Honduras
We have started what promises to be a wonderful trip through Central America in the country of Honduras, where we visited two unforgettable sites. We awoke bright and early to Expedition Leader Geds voice at 6 am. The most unbelievable sunrise was underway whilst the thin sliver of the moon was still high up in the sky. Vermillion red skies outlined the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nombre de Dios, where the towering Pico Bonito, at close to 7500ft, seemed to rise abruptly up just a few miles away from the lush green coastline. This was this morning’s backdrop to the beautiful Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, formed by the estuaries of the Cuero, Salado and San Juan rivers that flow from the above-mentioned mountain range. The refuge comprises over 13,000 hectares of wetlands and coastline filled with plant and animal life endangered elsewhere in Honduras. Both our Zodiacs and kayaks gave us ideal means to explore the area, where we saw more parrots than we could have ever imagined, toucans, aracaris, kingfishers, herons, howler monkeys and more.
Once back on board for a well-deserved breakfast, we repositioned to the beautiful Bay Islands, our destination South West Caye, just off Utila. The reefs in the Bay Islands are spectacular, relatively healthy fringing reefs that are not a part of the famous Belize barrier reef but a separate system, isolated from the former by a 3000-metre deep oceanic trench. As we anchored and proceeded to have lunch, dorsal fins started appearing all around us. Dozens of dolphins were roaming the normally quiet Caribbean waters, and as we took Zodiacs towards the schools, many came to ride the pressure waves we formed – a truly impressive view, as they breached all around us. I had taken the underwater camera, and managed to get some underwater footage of these beautiful creatures, which we later used to identify the species as short-snouted spinner dolphin, a species found exclusively in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This special treat was followed by swimming, diving, snorkeling or just relaxing off the white organic beach of our own private caye.
I sometimes feel I am getting repetitive as every day seems unforgettable, but I wake up every morning and thank my lucky stars for being able to explore this part of the world and share these experiences with many wonderful people.
We have started what promises to be a wonderful trip through Central America in the country of Honduras, where we visited two unforgettable sites. We awoke bright and early to Expedition Leader Geds voice at 6 am. The most unbelievable sunrise was underway whilst the thin sliver of the moon was still high up in the sky. Vermillion red skies outlined the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nombre de Dios, where the towering Pico Bonito, at close to 7500ft, seemed to rise abruptly up just a few miles away from the lush green coastline. This was this morning’s backdrop to the beautiful Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, formed by the estuaries of the Cuero, Salado and San Juan rivers that flow from the above-mentioned mountain range. The refuge comprises over 13,000 hectares of wetlands and coastline filled with plant and animal life endangered elsewhere in Honduras. Both our Zodiacs and kayaks gave us ideal means to explore the area, where we saw more parrots than we could have ever imagined, toucans, aracaris, kingfishers, herons, howler monkeys and more.
Once back on board for a well-deserved breakfast, we repositioned to the beautiful Bay Islands, our destination South West Caye, just off Utila. The reefs in the Bay Islands are spectacular, relatively healthy fringing reefs that are not a part of the famous Belize barrier reef but a separate system, isolated from the former by a 3000-metre deep oceanic trench. As we anchored and proceeded to have lunch, dorsal fins started appearing all around us. Dozens of dolphins were roaming the normally quiet Caribbean waters, and as we took Zodiacs towards the schools, many came to ride the pressure waves we formed – a truly impressive view, as they breached all around us. I had taken the underwater camera, and managed to get some underwater footage of these beautiful creatures, which we later used to identify the species as short-snouted spinner dolphin, a species found exclusively in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This special treat was followed by swimming, diving, snorkeling or just relaxing off the white organic beach of our own private caye.
I sometimes feel I am getting repetitive as every day seems unforgettable, but I wake up every morning and thank my lucky stars for being able to explore this part of the world and share these experiences with many wonderful people.
