4 Days in Honduras
DAY 1: The Market + Coca-Cola Sign
September 5
The first day we got into Honduras, we took some time to check out San Pedro Sula. We walked around some neighborhoods and noticed the beautiful colors and engravings on the homes. As some of you may know, Honduras isn’t the safest country in the world… According to the U.S. Department of State, Honduras is a Level 3 safety threat on a scale of 4 and travelers should “Reconsider travel” due to high levels of crime. “Violent crime, such as homicide and armed robbery, is common. Violent gang activity, such as extortion, violent street crime, rape, and narcotics and human trafficking, is widespread. Local police and emergency services lack sufficient resources to respond effectively to serious crime.” Reading this on the plane, it’s an understatement to say I was a little nervous. So when we started walking around the neighborhoods, we were told to stay in the gated community, and not go anywhere else without one of our hosts. We kept our wallets and purses close, and eye and ears aware.
We were in very good hands with my cousin and my cousin-in-law’s family, who grew up in San Pedro Sula, but it was still a bit of an awakening to have to be so careful when travelling. After we walked around the neighborhood, we went to the local market, . Within the thin, dim, hallways hung blankets, trinkets, statues, and anything else you could think of. The middle of the market opened up to a bunch of vendors making hand-made tortillas. The smell was infectious.
After the market, we decided to take a hike up to infamous Coca-Cola sign in San Pedro Sula. What we thought would be a quick little walk turned into a multi-hour hike. It was gorgeous and we saw so many different types of plants, came across sheep, small stands, and saw a beautiful view of the city below while the sun set.
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Day 2: rAWACAlA + LYCHEE + CARIBBEAN SEA!
September 6
First morning waking up in Honduras and we took off early to go to this eco-park called Rawacala. It’s about an hour drive from San Pedro Sula - on the “highway” which is a 4 lane road with fruit stands scattered on either side. There aren’t many exits, and there’s not much you pass besides the occasional town or field. To get to Rawacala, you turn down a long and winding road through a neighborhood that looks like you are definitely going to get lost, but from there, you’re shot into lush green jungle on all sides. We parked in an open grassy “lot” and checked in at a small yellow building in the middle of the trees. It costs about $6, and you’re sent down a path with the most plants I’ve ever seen in my life. There were so many species of plants I had never seen before, and I was stopping left and right to look at all of the ecology. The short hike brings you to an incredible natural pool and waterfall that continues as a river through the jungle. We spent most of the morning hanging out in this natural pool, gazing at the sun coming through the leaves of the trees above, and searching for tiny frogs in the surrounding puddles. We were alone in the jungle and it was incredible. We saw a tiger heron hunting for fish in the river, and tons of birds flying overhead.
From Rawacala, we went to out cousin-in-law’s beach-house on the Caribbean Sea… (um.. WHAT - yes, I was freaking out). We walked out onto the beach front, and smelt the salty air as 5 pelicans flew past… It was unbelievable. The water was unbelievably warm, and I floated in there for quite some time, before retiring in a hammock on the yard. They had an outdoor shower, coconut trees, and hammocks EVERYWHERE. I could’ve stayed here forever.
From the beach house, we went out to eat. But, on the way, we passed a guy selling lychee on the side of the road. They were posted up next to a stop sign, so when cars would stop, he’d run up to the cars with bunches of rambutans in his hands. We bought a bunch, and a bag of coconut buns from his partner and kept driving to the restaurant. Such a hilarious interaction to remember our stay with.
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DAY 3: Panacam / Meambar Blue Mountain National Park
September 7
Today we went into the mountains of Meambar Blue Mountain National Park via Panacam Lodge. On our drive we passed banana plantations, fields of sugar cane, and miles of homes built from salvaged wood, concrete, and steel. We hiked the El Sinai Trail - which was 5.1 kms of climbing a mountain in the rain forest. It was so difficult, but unlike anything I had ever done before. With every step in this hike, we saw a lizard, a butterfly, 24 different plant specifies, and seas of green. There were lookouts where we were above the trees looking out at miles of untouched wilderness. Since Honduras has little to no eco-tourism, much of the jungle is untouched - meaning it is pretty dangerous, but also unbelievably lush and beautiful.
After a few hours, we reached the peak of the mountain. We rested for a while at the top. Drank lots of water, ate some granola, and tried not to acknowledge how much we’d been sweating. On our way down, we found another gorgeous waterfall where we dunked our hair and took a break. By the time we made it down the mountain, it was almost dark. We stopped at the lodge and got dinner - Alex got a full fish, I got pasta, and my mom and aunts got other meat and wine. The deck where we had our meal was BUZZING with hundreds of hummingbirds. They were gorgeous.
As we were settling in and the sun was setting, the skies opened up and it started pouring rain. Like, more rain that I thought was possible to come from the sky poured over Panacam. We drove home in the pouring rain, through stone streets, and roads with no lights. It was scary as all hell.
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Day 4: Tela + Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas
September 8
On our last full day in Honduras, we decided to go to Tela - a popular beach town on the Caribbean coast. We got there and were greeted by a guide and ushered into a small boat. In Tela, you can hang around on the beach, look at the local shops and food options, or as most people do, take out a boat. Since Tela is on the Caribbean Sea, many people take tour boats out to check out the surrounding area. When I say “tour boat” - I don’t mean an American tour boat… I mean a small 15-seater fishing boat with a mcgiever’ed engine that cruises over waves. It’s gnarly.
So, we took one of these small boats with about 15 other people to Jeannette Kawas National Park on the tip of a peninsula which is only accessible by boat due to the dense jungles. When we docked on the beach, we saw hundred of wild hermit crabs running through the sand. We picked them up and hand them run across our hands; then we hiked through the jungle. The trees were taller than some of the buildings I see in Chicago, I saw banana leaves longer than 40ft each, and bananas and coconuts everywhere I looked. While we were out there, there was no sign of civilization - no running water, electricity or buildings. It was beautiful that we were able to enjoy something that wasn’t totally taken over by human development!
As we approached another beach, we heard this wild howl coming through the trees… THEY WERE WILD HOWLER MONKEYS!! Anyone in Milwaukee knows about the Howler Monkey button in the Milwaukee Public Zoo & they sounded JUST LIKE THAT! (for everyone else, listen here). When we emerged, we saw a group of monkeys sitting in a tree, and as we boarded the boat we were surrounded by jellyfish.
We drove past two large rocks in the middle of the sea that were covered in birds, and stopped at another rock where we swam through a crevice, looking at sand dollars, snails, and other little urchins stuck to the rocks. We jumped off a cliff and retreated to a small island with a little shack where we laid on hammocks and ate fresh fish and chicken. Out guide came around with fish sugar cane that we gnawed on for dessert, and we spent some time snorkeling. I saw countless parrot fish, jellyfish, and even an eel! As I swam around, face in the sea, my arm started to sting, and when I turned around I realized I was being stung by a jellyfish!! Not the most fun experience, but it could’ve been a lot worse - the Moon Jelly sting isn’t so bad.
We hung around on the beach for a while longer before piling back in the boat to head to back to shore. It was an absolutely amazing day, spent in the sun, under the largest trees I’ve ever seen, surrounded by wildlife and salt in my hair.
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