Valor Review w/Pics 9/06-9/13 LOOONG!

[Robin7]

Here's the next installment:

 

Roatan, Honduras

 

Here we signed up for the “Tabyana Beach Day” ($30 each?) excursion offered by the ship. We docked in Roatan about noon.

 

 

 

See the little 'band' at the entrance to the dock area? I also wondered if there are any fish in that reef area? I didn't find out though.

 

Our ticket said to meet on the pier at 12:15pm. So we made our way down to the gangway area and joined the long queue in the hallway.

 

[Robin7]

We eventually made our way off the ship, found the person on the dock holding the sign for our excursion, and were immediately led to a school bus for our ride to the beach. A fellow there then gestured to us and told us (and several people behind us) to follow him. We ended up in a van with about ten other passengers. We were last so got to sit in front. (That was very nice as I tend to get car sick.)

 

 

 

There appear to be no road rules in Honduras. Well, except for the one that says passing on a blind curve is the best spot! The road was narrow and bendy and steep. The views were INCREDIBLE and distracted me from my fear of dying. :D (Unfortunately, most of our photos were not great.)

 

 

[meatball77]

Great review

[Robin7]

 

Tabyana Beach is just a little bit of paradise. My favorite Caribbean beach we’ve been to is Half Moon Cay. This was almost as good. White sand, clear and warm blue water, trees for shade. Exquisite.

 

 

The only down side was having to use OFF for sand fleas. And I got bit anyway but not eaten alive as I would have if I hadn’t sprayed.

 

 

 

Before we drug our chairs back under the trees. It was HOT in that sun!

 

 

How I prefer to enjoy the beach....

 

There is a BBQ there, and vendors selling things, but we didn’t partake of any of them, having eaten prior to leaving the ship. There is also a bar, but we brought our own water bottles. They also rent snorkeling equipment, but we decided to SNUBA.

 

 

A fellow was sitting on the beach selling the SNUBA experience. (Under the umbrella in the photo.) My husband is a certified diver, but I have always been too chicken to do it. I like snorkeling, though, so he thought I’d like to SNUBA. I did! (But I couldn’t clear my ears so I won’t be taking diving lessons any time soon.)

 

 

The view from our chairs under the trees.

[Robin7]

The reef was beautiful with many hundreds of fish. It was amazing to be able to get so close to the coral and see the critters that live in it. We could only go down 25 feet, but that was enough for me. What a lovely experience!

 

 

 

 

So...um...the rule is fat floats. If you're a woman and try the SNUBAing, expect to have more weight put in your belt than your significant other has. One muscle-bound fellow made a fuss about how he only had two weights and his wife had four. The vendor said, "You're gonna make me tell you the rule, huh?" It's VERY heavy (I had five) while out of the water, but you really do need that much weight or you have a hard time descending in the water to the reef.

 

 

You're tethered by a 25-foot air hose to a raft like this which holds the air tanks. There were four of us on our raft.

 

 

 

 

[Robin7]

We stayed and stayed and stayed at Tabyana and were some of the last people to go back to the ship.

 

 

We did wander through the shops near the ship, and the band was back playing on the dock as we went back to the ship. Roatan was just a charming, beautiful stop. I could have spent days at Tabyana Beach!

 

 

 

Coming soon: Belize. (Darn kids! Why do they need dinner anyway??? :D)

[Nunu]

Great job Robin.

[meatball77]

Can't wait for Belize!

[Derka]

What brand underwater camera do you have? The pictures look great!

[AryMay]

Loving your review...your pictures are great!

 

Also just wondering...is that a bichon in your avatar? (I'm the proud mommy of a bichon named Mitzi).

[Robin7]

What brand underwater camera do you have? The pictures look great!

 

We bought a Canon D10. We just got it right before the trip, but since our 'big' camera is a Canon 40D and our other 'little' camera is a Canon Digital Elph, we were familiar with the way Canon does stuff. We've been really happy with it!

 

AryMay, that IS a Bichon in my avatar. His name is Chewie (short for Chewbacca), and he's three years old and completely spoiled rotten. We adore him!

 

Robin

[Robin7]

Belize

 

 

We took the “Altun Ha and Rio Wallace” excursion in Belize. It was an early tour. We met in the Ivanhoe Lounge and got our tender numbers. The tender ride was about 20 minutes and not too rough. We then boarded a bus and met our guide. If I recall correctly, it was about a 45 minute bus ride to the Mayan site.

 

It was a short walk from the parking lot to the plaza where the ruins were located. It was VERY buggy! The guide suggested if we had insect repellent to use it. We did, and we shared with a couple who did not have any. The ruins are in the middle of a jungle basically. It was very HOT even though it was morning.

 

 

We have never seen any Mayan Ruins, and these were very old. Altun Ha was first occupied around 200 B.C. Our guide was very knowledgeable and talked and talked and talked and talked. It was all very fascinating. We were even able to climb (by modern-day stairs around the back side) to the top of the largest temple there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robin7]

 

 

 

 

This altar, at the top of the largest temple, was used to sacrifice children. Hundreds of bones of 9-10 year old children were found nearby.

[Robin7]

We re-boarded the bus and were taken to “The Black Orchid” where we had a quick lunch.

 

Can you see the orchid?

 

(We shared a plate of Caribbean Jerk Chicken with rice and beans. It was very good and only about $9 plus tip.) There were some vendors there selling souvenirs, but we did not buy any. (Although later I wish we had!) We then boarded a boat.

 

The Rio Wallace

 

The boat sat about 40 people. It was completely open with no way to get into the shade. (Wear good sunscreen and a hat! You would not believe how many people did not have hats. I hate looking like the typical American tourist, but we did, and we were grateful we had some head covering.)

 

We saw two crocodiles, many birds, some dolphins, LOTS of iguanas, and the snout of a manatee, plus a lot of beautiful vegetation. (The monkeys were not out. It was TOO HOT!)

 

But the whole river ride lasted far, far too long. Really, really too long. WAAAAAAAAAY too long! I bet we were on that river an hour and a half. It was beautiful and interesting, but I would not do it again. (I would take the city tour combined with the ruins.)

 

 

 

 

[Robin7]

The boat dropped us off at the dock, right where we could get the tender to the ship. There were many little shops to wander through, but I was suffering so from the heat, we headed directly back to the ship and our wonderfully COLD stateroom. This time we stayed on the bottom of the tender, and disembarking did not take very long.

 

I loved the Mayan Ruins part of this excursion, but the river could have been half as long or maybe even shorter. We would like to go back to Belize to see Xunantunich which was also an excursion offered by the ship. We chose Altun Ha because it was marginally shorter and had the river part. In retrospect, we kind of wish we'd picked the tour with ruins only.

 

 

The entire reason we came on this itinerary and not on the Mexican Riviera cruise we had originally booked for this time period was to see Mayan Ruins. My husband has a degenerative nerve disease which is in remission right now, so we decided we had better 'go and do and see' while he still could. Seeing ruins was our primary goal for this cruise. Altun Ha was INCREDIBLE.

 

 

I also freely admit that my dislike of the river cruise was probably due to the heat. My thermostat is wacko, and heat really bothers me. After we returned to the ship, I collapsed on the bed and slept hard for 45 minutes. When I awoke, I was FREEZING. Even a 20-minute hot shower could not warm me up. I was cold all night. I think I had a bit of heat exhaustion.

 

 

 

 

 

We were out in open sea for about 20 minutes, and they required us to don life jackets. We did not have to wear these on the river. (I should have left my hat ON for the pic!)

 

 

Bye, Belize! We'll be back!

 

 

 

Tomorrow: Cozumel and Tulum!

[lisajm]

Am really enjoying this review thanks!. BTW what kind of camera did you use to shoot the underwater pics?

[Jeans*Fanatic]

This is an awesome review!!! I love your pictures!!!!!

[happycruiser1960]

Fantastic review! Can't wait to read more.

[cruisingbajan]

More review pleaaase:D.

 

Those pics you took at altun ha look great especially the aerial shot. What was your vantage point when you took that? We also booked Altun Ha but with island marketing so any info/tips you can give will be greatly appreciated.

[Payd]

Loving your review and pictures.

 

We have been to these ports - on the Legend. All the ports are amazing!!

[TrqoisWtrs]

But the whole river ride lasted far, far too long. Really, really too long. WAAAAAAAAAY too long! I bet we were on that river an hour and a half. It was beautiful and interesting, but I would not do it again. (I would take the city tour combined with the ruins.)

 

OMG. I so agree. We did the same tour. So friggin' hot! And oh look someone would see two eyes peeking out of the water and we would slooooowwwwllllyyy circle back around and sit there so everyone could snap away at nothing. DH and I also had on hats and tons of sunscreen. I would have loved to see some of the other participants later that evening - I'm sure with massive sunburn. And I wonder if we had the same chatty tour guide?

[jerseygirl79]

Wow Miss Robin. Thanks so much for this review. It is great! Love the pic of little Chewie, hahahah. You look great!

 

So glad you and the hubby had a good time!!

[Robin7]

Cozumel, Mexico

 

 

Another early day! Our fourth in a row. I loved this itinerary but wish we could have done it backwards with the Mayan Ruins being the first two stops and the beach/snorkeling the last two. But our priority was to see ruins this time, so no beach days for us in Belize or Cozumel.

 

We zoomed right off the ship first thing for our excursion to Tulum. We walked down the long dock, past the shops (which were still closed), and over to catch the ferry to the mainland. You could sit inside or outside, we chose outside. They were selling drinks and soda pop onboard. It was about 30-45 minutes over to Playa del Carmen where we boarded buses.

 

 

See that little dock on the left? That's where the ferry left from. You walk down the loooooooooooooooong dock on the right, across and through the shops, and to the ferry on the left.

 

As we were sitting on the ferry, my husband could see two people RUNNING down the righthand dock. As we pulled out, right on time, he could see them running through the shops. We weren't very far from the dock when he saw them run up and talk to a ferry-guy still standing there. The ferry did not go back to get them. Moral: DO NOT BE LATE for this tour!

 

[Robin7]

Our guide was Raul. He said he was Mayan, and he certainly looked it. He was a great guide. Very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions.

 

It was about an hour to our first stop—a souvenir shop/restroom. Raul said we should buy our souvenirs at this stop as the prices were much higher outside Tulum, and he was correct. (The vendors at Tulum were also quite pushy and in-your-face, and I just did not enjoy that whole experience. I was glad we’d purchased what we wanted at the stop.)

 

After about 30 minutes of shopping, we were off to the ruins.

 

 

Raul shows us an obsidian mask at the shop/potty stop. Obsidian is black but looks gold in the sun. The Maya met the Spainards wearing these masks, but the Spainards were disappointed to find they were not the precious metal, but stone. (Apparently some of the Mayan cities' buildings were also covered in obsidian and looked like gold.)

 

 

The parking lot is about a half mile from the ruins. You can either walk to the ruins or take a tram for $3 per person. We elected to walk up. It was not too bad. (Although very hot, of course.) It was dirt so wear good shoes. They seem to be improving it. There was a construction crew doing work on what appears to be a path of some sort.

[Robin7]

Raul spent about 45 minutes showing us the ruins and explaining things to us, and then we had about an hour and a half on our own. There is a gorgeous beach there. It was voted one of the top five beaches in the world by the Travel Channel. But we didn’t go down to it. A lot of people did. We did not want to haul/wear our bathing suits or worry about the long trip back to the ship while wet or find a place to change etc. for just 45 minutes in the water. (I guess we’re getting old and fussy.) We were content to see it, take photos of it, and then we headed back for lunch at ‘Frostys’.

 

Side note: there are bathrooms located right by the exit of the ruins. They are decent. You could change in to/out of your swimsuit there, plus our guide said to go potty there because the ones down by the parking lot were ‘fee for use’. Oh brother!

 

We walked back to the parking lot area. (The tram also charges for the trip back.) A lot of passengers rode the tram. I’ve been trying to lose weight, so we hoofed it.

 

Frostys is located by the parking lot. We shared a plate of chicken fajitas. They would have been better if we’d felt safe eating the habanero salsa, but I was afraid to since the tomatoes, onions, and peppers were raw. (I’ve had ‘traveler’s complaint’ in Mexico before. NOT fun!)

 

We were seated in the hallway area, close to the vendors. NOT the place to be! The vendors were relentless. If they want to seat you out there, insist on an inside table.

 

After lunch, we all loaded up and made our way back to the ship.

 

Tulum was AMAZING! I can see why they chose to live and worship there. I can also see why the afternoon siesta was created!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, seriously, we don't look like tourists AT ALL. But at least we weren't wearing black socks and black shoes like one guy was. (I am not kidding!)