Curve contributor Jenny Block shares her adventures from Olivia’s 20th Anniversary Western Caribbean cruise.
Well, we are back in Mexico. I’m looking forward to the day. But I’m sad knowing that it’s our last port of call. The week has already gone crazy fast.
Isn’t that always the way! I’m back in my favorite spot again. I got up super early to blog before we head out on our snorkeling adventure here in Costa Maya, hoping for much better weather and sea life than in Belize.
Roatan turned out to be such a fun day. We didn’t know what to expect since we really didn’t have anything planned.
But while I was blogging at Crazy Ice, our ship tour guide, Ron, stopped by and asked if we needed any help for the day. When we told him we had no plans, he said he knew exactly what we should do.
“Head out of the port terminal. Walk up the hill and out of the gates. When you get to the bottom, there will be lots of drivers waiting. You can hire one for the whole day and he’ll take you wherever you please.”
“But where should we go?” I asked.
“Do you like monkeys?”
“Uh, yeah. We’re crazy about them,” I said.
“Then just tell them you want to go to the monkey jungle canopy.”
“And it’s safe for us to go off with someone like that?” I asked.
“It’s a small island, and they want tourists here. So, if any islander were to mess that up for the rest, everyone would be upset. Everyone knows everyone else here. So if anyone did give you any trouble, they’d be found in an instant.
And so off we went. It still seemed a little crazy at first to jump into a car with a stranger. (Hey, I’m a city girl. What can I say?) But our driver James was so nice and took us straight to see the monkeys and once we arrived I felt foolish for even being nervous for a second.
The canopy was a blast. We scratched the anteater’s back and we watched the mama spider monkey carrying her baby. We admired the beautiful toucan and then we went into the cage with the macaws who landed on our heads and shoulders and tried to steal our sunglasses.
We finally made our way into the cage with the two cutest Capuchin monkeys. I had to battle my conscious a bit. I hated to see those animals all caged up. But the owner seemed to adore them and vice versa and they seemed more like pets than zoo animals.
When we got into the cage, the two monkeys immediately jumped on Jemma and tried to get into her purse. They were so cute and I could not stop marveling at their incredible faces and fingers and ears. I wanted to lock up anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution in that cage for a bit. They’d have to change their tune.
They were determined to get into my girl’s bag, which they eventually did. They nibbled at her water bottle and swiped my Blackberry, which I quickly retrieved.
We must have been there an hour just taking photos and petting them and letting them jump all over us. They did nip at us. But just like puppies, not breaking the skin or anything.
“It’s where all the old hippies hang out,” Ron had told us. “If you hadn’t seen your hippie dad in 20 years, he’s probably hanging out at the West End of the island.
The area did look groovy. But the weather wasn’t nice enough to bother with the beach, and we weren’t hungry enough to stop and get something to eat.
We did stop at a local shop for a few goodies and then it was back to the port terminal, where we took silly photos and bought the prettiest little handmade, mahogany box. Then it was back on the boat. Karen Williams was the entertainment and she was hilarious.
The entertainment on the boat has really been stellar. One of Olivia’s strong points from the get go, I understand because of their roots in the music/entertainment biz.
After Karen they had a Newlyweds/Oldyweds game hosted by Vickie Shaw that had everyone rolling on the floor. Why is it so funny to see other couples embarrass themselves!
LOL We had another great meal and then checked out the disco for a bit before hitting the sack. It’s amazing how well you sleep with a great day behind you, a great day ahead of you, and the waves beneath you.
Hope you have a sunny day, whatever the weather,
Jenny Block