Still Cruisin'

Day 4: Pushing Past the Boundaries
We arrived in Rhoatan Isle, Honduras this morning. A little bit of trivia: This is one of the islands used on the show Survivor.

This island is a lot different from Cozumel – more natural and rugged. But also more beautiful. We traveled to Tabyana Beach, resort-type area. This so far is the highlight of my week. The water was so incredible. Crystal clear. The coolest thing about this island is it has a HUGE coral reef – something like one of the top in the world. For the first time ever, I went snorkeling. I have a small fear of being under water. I can swim and enjoy the pool, but looking out into the ocean with only a mask, flippers and breathing tube is intimidating! The experience though was the most incredible thing I have done when it comes to adventures. If you have even been to an aquarium and witnessed divers down in the water with the fish – that’s what it was like! I did not go deep but thousands of tropical fish surrounded me, all swimming around and around. It was like being in a 3-D movie. After an hour, I had the hang of using the equipment and felt like a pro. The coral was simply unbelievable. “Senor Moustache” had trouble getting the mask to seal around his moustache so he hung out in the water and on shore.

When we returned to the main pier area, we went into “town” to check out the shops. Once again, we were told to not make eye contact with anyone. Unfortunately, this island is also poverty-stricken and tourists are a huge target. I never felt unsafe but we did have lots of children following us and asking for money or trying to sell us something. I kept my bag close to my body. I was told that some of the people are really clever when it comes to lifting items off of tourists. Also unfortunately, a local “dude” started talking to Dave and would not leave! He followed us, talking the whole way, all the way down through the shops. Pointing out certain areas and shops. We had our own personal annoying tour guide. We never once looked at him but he just stayed right there. Finally, after an hour, Dave handed him a dollar and he took it and left! If only we had tried that in the beginning. Oh yeah, it was blistering HOT!

This island was very interesting. There were mountainous areas, beautiful beaches, and fancy homes as well as families with only one-room huts. We saw a Baptist church, a 7th Day Adventist church and one other – not sure what denomination. I would definitely come back here.

Day 5: Terrifying and Tragedy
Today was a tragic day. We arrived in the country of Belize this morning looking forward to a day of cave tubing and trekking through the rain forest. It had been raining in Belize so there was question about whether we could go cave tubing or not as the water level was high and the current was strong. They should have said no. I consider myself fairly brave when it comes to trying new things. Kind of like the feeling you get from riding a roller coaster. You know its going to be a little scary but that’s the thrill of it, right? My gut feeling was to just tell them I would meet them back at the start. The river was so strong – we had to pull ourselves across one point by holding onto a rope. I had to have help as I lost my footing from the current. I was terrified but second-guessed myself owing it all to being something new. When we arrived at the cave entrance, the guide was consistently telling us to stay to either the left or the right at certain points. Once we were in the water, we realized that there was absolutely no way we could control the inner tubes. Dave and I were locked together but no matter how hard we tried, the current was banging us into the walls of the cave. There was no way to control it. The rest of our group was having the same problems. They were kind of like me tho, thought that this was probably just the thrill of the ride. However, we had to be helped when it came to avoiding areas, others had to be pulled away from rocks that were pulling them under, and generally, everyone was panicking. By the time we arrived at the first checkpoint where we had to exit the water temporarily, I was in tears. Dave did his best to calm me down but I didn’t think I could get back in the water. We were coming up on a point where we had to stay to the left and I knew there was no way I could do it. I still thought maybe I was overreacting, but realized that I wasn’t the only one. We got back in and made it to the end in one piece. What was supposed to be a 40 minute lazy river cave exploration ended up being a 10 minute hang-on-for-your-life panic ride. I really was terrified.

The tragedy came with the next group. When we arrived back at the excursion start, we were served lunch and were waiting on the other groups to return. Since we were delayed in leaving for the trip due to the uncertainty of the water, other groups had caught up with us – there were about 5 buses behind us. We had finished eating lunch and were just hanging out but nobody else ever showed up. It was time for us to leave and still no other groups were arriving. When we were crossing the river, the other groups were right behind us and as fast as that river was rolling, something was wrong. We found out after we had returned to the ship, that the second group had run into tragedy. One of the group members was pulled under in the current and had drowned. A mother in her mid 40’s died on what was supposed to be a simple and low-key trip. Others that we have met during our trip stopped us and were obviously still in shock. Two young ladies had been stranded on a rock inside the cave because the current took their tubes, dumping them. Another man was trying to hold onto a rock but was being pulled under until another two men helped him. Unbelievable.

The cruise line asked for our statements regarding the trip and refunded everyone’s money. They also brought on counselors to help those who witnessed the tragedy. Small condolence for losing a life but they did what they could. Ultimately, it was the tubing company’s responsibility for making a bad decision to go ahead with the trip despite the warnings from the rangers. We were lucky to only have bruises and scrapes from the walls of the caves.