12/10/11 Roatan, Honduras

OUR LAST PORT!  It is bitter-sweet to write those words. I think most people are feeling the way I do; sad about leaving this wonderful little community we have formed, but excited to see our families and friends and to return to the comfort of our homes. It will be fun to give Christmas gifts from all around the world, and I can't wait to be able to bake in my very own kitchen again!

The initial itinerary had Cuba (with an asterisk behind it) listed as our last port, IF we could get permission from the US Department of State. After that fell through - causing large amounts of disappointment - plan B was to go to Guatemala. Shortly after we had gotten used to that idea, the US government sent out an advisory not to travel to Guatemala due to the increasing levels of crime and violence that are currently an issue there. We were told that trying to find other options in Central America that were not equally worrisome was difficult. That's how we ended up on the resort island of Roatan.

Our first day I was not on call and excited about a lazy day in the sun without the chance of being called back to the ship. We hooked up with some friends (the Baker family from CA has a son Reade's age and a daughter Tate's age, and we've all become great friends) and headed to the beach. We got there in time to have fabulous fish tacos on the beach and catch about one hour worth of sun rays before it started raining. When it rains in Honduras, it POURS!  We huddled around a table with a thatched umbrella roof for a couple of hours, hoping the storm would pass. The kids were unfazed by the rain, and ran back and forth between the ocean and the resort pool where we were allowed access. As the rain water flooded the whole resort area and it became clear that we would not be seeing the sun again that day, we packed up our stuff and left. We wasted some time in a gift shop and then had a very early dinner before returning to the ship. We asked our cab driver what the locals do when it rains, and he told us that they just stay home.

I was on-call our second day and we woke to... you guessed it! Rain! Lots of cold rain, this time accompanied by wind. We went back to the same fabulous fish taco restaurant and had more fabulous food for lunch and then wasted more time in touristy gift shops. At about 2:30 pm I got called back to the ship to deal with an injury, but none of us were too sad to have to call it a day and return to our dry ship/home. After a long night working in the clinic, I'm writing this blog as the ship sets sail towards the USA where we will dock in two short days!