As we dress for dinner on Saturday night, we are experiencing our first rough seas.  In fact, I have not felt the movement of the sea this strongly since 2008, when we sailed to Alaska.  I guess I have been lucky to have sailed 200 days without even thinking about using any seasickness medication.  We are hoping that as soon as we pass through a storm that is approaching Central America, a few hours sailing will bring us to calmer waters.  

Friday,18 December 2015
Roatan, Hondoras

Roatan, the largest of the Honduran Caribbean islands, sits with its two smaller sister islands, Utila and Guanaja, about 50 km off the northern coast of Honduras itself.  It is surrounded by a coral reef and is a popular destination for divers, as well as other water sports
enthusiasts.  The ms Riviera docks at Mahogany Bay, a beautiful facility built by Carnival Cruise Lines. But we head inland today for our shore excusion run by the ship's Culinary Center: a "farm-to-table" experience.  

   

The first stop is a visit to the Arboretum run by the government. The gardens exhibit the variety of plants and tress that grow naturally on the island, as well as others brought in to enjoy the intensive sun and high humidity.  These include a wide variety of fruit-growing plants--oranges, grapefruits, breadfruit, Malayan apples, banana-apples--as well as orchids and other flowering plants.  The Arboretum is also home to a herd of feral cats and free-range chickens, who seem to get along rather well.

It's then a short coach ride to a working hydroponic garden, for a really interesting demonstration of lettuce and herb-growing and harvesting.  It takes only 58 days for lettuce to go from one small seed implanted in a pipe with running water to fresh produce ready to go to market.  In fact, our tour guide harvests a quantity of fresh lettuce to take with us for lunch.  Most of the produce grown here is purchased by nearby hotels, cruise ships, and local supermarkets almost immediately after is is harvested.

After the hard work of hydroponic farming, we take another short coach ride and then a five-minute boat ride to Little French Key,a private resort where we see a cooking demonstration and have lunch.  Our chef prepares fresh shrimp three ways (with mango cocktail sauce, sauteed with garlic, and fried with coconut breading).  We also enjoy dried and salted tapioca chips with rum-laced fruit punch.  The shrimp is served for lunch, along with chicken and rice and beans.  

Our Guest Chef at Little French Key

Will on the Beach at Little French Key

Departing from Little French Key

The tour is running late so we don't have any time to enjoy the beach facilities at Little French Key; we hop back on the boat to take us to the bus to take us back to the ship.