Those who know me, know that I like to do a lot of road trips. This time, I decided to do something different.

Way back in 2004, I did a cruise to Alaska and loved it. Last fall, I was watching various “last minute cruises” websites, and found a 14-day Western Caribbean cruise that kept dropping in price. Around Christmas I booked a cabin and spent two weeks in January visiting the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Belize, Honduras and Mexico. As you might expect from this itinerary, the ship didn't stay long in each port; usually about 8-10 hours.

In Roatan Honduras, I visited the Gumbalimba Preserve and Animal Sanctuary, where I saw iguanas, parrots, Capuchin monkeys, agoutis, toucans and these beautiful Scarlet Macaws.