Cruisin' Day 4 - Roatan, Honduras

We're into the heart of our vacation now, getting into a groove where we've got a system down, from maneuvering the ship, to maneuvering the room at night (in order to reach the bathroom, I need to climb over my sleeping son's pull out bed - not an easy feat, and I have a huge bruise to show for it).
I know where all of the bathrooms are on the each deck, I know the best time to eat dinner and I know where to get a tasty afternoon snack.

It feels like we've been on vacation for weeks, and the end of our vacation is still far enough away that we can't even begin to think it will be over soon.

In essence, we are experiencing the height of vacation nirvana.

And this morning's sunrise was nicer than yesterday's:

I created the above photo using the Panoramic feature in PSE. I took 4 or 5 vertical pictures to combine into the composite above.

Today, we docked in the Town Center port of Roatan, Honduras:

Another panoramic - I was really into them that morning.

The isle of Roatan was the hilliest area we visited and probably the most picturesque. There's something about hills, forests and beach that make for a lovely combination [a bit like our visit to the Cinque Terre in Italy].

Today, it's all about the zip lining through those trees and over those valleys. Scott arranged our adventure at South Shore Zip Line, and we had a great time. Our guides, Chipmunk and Charlie:


They were so much fun! We started out getting all geared up - harnesses, slings, and helmets.


We were paired up with another party - Serpil and Michael, who happen to be engineers like me and Scott. More connections - Michael earned his Master's degree from the U of I. Serpil is a Chemical engineer and they work for Shell in Baton Rouge.

After a training session (how to traverse the zip lines), we were ready for our first ride - and Brian volunteered to go first.


And he's off:


I went next and caught Serpil enjoying her first zip line experience:


Michael next:


Whee!


Time for some tricks....
Brian upside down:


Erica soaring through the air like Superwoman:


Scott and I traversing tandem:


The course includes 13 zip lines and 16 platforms, traversing through the trees while overlooking the ocean. A breathtaking experience.


(And even though there was one zip line where they had a photographer stationed, we were encouraged to use our own cameras.)

After the zip lining, we headed to the beach to cool off in the water and relax.

Yup, more orange fanta.

When on vacation, you've gotta enjoy some of the local flavor:


And check out the locals:


It was another fun day, filled with new experiences. We had a great time with Charlie and Chipmunk and highly recommend the zip lining in Roatan.