Honduras

 Coxen Hole, Honduras

 A lot of lush greenery with homes built into the hillsides.

 Roatan Bay - Gorgeous white sand beach.

 Velvet white sand and crystal clear turquoise water.

 Quite an active beach, lots of locals mingling with the tourists along the resort lined coast.

 Moi

Lush green hills

We ported in Coxen Hole, Honduras on our 2nd stop.  After we made it through the new, pristine cruise port full of duty free shops and local artisans we were taxied over the hills and into Roatan Bay.  We spent the day at the Tabayana beach resort.  It was packed full of people with locals wandering through selling anything from Cuban cigars to massages on the beach.  We relaxed in loungers for a few hours, dipped in the water, and chatted with some friends from the cruise.  Ate a BBQ lunch with a local rice & bean dish and the BEST tropical iced tea that have ever passed my lips.  I didn't care if that iced tea was made from the local water source (which appeared to be a stagnant puddle) because it was so delicious and you better believe I had 3 huge glasses. 

Then (you know me, a sucker for a massage) I was convinced by a local woman named Suzi to get a massage under a hut by the ocean.  $25 for 4o minutes sounded like a great deal, especially with this beautiful scenery to add to the ambiance.  Being that I was covered in sand didn't matter to Suzi, but ended up creating more of a 'scrub' than a massage.  She scraped and scratched at me for about 10 mins.  All of a sudden she pulls off my bathing suit top, luckily I was face down, and squirts a ton of massage oil down my bottoms.   All this occurring as she complained to her friend, also massaging another beach goer right next to me, about her boyfriend and kids, throwing in a lot of colorful cursing, and threatening to burn down his house.  In an effort to get out of the awkwardness that was ensuing I asked her to rub aloe vera on my sunburned shoulders, which she did, and then she sent  me packing.  It was a very weird 'massage' and definitely lasted WAY less than the quoted 40 mins, resulting in about 15 mins, which was for the best...  One word...awkward. 

Back on the van to head back to the cruise port we got to take in the rustic beauty of Honduras.   The beaches are pristine, the hillsides are lush and green, and wild flowers grow along the roadside.  This is definitely a place we intend to return to.  We loved every minute of our time here and saw so many beautiful resorts along the coastline.