Cozumel, Honduras and Belize

We had three very busy days and are now having two to recover – all three stops were fantastic.

Thursday 16th – Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen.

We had booked a diving experience here where you wear a helmet with an air pipe attached and can walk along under the sea but unfortunately we had both picked up a bit of a cold and the description mentioned being able to breathe easily so we thought it sensible to cancel that one.

Andrew did some googling and found a place that hired out paddleboards next door to a free access bar restaurant with swimming pool – perfect!
It was a short taxi ride from the port so we spent a very happy day there. Andrew had an hour’s guided paddleboard in the sea which went well and I had a swim in the pool. Had some delicious quesadillas and tacos in the sunshine – a very relaxing day.

Back on board a ‘Sailaway’ party had been announced as we hadn’t had one from Southampton due to the late departure. We were alongside another huge ship full of American passengers and we were leaving first. Along with our entertainments team and everyone up on the deck we were having a good old singalong, waving flags and waving goodbye to our neighbours. We had covered off ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and ‘Rule Brittania’ in anticipation of setting sail – when we had an announcement…. our departure was delayed as we were waiting for two people to be collected from the ship by ambulance – sadly yet another medical emergency! So our American friends beat us to it and cleared off first….

Friday 17th- Roatan – Honduras

Roatán is an island in the Caribbean, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) off the northern coast of Honduras

We’d booked an excursion called “Snapshot ofRoatan” which was great. While driving around the island our guide told us lots about life on Roatan and was very engaging, We visited an area where a huge amount of Iguanas live. They are free to roam and not caged in any way but get fed so appear happy with having a lot of people around them. They were very funny to watch; climbing on top of each other to get the leaves we held out. Apparently they are hunted and eaten on the island as well though.

We had a dance performed for us and as we sat in the front row of course got called upon to join in – oh go on then!

We had a short boat trip out to see a couple of shipwrecks. There is a coral reef along the length of the island which has obviously caught captains out in the past. Temperature was around 28c so the breeze on the moving boat was very welcome.

Back to the dock and with a few hours still before departure we walked a short distance to an absolutely gorgeous beach and had a lovely swim in the sea. Enjoyed a couple of cocktails in the sunshine then back on board and off we sailed again.

Saturday 18th – Belize

Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north

No excursion booked so we did our own thing and wandered around the city. It was interesting to see and there were some colourful and characterful buildings but a lot of what we saw was very run-down. We had heard the museum was worth visiting but when we arrived a young man on the gate said it was closed due to power failure and could we go back later. The weather was v. hot – 35c with high humidity – so we found some shelter in a restaurant overlooking the sea and had a couple of beers – Andrew got his fish fix with some snapper, rice and beans. We watched some very graceful and entertaining herons swooping and diving over the sea.

We had been warned about safety on the island but the few people we spoke to were very friendly and honest especially when we had confusion about Belize dollars vs US dollars for some much needed cold water! The heat and humidity was intense so we got an early afternoon tender boat back to our ship for a very welcome shower.

Sunday 19th – Sea day – but worth a mention!

Nice relaxing sea day and I received two beautiful mothers day cards smuggled onboard. Had a lovely Whatsapp video call with Anna and Em plus, facilitated by Sue and Kate, a lovely video call with mum. Andrew had a lovely call with Ange too so we both felt very lucky and happy to have our internet package!

Another formal evening so we had booked the Indian restaurante ‘Sindhu’ for dinner – it was absolutely delicious and the best food so far on this trip.

However – there was more drama… part way through the day the sea had become stormy again. A tannoy message from the bridge informed us that a mayday call from a nearby vessel in distress had been picked up so we were turning round to assist…

It was a sailing boat with three people on-board who had got into difficulty and the captain was apparently injured. We could see the boat in the distance from our cabin window and could only try and imagine how scary things had been and what a relief for them to see our gigantic rescue boat. It took quite a lot of manoeuvring during which time the storm was getting stronger with high winds and rain. We didn’t see the actual rescue but these pictures were posted on Facebook by other passengers. Rumour had it their boat had to be sunk for safety purposes.

It was another quite choppy night but we’re getting used to them!

Monday 20th – Sea day

Calmer sea again but weather not so warm – people are sitting/sunbathing on deck but a lot look like they could be at Hunstanton with coats and towels wrapped around them!

We are really looking forward to our overnight visit to New Orleans tomorrow…