NOTE: Since there were so many pictures of the group with the parrots and monkeys, and on the zip line, to post in the blog, please visit the Roatan Day 5 Photo Album for all of the group’s photos.
We awoke to another sunny day in Roatan. Today is going to be another “cruise ship” day, so once again, the beach will be more crowded with cruise passengers.
Gumbalimba Park
After eating breakfast, we all decided to go to the Gumbalimba Park, which consists of some tropical gardens, a beachfront, and a zip line. It was only a few kilometers from our house, so it was a short drive to get there. We decided to do both the gardens tour and the zip lining, which was a combination ticket for a negotiated price of $50.00 per person.
They had lots of iguanas, some tropical birds, and an area where you could have both parrots and monkeys sit on your shoulder for photos.
Monkey on Stephanie’s Shoulder
The gardens area was nice, there were lots of tropical trees, some exhibits about the island of Roatan and its history, and even an insect display where most all of the indigenous insects were mounted in display cases by species.
Parrots In The Park
There were some really pretty butterflies, but then there were also some really large and ugly beetles.
The garden tour was guided, and after about an hour, we were finished with that portion of the overall tour, and were ready for the zip line portion of the adventure. They loaded us into a bus for a short ride to the top of the mountain, and we were required to sign a liability form with lots of disclaimers and hold harmless provisions.
The Gang On The Zip Line
It was one of those cases where if you want to do the zip line, you just have to go ahead and sign your life away, the company was not going to be responsible for anything that may happen to you.
After signing the forms, we were outfitted with our harnesses, gloves (the brakes) and helmets. We had two guides, and they went over the safety rules and instructions for the zip line, mainly on how to sit in the harnesses, and use the brakes (the leather gloves rubbing on one of the cables).
Stephanie On The Zip Line
Stephanie and I were the only ones in the group that had not ever done zip lining before, so although the instructions were perfectly clear, taking them from reading and verbal instruction to actual practice was still a little daunting. The guides were great, they assisted Stephanie on the first of the 12 segments of the zip line, which was not that long or fast, a perfect initiation run. After that, none of us had any issues with the remaining 11 runs.
Ryan As Superman
Ryan did a run down with one of the guides that simulated flying like “superman”, none of us felt like being that adventurous. However, there was a really short zip line run that both Ryan and I tried going upside down, which also happened to be backwards. The run was all of about 40 feet, and really slow, so it was a good run to be a little crazy, or possibly stupid.
One of the guides volunteered several times to take the camera and take our pictures as we came down, which allowed me to be in some of the photos. Although at first I was a little concerned, it actually made it easier for me not to have the camera draped around my neck as I went down.
Safe And Sound At The Bottom
We ended up at the beach on the last run, and we were all glad we had made it safely, and had really enjoyed the experience. The guides helped us out of our gear, and we gladly tipped them for have done such a great job, especially with Stephanie and myself, being our first time on a zip line.
We headed back to the house for some lunch and then some time on the beach. The cruise ship crowds dissipated at about 3:00 PM, and the beach was much less crowded. We did some late afternoon snorkeling, about 45 minutes before the sunset. The fish seemed to be more prevalent, probably because there were not a lot of other people out on the reef to disturb them.
Another Great Sunset From Our Porch
We were cooking some shrimp and fish on the grill tonight, but unfortunately, for some reason, I was starting to not feel very well, and after showering, experienced some light chills. I headed to the bed to warm up, I had experiences a couple of bouts with some intestinal bug earlier in the morning, and generally did not feel that great. Stephanie was not far behind, she actually had some of the dinner but was not feeling well soon after that. Somehow we both have picked up a island bug, and will have that to deal with until it subsides. Hopefully it will not last more than a day or two so we can enjoy some of our remaining time here. None of the others in the group are having any issues, so it is something the two of us ate, touched, or did differently from them.