Roatan, Honduras: Maya Key with Navy Seals
On our western Caribbean cruise, our third day at port was at Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. After facing the challenges of our Cozumel adventure together, we knew we had a champion at the Norwegian excursions desk, so we went back to see our new best friend, Anita. By now Anita knew all about our family and our accessibility needs, down to the dimensions of Mike's wheelchair and the likes and dislikes of our kids. Anita straight up told us where we should go with no hesitation: Maya Key. It was the most accessible excursion, it was not too expensive, and it was a private beach resort. We didn’t really require much convincing. We needed a beach day. Normally we aren’t much for standing still in one place (if you haven't noticed that from my blog so far,) but it turns out that if that "standing still" place is a private beach in Honduras, we're okay with it!
The Roatan port itself was my favorite of the trip. The pier is short, the shops cute and close by, and the people are very welcoming. Here are some photos of the well-organized port from deck 13 of the Norwegian Dawn.
One of my favorite things about this excursion was its convenience. We stepped off of the Norwegian Dawn, walked about 15 feet and then stepped onto the ramp that leads to the transport boat that took us to Maya Key. The ramp was wide and not too steep, super-easy to navigate. I took this picture straight down because I was so amazed that we wouldn't have to walk a mile and a half just to disembark. Luke also snapped a photo of the ramp. It's refreshing when we find such great accessibility features when we travel!
Mike was in his manual chair, I was carrying the water wheelchair disassembled in it's bag, and the boys were toting everything else. It was great to not have to walk far! At the bottom of the ramp, two crew from Maya Key transport boat simply lifted Mike and his chair over the foot-wide gap between pier and boat. A short 5 minute boat ride later, we were in paradise.
The good news? Sometimes paradise is accessible. The bad news? Sometimes you have to spend a half an hour assembling a beach wheelchair. The good news? Often times there is a strong, kind employee at the beach where you are going who will help you assemble the beach wheelchair. The bad news? Even once you assemble the beach wheelchair, it doesn’t roll very well in the sand. The good news? Sometimes - if you’re lucky - there will be 20 retired Navy Seals having a reunion at the beach who will happily work together to lift the beach wheelchair with your husband in it down to the water. The bad news?
Nope-there is no more bad news. The rest of the day was gold. Paradise was accessible, helpful employees were there, retired Navy Seals were there, and we had a great day chillin' at the beach. I don't even know how long we stayed there - 3, 4 hours? Lunch was included and delicious. We played tag in the water. We read books. We sat in the water and watched translucent fish swim by. We got sunburnt. We drank Fanta and local beer. We napped under swaying palm trees. Simply paradise.
Time Jump for a side story: When we deported in Tampa after the trip, I caught a shuttle to the hotel where we parked our car. Next to me on the shuttle was one of the retired Navy Seals. On our short shuttle ride, he told me the back story to why they were all gathered together on the beach: twenty years earlier they had all been stationed on Maya Key to help salvage a ship just off shore. One of their buddies was killed in a freak accident. The rest of them pledged to get together annually on Maya Key to celebrate his memory. He told me that having that happen when he was young and strong and felt invincible changed his outlook on life, and was a reminder to him to live every day to the fullest and value those around him.
So that's what we're doing. Living every day to the fullest, and valuing those around us. Sojourn on!
P.P.S.
Unfortunately, about two weeks after we returned from our cruise, we learned that a large cruise ship smashed right into the pier at Roatan and destroyed it, then ran aground. Luckily no one was injured. See video here: https://youtu.be/lEUcdMMBzBs
The exact place where the ship makes impact with the pier is where we waited for our excursion, and the handicap accessible ramp that ends up crumpled under the MSC Armenia? Yeah, that's the very ramp the Rules used to load onto the Maya Key transport boat not two weeks prior. Crazy stuff.
This makes me very sad for all the Hondurans who live and work at that port and rely on cruise tourism for their livelihoods. Some ships may still go there, but the passengers will have to be "tendered" to shore, which means that they will have to anchor the ship away from land, transfer everyone to a smaller boat, then take them to the mainland. I imagine fewer passengers will choose to go to shore under these circumstances, and some ships may decide to divert to other ports altogether. From a personal perspective, a tender port means wheelchair passengers like Mike will not be able to go ashore, as most wheelchair users cannot disembark at tender ports. So send good thoughts to Honduras for a speedy repair of their pier and port, and then get your family down there for a vacation!
