Jan,

The Raads are Heather and Joe - the Cruise Director and Social Hostess on the Navigator. They are a lovely couple. They were on the Bermuda Itinerary with us in June. Their approach is more subdued than some of the others.

Good Morning from Roatan Island. As I write this note the ship is docking. It is sunny and 79 degrees - a warm start to the day, but at only 16 degrees north of the equator I guess it's to be expected.

The island looks lush with gently sloping hillsides and neat, colorful homes scattered along the shoreline. This island is part of Honduras.

Today I'll be taking the tour to Copan. We will be flying there so I've packed up my essentials and I'm now waiting for the ship to be cleared. It should be a long but interesting day.

Here's a link if you're interested in know more about the area:

Copan Ruins

Last night when I told Tom I was going to see more ruins he suggested I stay on the ship with him (my own ruin, as he described himself!) As usual, he is in charge of the ship - he does a great job - it's always waiting when we return.

Well, off to Copan. More later.

Margo - your posts are great! Thanks again for sharing with us. And especially letting us know how warm and sunny the weather is.(As I sit here shivering next to my little space heater in work!)

Bobbi...I wish we could send you some warm weather...they have plenty to spare in Honduras!

What a great tour we had today. Our FlightTour to Copan was exceptional. Early this morning they wisked us off to the aeropuerto (sp?), less than 5km from the dock. I can't wait to upload my photos, this is such a beautiful part of world.

Anyway, there is an International Airport here on Roatan Island and after we cleared security (my sneakers kept making the detector beep) we waited about 20 minutes for our charter flight to Copan. There were 17 (passengers and crew) from the Navigator on our tour. With only one empty seat on the plane we took off for the mainland. Just one hour later we were landing outside of Copan...imagine our surprise as we glided to a bumpy landing on a gravel airstip in a cow pasture. The owner rode up on his horse to greet us. But in true Radisson style, two vans were parked along side and as the plane taxied into the grassy area, they pulled up to take us to the ruins.

We had a marvelous tour. Our guide Sol was eloquent and entertaining as he told us about the Mayans of Copan. We enjoy the beautiful vistas. It was perfect weather for our visit, sunny, dry, with a light breeze to make the temperature tolerable. After over three hours walking and viewing these amazing structures we went to a nearby hotel for a marvelous lunch. Then we were off again to a local museum to see a few more objects recovered from the site.

The most exciting moment of our trip was takeoff from the meadow...as we cleared the end of the runway the entire group broke into applause!

It was such a fun day. As we glided over the Navigator on our approached to the runway at the end of our journey the glow of the setting sun was the exclimation point on our tour.

I wish all of you were here to enjoy the day. It was exceptional. And tomorrow many of us are going to try it again as we do a flight tour to Tikal. I promise to write again then.

PS. Kathy, Joe Raab was with us today and I was able to extend your greeting to him. He sends it back and wishes you well. He will be onboard through the Holiday.

Tonight we went to the Amex Plat. cocktail reception and talked with Captain Romeo and Hotel Director Jan Novak. They will both be onboard for the Holidays. They are so charming and interesting to talk too. I know all future Navigator Cruisers will enjoy meeting them.

More tomorrow,

Great post Margo you write so well and take us along on your adventure the way you describe things. Sounds like a truly memorable day.

Thank you, Margo for sending my message. Thank you for sharing your cruise thoughts with us. Sounds wonderful!

Love the description of the flight!

Masaki

Margo,

Thanks for your postings from your cruise. It sounds like you are having a wonderful trip. Can't wait to see your photos and hear about your excursion to Tikal. Keep posting!

Beth

Margo,
Thanks for taking the time to post. Looking forward to your pictures. And, your writing makes me feel like I was there! Keep having fun.

Hi Margo,

I am loving your posts!

So glad that this cruise is turning out to be everything you hoped for, and more! What great and memorable days you are having!

Margo, fellow Navigator cruiser, thanks for taking the time to share/wonderful news with us..r/wes

Good Morning from the Gulf of Mexico!

Today is one of our precious sea days. After all of the activities of the past week, it is great to have a day to rest and relax....or to go to some of the multitude of activities listed in the program!

Yesterday the Navigator made her maiden call to Belize. This country has been independent for just 26 years and as our guide was proud to point out, a very young but developing nation. Their population is sparse by Central American standards with just 250,000 Belizi citizen.

Unfortunately we had only a brief glimpse as we traveled from the pier to the airport. Ten intrepid Navigators were headed to Guatemala and the Tikal Ruins.

Seven of us had already formed a "Ruin Relationship" while traveling to Chichen Itza and Copan so we were a lively group prepared for another physically challenging day.

And as always when you cross boarders the immigration process can slow your progress to a crawl, but soon enough we boarded a 12 passenger Cessna with our guide Javier for the 45 minute flight to Flores. Seeing the lush countryside from the air gives you a real appreciation of how mother nature takes command when we don't intrude. Tikal of course is a Mayan city that is still in the midst of that battle between nature and the archaeologist.

Once we landed we passed through passport control and boarded our mini bus for Tikal - a journey of about 50 km, almost an hour to the entry of the park. Even after you enter there is a considerable distance to the ruins.

Half of our day was already gone before we could set foot in Tikal, but the guides planned to give us as much of the ruins as we could manage in 3 and 1/2 hours. The amazing part of this site is the tranquil jungle atmosphere. As you walk down the pathways the monkeys, birds and other wild life are very evident. And you pass what you take to be large "hills" which are actually temples that have yet to be restored.

They have often only uncovered the tops or sides of these temples. There are so many in Tikal, they will have a long future of discovery here.

The day was sunny and warm and before long we were soaked to the skin and wondering how the natives were able to build these amazing structures in the heat and humidity.

I have many amazing photo to upload when we return. We climbed to the top of two of the ruins to get a view of the treetop canopy. As you looked over the forest you could see the tops of other temples peeking out in their astrological aliments with the sun. The Mayans were amazing astrologers who's city plans aligned with the star. All of us discovered that there is so much more to learn about this culture, we only had a brief encounter with it's mysteries.

As I said before the day was long but full. We ate a box lunch at the site in order stay in the park for as long as possible, but finally it was time to go.

We re-boarded our Cessna at 4:30 and were landing in Belize City at 5:15. Again a quick "re-entry" into Belize and we were on our way to the pier. The last tender was waiting for us...and we were on-board just minutes before the ship was scheduled to sail.

It was an amazing day, especially when shared with some special fellow travelers. Two of our traveling companions are in their 80's! They have such a curiosity and enthusiasm for discovery, it was an inspiration just to be touring with them. I will long remember my fellow "ruin" friends.

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Margo

Margo,

This sounds like a wonderful trip and itinerary. I'm so glad you have met such terrific traveling companions. What is the exact itinerary so we can look into this trip?

Margo,

I'm so glad you are enjoying your cruise so much. I know we will all enjoy seeing your photos, when you return and post them. Thanks!

Betty

Thanks, again, Margo for your wonderful posts - Joanna

What a great report! So good to hear that your excursions and travelmates are enjoyable! Sounds like a fascinating itinerary.

Continue to enjoy! Looking forward to more posts and seeing your photos!

Wow Margo sounds like you are having a really wonderful cruise - we too love the Navigator and had such a wonderful time in Sept on the Canada/New England cruise. Your reports sound fantastic - you sure have more engergy than I do. Continue to have a great time.

Margo - Your day in Tikal sounds amazing. What a wonderful experience. Can't wait to see your pictures. Thanks so much for using some of your precious travel time to post so we can share with you!! Keep enjoying every second.

Cyndi

Margo - what a wonderful story-teller you are! I could almost experience the beautiful - but hot and humid - jungle you described. Can't wait to see your photos!

Andi:

We are on a Western Caribbean Cruise - RSSC only offer a few of this particular itinerary. We were able to cruise out of Tampa, just an hour from our home, so it was particularly appealing.

Unfortunately, Radisson will not be embarking passengers from Tampa in 2005 so I'm not sure when they will visit these ports again. Belize was a last minute addition when Grand Cayman was unavailble. We were very luck to be able to put together this portfolio of ruins in one trip!