Utila
Overnight the ship had repositioned southeast and anchored just off the mouth of the Cuero y Salado River and Wildlife Refuge in Honduras. In our kayaks and Zodiac rides, we explored this reserve that was established in 1986 in part to protect the endangered manatee population that is known to inhabit parts of this 13, 255-hectare reserve. Several hawks were spotted, soaring above the mangrove forest, on their spring migration toward North America. Our birders aboard were please to see on the same river the largest kingfisher, the Ringed Kingfisher, and the smallest of all of them the, Pigmy Kingfisher.
Once everyone was aboard we lifted anchor and head towards Utila, one of the largest Bay Islands, a known Mecca for budget scuba enthusiasts. British pirates originally settled Utila, and English is still the most widely spoken language here, despites being part of Honduras. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, some of our guest went snorkeling and diving while the rest went to check out the small town of Utila.
“Like the many-armed Hindu god Siva, the Red Mangrove tree squats in the mud and creates land out of the void. Its many prop roots reach out into the water, and tiny motes of sediments fall at its feet. The Red Mangrove is virtually unique in its ability to live with its roots bathed in the saltiest of seawater. This ability and the fact that it nurtures its young (seedlings) longer than do most other plants, together make the Red Mangrove a pioneer plant in the ecological sequence called succession.” Eugene Kaplan, Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores
Mangroves are a group of unrelated woody plants that grow on protected tropical coasts. They occur in habitats that in temperate regions would be occupied by salt marshes. “Mangrove” is not a precise taxonomic classification; generally, any tree that grows directly from a subtidal or intertidal substrate may be termed a mangrove. As the sun set dropping behind the island of Utila the remoteness of this beautiful spot invited us all to think that, after all, heaven can be found here on earth.
Overnight the ship had repositioned southeast and anchored just off the mouth of the Cuero y Salado River and Wildlife Refuge in Honduras. In our kayaks and Zodiac rides, we explored this reserve that was established in 1986 in part to protect the endangered manatee population that is known to inhabit parts of this 13, 255-hectare reserve. Several hawks were spotted, soaring above the mangrove forest, on their spring migration toward North America. Our birders aboard were please to see on the same river the largest kingfisher, the Ringed Kingfisher, and the smallest of all of them the, Pigmy Kingfisher.
Once everyone was aboard we lifted anchor and head towards Utila, one of the largest Bay Islands, a known Mecca for budget scuba enthusiasts. British pirates originally settled Utila, and English is still the most widely spoken language here, despites being part of Honduras. We spent the rest of the afternoon here, some of our guest went snorkeling and diving while the rest went to check out the small town of Utila.
“Like the many-armed Hindu god Siva, the Red Mangrove tree squats in the mud and creates land out of the void. Its many prop roots reach out into the water, and tiny motes of sediments fall at its feet. The Red Mangrove is virtually unique in its ability to live with its roots bathed in the saltiest of seawater. This ability and the fact that it nurtures its young (seedlings) longer than do most other plants, together make the Red Mangrove a pioneer plant in the ecological sequence called succession.” Eugene Kaplan, Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores
Mangroves are a group of unrelated woody plants that grow on protected tropical coasts. They occur in habitats that in temperate regions would be occupied by salt marshes. “Mangrove” is not a precise taxonomic classification; generally, any tree that grows directly from a subtidal or intertidal substrate may be termed a mangrove. As the sun set dropping behind the island of Utila the remoteness of this beautiful spot invited us all to think that, after all, heaven can be found here on earth.
