Category: Caribbean Ports

Harvest Caye (pronounced Kee) is a port owned by Norwegian cruise line. There is a LONG pier to get to land.  The pier is covered, which helps, and there is a shuttle that will take guests to the entrance for those with mobility issues (or for those who want to wait in the mobility impaired line for the shuttle.)

It has the feel of a private island, like Great Stirrup Cay, but there are a few differences.

Read more: Belize – Harvest Caye

 The main difference being that the restaurants food/beverage carts are all privately owned and take US Dollars.  (On Great Stirrup Cay, and other cruise line private islands, there is usually a complimentary bbq buffet and other food/drink venues.) The ziplining, snorkel gear, paddle-boarding, floats, and clamshell rental are all owned by the cruise line, so a ship card is used for those purchases.

The ship gave us this information sheet the night before we arrived.

There is an information booth just inside the entrance, and they gave me this handy diagram of the area.

I’m always in search of the quietest area so we ventured beyond the large swimming pool and the first several sets of beach chairs.

Go early if you want an umbrella. They are scattered around.

The zip lining looked really fun. One section is the “Superman” section where people are strapped in lying down with arms stretched out like Superman.  Costs were $49, $59 and $89, depending on how many lines are zipped.  The $89 package includes a ropes course.  There is an elevator to the top of the Superman segment, and a shuttle brings the participant back to the beginning.  (Otherwise it would be a pretty long walk.)  Everyone who zipped seemed to really enjoy it.  If I were younger – or had grandkids watching, I might have zipped, too! But we just settled in for a relaxing day on the beach.

Roatan is an island off the coast of mainland Honduras. It was originally owned by Great Britain, so many people speak English here.

Our ship ported at Coxen Hole. This cruise port is used by Norwegian Cruise Line, and they are currently building an additional pier so that two ships can be docked at the same time. 

Read more: Honduras – Coxen Hole, Roatan

Construction was pretty loud here with jackhammers, etc., and the locals playing drums and singing added to the noise and commotion. (They were fun for a little while but got old outside of our balcony cabin all afternoon)

We chose a tour from Shore Excursions Group. This excursions company is a preferred vendor of my company.  Follow this link to look at tours from a variety of ports.  rwax.dreamvacations.com   They contracted with Roatan Culture Tours, and we booked: “Private East End and Garifuna.”  This tour was a private tour and the cost was dependent on how many people are booked.  It was just the two of us, but it was still cheaper than booking through the cruise line, and we could customize what we saw. I enjoy seeing local houses on tours like this one.

Our first stop was a scenic overlook.

We drove through a community settled by the Garifuna.  This indigenous group originated from escaped slaves from St. Vincent.

Tuk-Tuk taxis were available for tourists and locals alike

Our guide asked if I like chocolate  – well, of course!  We stopped at the home of a lady who makes her own organic chocolate.  She explained the process from plant to chocolate bar, and we sampled raw chocolate beans, processed chocolate straight out of the grinder/processor, and chocolate tea with lime.  All were quite tasty so we got a few souvenir dark chocolate bars to bring home

Next we went to Arch’s Iguana Reserve. 

I had no idea of what to expect. I mean, why have an iguana reserve????  For tourists of course.  These iguanas are used to people and are quite friendly.

Our tour included admission, so the driver dropped us off at the top of the hill and paid for our tickets which are regularly $10 per person. After donning the stylish paper wristband, we started down the sidewalk as a large tour group was leaving.  Our timing could not have been more perfect. We were between tour groups.

They gave me a leafy plant, and when I held it down toward the iguanas they swarmed for their snack.

One of these older guys let me hold him.  They feel very dry and sandpapery! There are no fences at the reserve. The iguanas hang around probably because they are getting fed regularly without having to work for it.

There is a large cage for the babies who are under two.  Iguana mamas lay their eggs in a dirt mound and leave. (They will not qualify for parent-of-the-month!)  There are lots of dirt mounds on the property, and the workers here watch and capture them when they can. Then they are socialized and turned loose at two.

These friendly creatures jumped on me.  (I wonder if they saw their Barcelona cousin on my shirt?)

The Iguana Park also has fish in the “aquarium” (Outdoor, penned in area) and folks can book snorkeling excursions directly here as well.

 I heard others on the ship talk about going snorkeling in Honduras and they enjoyed their time.

There is also a Sloth and Monkey Park close to the Iguana Park, but we visited there when we were in Honduras a few years ago, so we chose not to return.  (However, when we were there before, they only had monkeys and birds.  Sloths are not native to Honduras.)

Next post, Harvest Cay, Belize – coming soon.

Relax Day Tours is the company that led our excursion today.  They were easy to find -immediately outside the port exit holding a sign with the name of the company.  We were led to a clean, air conditioned, 15 passenger van. We had 8 passengers plus our guide and driver.  Our guide, Yorlene, (Nene) was friendly and full of information. Continue reading “Costa Rica – Limon”