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Plays here stream straight from our feed. Prefer your own app? Hit “Listen on Spotify,” or find us wherever you get your podcasts.In this episode
The Golden Boys go full excursion-mode with Charlie Bowden of Charlie's Roatan Tours — sloths, monkeys, ziplines, rum cake, and yes, iguana stew. Charlie walks through booking independent, why you won't get left at the pier, and the island's post-COVID comeback. With Tom's rerouted cruise likely landing in Roatan, the timing couldn't be better — assuming Trevor can ever nail the pronunciation.
What they covered
Topics on deck
Roatan excursions
Sloth & monkey parks
Ziplines
Rum cake factory
Island food
Independent booking
Tourism recovery
Room upgrades Q&A
Don’t miss
Moments worth the wait
- The pronunciation bit — Trevor takes several runs at the island's name and lands nowhere.
“I love Rotan. I love Fruitan. I love a Rootan… Do you even know what island that is?”
- The zipline limit — Charlie names the weight cap and Tom is thrilled.
“Maximum weight limit is around 500 to 550.” — “Yes, I can do it!”
- The iguana pitch — Charlie sells the island's signature dish, cooked like stew chicken, and Tom starts taking notes.
“You got at least try the iguana, man.”
- The sunken freighter — the La Saba caught fire leaving port and sank right where it sits, now a snorkel and dive site — with Charlie's dates lovingly muddled between “the early 1900s” and 1992.
- Never-miss-the-ship guarantee — Charlie's only caveat.
“The only way you can miss the ship is if you fall in love with the island as much as we do and want to stay here.”
- Salva Vida lesson — the local beer whose name translates to “Life Saver.”
“I'm gonna throw you one. You have to catch it.”
In the guest chair
Special guest
🎤
Charlie Bowden — Charlie's Roatan Tours — the independent operator out of Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras. He brought the full island menu — sloths, ziplines, iguana farm, rum cake — plus the reassurance that booking independent doesn't mean getting left behind.
Golden nuggets
Running bits & lore born here
- The Charlie arc begins — this interview kicks off a season-long relationship; Tom will take the tour in person a few episodes later and even correct that shipwreck date.
- “Give me back my ship” — Tom demands Florida return “his” Carnival Magic — a running gripe.
- First excursion interview — the guys admit they're flying blind: “You're our first excursion, we didn't know what questions to ask.”
- “Post in the group” — the recurring plea to take comments to the Facebook group instead of the podcast feed — “Facebook's kind of scary.”