Punta Sal National Park
Birds, birds and more birds! As soon as we made our way into the mouth of the Rio Tinto, Honduras, we found snowy egrets, spotless spotted sandpipers in their winter plumage, and a bare-throated tiger heron with its neck stretched out straight and tall. The temperature was perfect for a Zodiac cruise with a light but cool breeze following its way down the river. The sun had not shown its face over the cohune-ridge to our east and many of the wading birds were actively hunting for food along the waters edge. Pairs of red-lored and white-fronted parrots flew noisily above us on the way to their feeding grounds. The forest was waking up as we encountered hawks, swifts, cormorants and a pair of wood storks.
This is just a sampling of what the Jeannette Kawas National Park has to offer to visitors. Honduras has 107 protected areas which consist of national parks, wildlife refuges, and biological reserves with approximately 24% of the country being declared as protected. The rugged and beautiful Punta Sal stands at 176 meters on the north shore of this park and the Sea Lion sat under its watchful eye.
After a scrumptious lunch buffet on the bridge deck and a fruit basket of daiquiris, we finished up our feast with a decadent ice cream sundae bar! Some of us worked off every bit of it a little later on. Our ship relocated a little to the east into a small intimate bay, and once more we headed off in many various directions. Some of the afternoon’s activities consisted of climbing the 600-plus steps to the top of the ridge through the rainforest, going to investigate the bat cave, kayaking from the beach or just drifting along in an inner tube while slurping down a cool beverage of your choice. As we recounted the day’s events in the cozy lounge with our new found friends, it was hard to believe that our perfect day and our voyage had come to an end.
Birds, birds and more birds! As soon as we made our way into the mouth of the Rio Tinto, Honduras, we found snowy egrets, spotless spotted sandpipers in their winter plumage, and a bare-throated tiger heron with its neck stretched out straight and tall. The temperature was perfect for a Zodiac cruise with a light but cool breeze following its way down the river. The sun had not shown its face over the cohune-ridge to our east and many of the wading birds were actively hunting for food along the waters edge. Pairs of red-lored and white-fronted parrots flew noisily above us on the way to their feeding grounds. The forest was waking up as we encountered hawks, swifts, cormorants and a pair of wood storks.
This is just a sampling of what the Jeannette Kawas National Park has to offer to visitors. Honduras has 107 protected areas which consist of national parks, wildlife refuges, and biological reserves with approximately 24% of the country being declared as protected. The rugged and beautiful Punta Sal stands at 176 meters on the north shore of this park and the Sea Lion sat under its watchful eye.
After a scrumptious lunch buffet on the bridge deck and a fruit basket of daiquiris, we finished up our feast with a decadent ice cream sundae bar! Some of us worked off every bit of it a little later on. Our ship relocated a little to the east into a small intimate bay, and once more we headed off in many various directions. Some of the afternoon’s activities consisted of climbing the 600-plus steps to the top of the ridge through the rainforest, going to investigate the bat cave, kayaking from the beach or just drifting along in an inner tube while slurping down a cool beverage of your choice. As we recounted the day’s events in the cozy lounge with our new found friends, it was hard to believe that our perfect day and our voyage had come to an end.
