We woke up eager to get off the ship. Shawna had some anxiety leading up to her big day so we wanted to make it the best birthday ever.

We still weren’t sure what or where we were going that day because being in a brand new place is just the best so it all sounds fun! I have family that has lived on the little island of Roatan for years but unfortunately they were on the mainland during our visit. However ,we were encouraged to try Roatan’s famous Monkey La La’s.

We wandered off the ship and through the port, taking it all in.

When what do you know….

We took this as a sign and stopped for a drink.

These were very good. I think they are made with Kahlua, Bailey’s, vodka, creme de coco and condensed milk blended with ice, or something like that. Filling and sneaky.

Still not exactly sure on our plans moving forward, we walked outside to see about a taxi. This is where they are all waiting, the taxi’s, tour companies aka everyone wanting your money. We ended up walking with a man who called himself Dusty, explaining to him that we wanted a place where we could park ourselves for the day, eat and swim and be picked up when we were done. We walked, he talked and before we knew it stumbled upon were lead to a little place on the water called Aqua Bar.

We popped in so we could figure out our life and Dusty sat down with us. I was wondering if he was going to be with us all day. He told us about growing up on this small island and that his moms house was right next door this this bar we were at, of course it was. When we decided that he most likely wasn’t going to have us murdered we set out on our day, but not before popping by his moms house. She was out front of her cute yellow house selling a few souvenirs, shirts, sarongs and some homemade elixers.

She told us about how she made these concoctions during the pandemic and everyone who drank them never caught Covid, or that is how the story went. We went ahead and bought a small bottle to try but decided to wait until we were back in the safety of our house to try that risky little game.

{So…. it’s gross, tastes like gasoline blended with a hamburger.}

Dusty had called us a ride to take us to Sundowners in the West End. A beach front bar with beautiful views of the bay with a super laid back vibe. We staked out a prime spot on the beach and then headed to the bar.

Margaritas and Mojitos were made while I met the local bar cat.

Then straight to the water.

We met a lot of expats who were there for repeat vacations or diving trips and they all had nothing but great things to say about this little island.

We swam and talked the day away.

Then just like all great days the time flew by and before we knew it we were piling into our ride and headed back to the ship.

We never once felt unsafe being in Roatan, just putting that out there.

When we reached our room, her birthday cake was waiting.

Congratulations on turning another year older, ha.

We cleaned ourselves up and made our way to dinner. We had a very good meal at Le Bistro the ships French restaurant.

That night was 90’s night which I was super excited about but the 80’s music turned out to be a little more more fun.

You know how the nights end by now.

Happy 50th birthday me fave!

The next day was supposed to be Belize……