Posted by Nancy D. Brown

Roatan, Honduras Garifuna Dancers My first visit to Roatan, Honduras and it was during November's rainy season. I was cruising on the Crown Princess as a guest of Princess Cruises. My dolphin encounter shore excursion was cancelled due to rough waters on the seas. As an alternative, I selected "The Best of Roatan" tour and discovered the Garifuna Dancers.

Go With the Flow When Cruising

As a person new to cruising, I have learned that you need to be flexible when it comes to ports of call and shore excursions. On this particular Western Caribbean sailing, Hurricane Ida had Commodore Giuseppe Romano changing our itinerary to avoid rough seas. With my Holland America experience, our ship wasn't able to tender at Sitka, Alaska due to hurricane force winds. Instead Captain Henk Keijer selected the protected and scenic Tracy Arm and it was fabulous! I have learned to adapt the "go with the flow" mentality when it comes to cruising.

Garifuna Culture

As I watched the traditional dances performed by descendents of African slaves, I learned that the men disguised themselves as women to avoid being killed during war time. The males dance the Jur Ca Nu and the women dance the Punta. Watch the feet of the women in the video and enjoy the traditional dances that have been handed down from generations since they settled in Roatan in 1797.

Local Food

Roatan, Honduras Yuka Bread BakerI was fortunate to taste the Yuka bread after watching a local Roatan women prepare the casava bread on a mud stove. From there we journeyed to a local village to watch as the planteen was mashed to make the native Machuca. A typical dish, Machuca is made of boiled planteen that is mashed, a local white fish and coconut milk. Tasty!

All photos and video courtesy of Nancy D. Brown