After two nights and one full day onboard ship, we docked at Roatan, an island off the Honduran Coast. I had only vague plans made for the shore excursion, but when my new shipboard friends mentioned they were going to an animal sanctuary called Little French Key, that sounded pretty good. Tagging along with them gave me perhaps the best day of the entire cruise.
the port on Roatan is quite dismal, grimy, and very depressed looking. Outside the port, the countryside is pretty, but the roads are rough and we were crammed into the shuttle van. Once we arrived at our destination, things began to look up considerably:
Little French Key is actually a small, private island a short distance from the island of Roatan, so we took a short ferry ride from Frenchys (above), to the dock on Little French Key:
As we approached the island, it was clear we were in for something special:
Once you arrive, it’s very unstructured. No official greets you or hands you a schedule, you just wander around, discovering interesting activities. We soon ran into some of the animals:
The lion has a cleft lip which the santuary is paying to repair. We were all awe struck by the jaguar:
We wandered some more, taking in the tropical beauty:
I lagged behind a bit, taking pictures, but I heard excited chatter from my friends, so I hurried over:
That’s Stephanie, obviously thrilled.
(That’s a kinkajou climbing on Stephanie above.)
Here’s Joe, Stephanie’s husband:
(We had two separate encounters with monkeys, first some on leashes with handlers, later some in cages, but I’m jumbling them together to get everyone introduced.) Here’s Bobby, Stephanie’s brother:
and Lynn, Stephanie and Bobby’s mom:
and, of course, I had to get in on the action:
(That’s a coatimundi I’m holding above.)
(He’s upset with another monkey, not me.)
We all then went snorkeling on the reef offshore. It was gorgeous, and we saw many, many brightly colored fish, but not having an underwater camera, I didn’t get any photos. Back on shore, there was a heavy, but brief, downpour. When you’re already in swimsuits and the rain is warm, who cares? Then we had a terrific lunch of Mexican-style food. As we finished lunch, we looked up to see this:
A handler was swimming the jaguar toward us on a chain. Using telephoto, I got many shots of this beautiful animal:
But the fun was just starting. For an extra fee, you could wade out to pet the jaguar, and people lined up to do it:
The first lady didn’t get eaten, so that was a good sign:
Before long, Stephanie was petting the jaguar:
and Lynn was petting the jaguar:
and Bobby was petting the jaguar:
Being last in line, the handler told Bobby, “You look like a strong young man. If you want, you may pick up the jaguar.” Bobby is a gung-ho, up for anything, guy, so...
Not just once, but two more times as well:
See how the jaguar is bending down in that last photo? He gave Bobby’s arm a gentle squeeze with his mouth, signaling that playtime was over.
What an exhilarating day! With a newfound appreciation, I caught a shot of Roatan as we pulled out of port that evening:
Happily, my friends and I had all signed up for the same tour of Mayan ruins the next day. That’s the subject of my next post.
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