, which we usually enjoy very much, but after our busy day so far we decided to keep relaxing on the beach. But I know from previous experience that the snorkeling in Roatan is outstanding and I would definitely recommend it.
Our relaxing time on the beach went quickly, and soon Andy let us know it was time to start heading back to port. He drove us back to our ship, and hugs were exchanged as we told him goodbye. He was such an excellent driver/guide, and I would request him specifically again if we return.
We were tired from a busy but fantastic day, and excited for our next stop. The next day we’d be in Belize, so stay tuned for our fun adventures from there. As always, please leave comments here or on our contact page, and let us know what else you’d like to see. More coming very soon!
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