Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Adventures with Jellyfish
RING... RING... RING... R.I.N.G!
Finally a day our bodies allowed us to sleep in and the wake up call gets us up (That figures, right?) It was a bright and early 6:30am in Mahogany Bay, Roatan and absolutely stunning!
Chris on our Balcony with the luscious Mahogany Bay in the background
We started off with Blue Iguana Breakfast Tacos again and then headed down to Deck Zero to get off on the gangway to the pier. We noticed that there was another Carnival ship, The Carnival Liberty, there with us and they were actually in slot 1 at the pier. That is why in most of our staged pictures you will see The Carnival Liberty in the background instead of The Carnival Conquest!
Finally a day our bodies allowed us to sleep in and the wake up call gets us up (That figures, right?) It was a bright and early 6:30am in Mahogany Bay, Roatan and absolutely stunning!
In the middle of the Tourist Village Area...
As soon as we got to the beach we went to get our rented snorkel gear and beach chairs as provided by Carnival through our Shore Excursion. These were great and sturdy chairs and allowed beautiful scenery of the beach. We got settled in and then went into the shallow swimming area to practice snorkeling. The water was a beautiful turquoise blue and we could see lots of small coral and even some small fish as well. In fact, I even saw some very small half dollar size jelly fish... or at least I thought they were jelly fish, Chris was not sure (Or he didn't let on because he knew I would freak out). After about 30 minutes of snorkeling in this shallow area Chris wanted to head out past the pier to see what was over there. We swam under the pier and were able to see some of the most beautiful coral I have EVER seen. The fish were as if they were straight out of the movie "Finding Nemo". I was blown away and speechless! God's creation is just perfect! Words cannot describe the beauty of this little island.
Chris getting all of his gear ready to snorkel
My gear and I are READY TO GO... Let's Do this!
Here is another shot of the beautiful island and pier!
My gear and I are READY TO GO... Let's Do this!
Here is another shot of the beautiful island and pier!
By this time we had been in the water for nearly 90 minutes and it was time to get out and go re-apply sunscreen to our red-headed freckled bodies. We reapplied and lounged in beach chairs for about 30 minutes before walking to the pier and jumping off for some more snorkeling. During this snorkel session we ventured way out into the crystal blue waters to see some proof of God's existence and Awesome Wonder! We did have to stop and adjust some of our snorkel equipment and we were able to find a shallow area to do so. We were out for about another 70-80 minutes before I got tired enough to go back to shore. I started making my way to the ladder on the pier and saw a MUCH BIGGER jellyfish. This time it was about the size of a softball or bigger. I began to swim as hard as I could to get away and just get out of the water. As I approached the pier landing climbing out of the ladder I see 2 security guards telling everyone to stay away because their beach and water patrol had spotted a school of very large jellyfish. I have to admit, I was scared and relieved that I was on land and not water at the same time. I looked back out in the water and the lifeguard/ beach patrol water boat was telling Chris and others to swim back quickly to avoid getting stung. Luckily Chris nor I got stung but it was a battle to avoid them. 
Here is an up close shot of some of the reef we saw in Roatan. Gorgeous!
Another part of the reef off of Mahogany Bay, Roatan
Here are some of the clown fish we saw... They are a little hard to see in this picture!
This is one of the best shots we captured in Roatan... God's creation is Absolutely STUNNING! Thank You, Lord for this beautiful world we live in!
After this scare we decided to head back to the boat to get a bite to each. This also gave us a chance to ride the gondola again as well. We boarded the ship again and headed towards the Blue Iguana Cantina for a "Chipotle" style burrito. We then changed from our wet bathing suits to dry clothes and headed back out to explore the island again. It was here that we were able to walk along a Nature Trail and spot some incredible iguanas and lizards as well as just relax on the wooden swings and gliders overlooking the 2 ships. When we arrived at the beach again Chris got back in the water for a final round of snorkeling... Me? Oh no, I got my money's worth at that beach and the thought of a school of jellyfish frightened me. I explored the small shops and restaurants at the beach and relaxed as well. It was during this time that we got to witness The Carnival Liberty set sail from Roatan in the very water and beach we were on. It was fascinating!
Once Chris completed his final swim and snorkel we turned in all of our equipment and headed back to get our usual souvenirs of a snow globe, coffee mug and ornament then headed towards the ship. We waved goodbye to Roatan and got back on the boat towards our next stop... BELIZE!
After taking showers and cleaning up a bit we were ready for another great meal in the Main Dining Room. We were able to sit right by a window and watch the sun set on the west side of the ship. This was so incredible and romantic. After dinner we walked along the outside main deck and watched the sun literally set before it was time for another episode of HASBRO THE GAMESHOW.
This time we sat on the bottom level of the show lounge in hopes of getting chosen... Its a good thing because I was actually chosen as a contestant and got to go onto stage to play a "Larger than life" version of Operation called OPERATION SAM DUNK. This was perfect selection for me because it was a combination of the basic game of Operation and arcade Skeet Ball which I am an expert at. I was on a team of 3 other Carnival guests and we had 60 seconds to get as many points as possible. Unfortunately, my team lost with only 800 points but I scored 450 of those so I feel pretty good about myself. Although I was not able to go to the Finale round of the episode, I was given a miniature digital version of Operation! It was a pretty awesome experience.
My winnings from HASBRO THE GAMESHOW
Of course we ended this evening with another session in the casino and Pizza from "The Pizza Pirate". I have to admit that the pizza was awful and by far the worst food we had while on board.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined both Chris and I getting to go up on stage and play games and become "The Stars of the Cruise" as Chris calls it, not to mention get to see God's beautiful coral reef creations up close and personal! This is all thanks to God and His continued blessings! Thank You, Lord!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
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