Honduras
We began our day with above and below water exploration of Utila. What a fascinating place! First settled by British pirates, this little sliver of land still speaks English despite being part of Spanish speaking Honduras. Many of us wandered around town and then snorkeled or dived on a fantastic reef, with large schools of fish everywhere we looked.
All too soon we were headed for new adventures back on the mainland of Honduras. Our destination for the afternoon was Jeanette Kawas National Park, named after a famous Honduran activist who was slain as a consequence of her efforts to protect this unique area. Jeanette Kawas National Park is located adjacent to, and includes, a dramatic peninsula known as Punta Sal. We anchored our vessel on the leeward side of the peninsula and in the late afternoon hours explored by Zodiac and kayak the Rio Tinto. Along the banks of this picturesque river were a number of trees with impressive buttress roots. These buttresses help anchor the trees in the shallow tropical soils, and it is also believed help the trees capture leaf litter - a valuable source of nutrients. We returned to the ship in the twilight hours, after another full day exploring the many mysteries and intricacies of the Mayan world.
We began our day with above and below water exploration of Utila. What a fascinating place! First settled by British pirates, this little sliver of land still speaks English despite being part of Spanish speaking Honduras. Many of us wandered around town and then snorkeled or dived on a fantastic reef, with large schools of fish everywhere we looked.
All too soon we were headed for new adventures back on the mainland of Honduras. Our destination for the afternoon was Jeanette Kawas National Park, named after a famous Honduran activist who was slain as a consequence of her efforts to protect this unique area. Jeanette Kawas National Park is located adjacent to, and includes, a dramatic peninsula known as Punta Sal. We anchored our vessel on the leeward side of the peninsula and in the late afternoon hours explored by Zodiac and kayak the Rio Tinto. Along the banks of this picturesque river were a number of trees with impressive buttress roots. These buttresses help anchor the trees in the shallow tropical soils, and it is also believed help the trees capture leaf litter - a valuable source of nutrients. We returned to the ship in the twilight hours, after another full day exploring the many mysteries and intricacies of the Mayan world.
