Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve and Southwest Cay, Honduras
The pre-dawn morning was still and clear, with the Southern Cross and a crisp crescent moon overhead as the ship approached our morning destination at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve. After an early breakfast, we entered the Salado River to either kayak or travel upstream by Zodiac. A number of local families live within or adjacent to the reserve and use dugout canoes as an important means of transport. The rivers are their highways, and in this photo you can see a young fishermen approaching a thatched hut along the bank.
Although birds were abundant, the most exciting wildlife discoveries were sightings of monkeys. One group watched mantled howlers staring down from the branches. Others saw white-faced capuchins scrambling through the trees alongside a narrow side channel of the main river. These are the organ-grinder monkeys of times past and eat insects as well as fruit, unlike the howlers that rely primarily on leaves for sustenance.
Our afternoon was the perfect tropical experience, relaxing and swimming at Southwest Cay. A sandy white beach stretches away from this palm-studded island into the inviting and protected water that lured almost everyone in for a dip. Snorkelers skirted the coral heads where multitudes of flashy fish concentrated. Scuba divers departed in a different direction to descend to the deep. Five o’clock arrived much too soon, but it was time to leave this idyllic spot and move on towards Belize and tomorrow’s adventures.
The pre-dawn morning was still and clear, with the Southern Cross and a crisp crescent moon overhead as the ship approached our morning destination at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve. After an early breakfast, we entered the Salado River to either kayak or travel upstream by Zodiac. A number of local families live within or adjacent to the reserve and use dugout canoes as an important means of transport. The rivers are their highways, and in this photo you can see a young fishermen approaching a thatched hut along the bank.
Although birds were abundant, the most exciting wildlife discoveries were sightings of monkeys. One group watched mantled howlers staring down from the branches. Others saw white-faced capuchins scrambling through the trees alongside a narrow side channel of the main river. These are the organ-grinder monkeys of times past and eat insects as well as fruit, unlike the howlers that rely primarily on leaves for sustenance.
Our afternoon was the perfect tropical experience, relaxing and swimming at Southwest Cay. A sandy white beach stretches away from this palm-studded island into the inviting and protected water that lured almost everyone in for a dip. Snorkelers skirted the coral heads where multitudes of flashy fish concentrated. Scuba divers departed in a different direction to descend to the deep. Five o’clock arrived much too soon, but it was time to leave this idyllic spot and move on towards Belize and tomorrow’s adventures.
