Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras

Today, we sat on the beach.

Mahogany Bay was developed as a cruise ship port by Carnival Cruise Lines, the parent company of Holland America. I am generally skeptical of such destinations, but this was an exception.  

It did not have zipline towers, a bar that resembled a pirate ship, tethered hot-air balloon rides, or other such attractions, and the food was not complimentary. However, the beach was only a short walk from the ship, so there was no inconvenience of having to ride a tender to shore. We had two chaise longues and a beach umbrella on a clean, sandy beach with a direct path to the water. The water temperature was perfect. The sun was warm. The sky was blue. There was a light breeze. It was the simplicity of everything that made it so good.

We spent a lot of time in the water, had some food, and eventually, we wandered back to the ship.

Shortly after the ship had cast off its lines, it blew one long blast on its horn and started moving forward.

About two minutes later, the horn sounded five short blasts. To use the more extended and polite definition, this is asking another vessel to clarify its intentions. I was where I could look out over the ship's bow. A sports fishing boat was sedately towing a dock's float across the channel. 

I presume the boat operator smugly thought that they since they were under tow, they had the right of way over a massive cruise ship navigating in a tight channel. I'm going to guess that the local pilot who was helping to navigate the vessel along the channel made a radio call to the boat, assuring them that local authorities would be giving the boat operator a refresher course on nautical rules of the road and maybe a souvenir of the encounter in the form of a citation.

Eurodam continued out to open water. With only about 125 nautical miles to Belize City, where it will arrive tomorrow by 8:00 AM, the ship just dawdled along.

We had dinner with a couple from Alberta, Canada, who were extensive travelers. It made for a fun conversation that accidentally resulted in the four of us being the last ones to leave the dining room.