Monday morning we again woke up early and met up with some other volunteers and their friends visiting from the states and made our way to a neighboring town to catch a boat to Cayos Cuchinos, islands off the north coast of Honduras.
From left: Mary & Kendras friends from the states, Katie, Mary, Kendra
The ride was about an hour off shore and was incredibly beautiful and the weather was perfect.
We arrived at the first island and checked in at the welcome center and watched an informational movie.
Apparently people believe that turtle eggs are an aphrodisiac and steal them to eat, so this information sign recommended they take Viagra instead. Translation: My eggs are not the answer
Then we went to a tiny island with nothing on it but two palm trees and snorkeled. I actually enjoyed the snorkeling this time since my snorkel worked and the water was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry about hitting the coral. We saw a huge 6 legged jelly fish (is that like finding a 4 leaf clover?) and beautiful conch shells.
Then we went to Cachuate, a third island and had lunch and hung out. This is the most inhabited island, with about 150 Garifuna people living there. Katie and I spent the night and it was such a unique experience.
There is one “hotel” with 8 rooms and there are also families that will host you. The accommodations were actually much nicer and cheaper than I had expected. For only $5 a person we got a room with a wood floor (as opposed to sand), a bed with clean sheet and water to take a shower.
We spent the afternoon walking around the island (which only took us about 10 minutes) and swimming in the crystal clear water.
Me & Katie
Then we lay in hammocks and played with the kids and talked to the people that live there.
Right next to the island we stayed on is another small private island, apparently owned by a Cuban.
After dinner we found some other Peace Corps volunteers that were on the island as well and roasted marshmallows, listened to drumming, danced punta and lay on the sand. It was actually cool at night and there were no sand flies at all. I was amazed by this fact because on most of the beaches on the north coast you will get eaten alive after just a few minutes, there is no way you could lay for hours on the beach. We went to bed around 10 pm and slept incredibly well to the sound of the wind coming from the east side of the island. In the morning we took a bucket bath in a bamboo shower.
We had breakfast and then just watched the fisherman and kids working as we waited for our boat to come pick us up.
It is by far one of the most amazing experiences I have had in Honduras and I can’t wait to go back as soon as I have the chance.
From left: Mary & Kendras friends from the states, Katie, Mary, KendraThe ride was about an hour off shore and was incredibly beautiful and the weather was perfect.
We arrived at the first island and checked in at the welcome center and watched an informational movie.
Apparently people believe that turtle eggs are an aphrodisiac and steal them to eat, so this information sign recommended they take Viagra instead. Translation: My eggs are not the answer
Then we went to a tiny island with nothing on it but two palm trees and snorkeled. I actually enjoyed the snorkeling this time since my snorkel worked and the water was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry about hitting the coral. We saw a huge 6 legged jelly fish (is that like finding a 4 leaf clover?) and beautiful conch shells.
Then we went to Cachuate, a third island and had lunch and hung out. This is the most inhabited island, with about 150 Garifuna people living there. Katie and I spent the night and it was such a unique experience.There is one “hotel” with 8 rooms and there are also families that will host you. The accommodations were actually much nicer and cheaper than I had expected. For only $5 a person we got a room with a wood floor (as opposed to sand), a bed with clean sheet and water to take a shower. We spent the afternoon walking around the island (which only took us about 10 minutes) and swimming in the crystal clear water.Me & KatieThen we lay in hammocks and played with the kids and talked to the people that live there.
Right next to the island we stayed on is another small private island, apparently owned by a Cuban.
After dinner we found some other Peace Corps volunteers that were on the island as well and roasted marshmallows, listened to drumming, danced punta and lay on the sand. It was actually cool at night and there were no sand flies at all. I was amazed by this fact because on most of the beaches on the north coast you will get eaten alive after just a few minutes, there is no way you could lay for hours on the beach. We went to bed around 10 pm and slept incredibly well to the sound of the wind coming from the east side of the island. In the morning we took a bucket bath in a bamboo shower.
We had breakfast and then just watched the fisherman and kids working as we waited for our boat to come pick us up.It is by far one of the most amazing experiences I have had in Honduras and I can’t wait to go back as soon as I have the chance.
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