7/17/2024 (Wednesday) Coxen Hole, Honduras
Roatán is an island in the Caribbean, about 65 kilometers off the northern coast of Honduras. The largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras, it is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan and Rattan.
Coxen Hole is the largest city on the island of Roatán, and the capital of the Bay Islands department of Honduras, with a population of 5,070 as of census 2001. It is also the location of the island's Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport.
The first records indicating permanent English settlements in the Bay Islands show that Port Royal, on the island of Roatán, was again occupied in the year 1742. In this year the British made an attempt to gain possession of most of the Caribbean coast of Central America, and in doing so, rebuilt the old fort on Roatán. The archives at Belize record a Major Caulfield in command of Roatán as early as 1745. On August 2 of that year, the Major wrote a letter to a Mr. Edward Trelawny, Governor of Jamaica, describing Spanish harassment of English settlements. These settlements appear to have been well established on the island of Roatán by 1775.
Small but interesting. We were there from 09:00 am
06:00 pm
For The Old Folk: Prepare for the thrill of your lifetime, where you will be zipping through lush jungle vegetation, over ravines and creeks, mangroves and lagoons, enjoying the wealth of our natural resources at altitudes of 80 feet or higher and distances of up to 1600 feet.
Take a leap of faith, cross one off your bucket list and zip "Isla Roatan's" only zipline over water. The tour begins at our facility where we prepare you with all the adequate gear (helmet, harness, pulleys, carabiniers, safety straps, gloves), safety briefing, giving you all tools needed for your extreme adventure. Six Ziplines with over a mile and a half of zipping. The lines begin at 950 feet long and 80 feet high.
The last line ends with a 1600 feet long drop. Our last zipline takes you to the private island of Mahogany Beach where you can cool off in the warm waters of the Caribbean. This Extreme Zipline Adventure offers more views with faster, higher and longer lines.
We were abruptly awoken by a polite yet overly enthusiastic knock on the door, only to find a cheery chap standing there with an offering of coffee and orange juice. Morning wake-up calls have never looked this bright!
We swung open the sliding glass door and were greeted by a face full of the astonishing 85-degree 8:00 am morning, accompanied by a whopping 90% humidity. It felt like nature's way of saying, "Good morning, here's a tropical vacation!"
We, of course, promptly decided we preferred our climate-controlled indoor paradise and promptly retreated, hoping for a more polite weather greeting next time.
The natives were still asleep!
The Honduran Submarine was there to greet Mark!
The beaches were empty!
It is actually a place to dive and visit the fishies!
Our propellers threw up a lot of mud!
Modern technology has arrived! Ugly but arrived.
The bay is protected from the ocean!
We casually sipped on some coffee and took our sweet time getting dressed because we didn't need to show up at the rendezvous until a very civilized 11:00 am.
We slurped through the coffee, finished the daily diary, and headed to our dining room for a light breakfast.
The steakhouse dining area is top-secret, reserved only for suite passengers. It's so quiet in there; you could hear a potato drop! Perfect for discussing the day's adventures or debating the proper way to exit the ship.
My, someone had a big breakfast!!
We checked out through the ship's security and walked the gangplank toward Mahogany Bay. Mahogany Bay is the cruise ship port owned by Carnival Corporation, located on the island of Roatan. Roatan is a popular cruise ship stop in the Western Caribbean, typically on the same itinerary as Belize and Cozumel.
First questions is "Where are we?"
We began looking for mahogany immediately.
No laughing at our shoes; we are dressed for zip lining!
We finally got the others out of the way!
We sat for a bit waiting the tour guides to show up!
We walked around the shops, and Mary bought me an SPF 80 long-sleeved shirt, complete with a hoodie. I asked her about the hoodie, and she said, "On your bad hair days, you can wear the shirt backward!" She is always thinking.
Mary took a quick potty break before we got suited up, and she announced the potties were air-conditioned! Wow.
Getting ready for the thrill of a lifetime. A 2 in 1 jungle adventure of off-roading on a muddy & dusty trail, then zipping through the Sky trails with zip lines of up to 1600 ft long of unforgettable views, untouched jungle, mangroves, and lagoons. Xplore Roatan is locally owned and operated, and it offers high-quality products. They pride themselves on customer service, hard work, and dedication.
We did not know this was our limo!
In a few minutes she will be unrecognizable.
The guides are arranging our equipment.
The shuttle to the top the top of the hill was a pickup truck!
We are ready to rick and roll!!
Make sure everything is fastened up!
We us IR (Infrared) photography to make sure!
After a comically strenuous drive up a trail that felt more like a mule's path, we finally conquered the mountain peak at a staggering altitude of 15,454 feet. Thank goodness we packed oxygen – it saved us from passing out! From the top, we could practically wave to Ft. Lauderdale.
We spotted the first landing was up in the trees!
"Come on Paul, we are losing you!"
The first station was the easiest. I kept the camera in a button-up pocket because we were moving fast! Station #4 had a top speed of 45 miles per hour, and we had to use our asbestos gloves to slow down before hitting the station! Oh my!
What do they mean by "Please Brake???"
Cables were everywhere!
The view was amazing, we are at 1500 feet above the ocean!
OK, it was NOT that tall, but it was 1500 feet above the port, and the bay is spread out below. There was a little breeze, or we would have died because of the humidity.
Thar she goes!
The momentum stoppers were in place... splat!!
The trees had parasites.
Hold on, we are supposed to be doing DOWN, not UP! I kept looking for the elevator or escalator, but we had to walk, crawl, or otherwise navigate to the next station. Dr. Mary was like a mountain goat, and I was like a beached whale.
Paul begins to run out of gas!
Mountain Goat Mary keeps on going.
Just as we were about to reach our final destination, I put my superhuman X-ray vision to good use and spotted our ship. The Grill Bar had our name cards ready at table #3 before we even got there. It's like they knew we were coming, or maybe they just sensed our alcohol cravings from a mile away!
Please cabin, be cold when we arrive!
The last zip line placed us on the roof of a bar near the beach!
After zip lining onto the roof of a bar near the beach, I realized I had found the ultimate way to beat traffic and get straight to "happy hour!"
Mary inquires about the bar!
Our guide was quite friendly!
The last picture before the 1600 foot long zip into the bar!
We had a beer at the bar before starting our walk back to the beginning. It was so hot we stopped at the security checkpoint and asked for a cab. The guard knew the zipline people, called them, and asked for a ride back to the start. The little red truck showed up a few minutes later.
We strolled for a bit and then hopped on the good ship, where we knew we'd find cool vibes and abundant liquid happiness!
The engines were running and air conditioning on!
We found the first bar and sat!
I was so hot that I soaked a hand towel and applied it in an appropriate place.
We crawled to the 14th floor and crashed for an hour before getting ready for dinner. We departed the cabin at 4:35 and headed to O'Malleys for a pre-dinner drink! The Irish entertainers were playing, so we stayed and tapped our feet for thirty minutes.
They took another zip excursion; Colleens first time!
Mark just zipped along!
Applying the brakes manually!
Colleen followed suit!
Their team posed for a picture!
Like magic, she was transformed from Zipper To Beauty!
We shared our adventures over a relaxing dinner.
We did not realize this was Colleen's first zip line adventure. She was brave!
The meals are not only good they are quite pretty!
Come on, give us a smile!
We did not realize he had gas!
After dinner, we hit the spa for some relaxing couples massages. The poor operators who drew the short straw and got Mark as their patient were even given asbestos gloves!
After the massages, we all headed to our rooms to rest for tomorrow's adventures.
We mosied along singing a happy tune!
We do not remember the name of the song but it was loud!
We walked a long ways today and our sea legs gave out. To our room Jeeves!
