I hope everyone else had an amazing Easter/Passover. Since the entire country takes this week off of work and school, it is only customary for us to respect the customs of the locals. Therefore, Brent and I decided to spend out week at (surprise, surprise!) the beach! I guess you could say it’s kind of our thing…
We went back to the coastal town of Tela, only this time we stayed in the guest apartment of a very generous ex-pat from Louisiana. Doc, and his wife Kathy have a large beach-front house with the most enormous dog I have ever seen in person. Doc and Kathy were amazing hosts and taught us some delicious creole dishes that we will try at home and almost certainly screw up given the limited ingredients at our disposal.
We spent the week relaxing, cooking and sleeping in. You know, the things we never get the chance to do around here. ha.
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Our excursion of the week was a day trip to a National Park Punta Sal (initially I thought it was Punta Sol, sunny point. But Brent corrected me – its actually Punta Sal, Salty Point). Its a protected area and is a combination of stunning beach and amazing rain forest. And only an hour boat ride from the city of Tela!
After I uploaded this map, I realized that the actual protected area of the National Park extends much much farther, over 500 kilometers. Almost touching the city of Tela and as far west as Tigre.
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The first part of the tour was a hike through part of the rain forest that overlooks the beach. This protected area is home to more than 135 species of tropical birds, 68 kinds of reptiles, 35 different mammals and (my favorite) 54 different species of ants. I think the entire peninsula’s population of mosquitoes heard I was coming so they showed up for the occasion.
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We got to see howler monkeys that made deep yelling noises while we were walking in the forest below them. It was very surreal to look up in the trees and see these massive monkeys swinging around by their tails, watching us watch them. None dared come out of the branches but they sure made themselves visible and if I had brought my good camera with the long lens then I’m sure I would have some better evidence of our excursion…
The encounter that made me scream like a little girl was my first glimpse of these guys. —> The guide told us they are tiger spiders but my really smart friend Ruth told me they may actually be a golden orb/banana spider. (Our barefoot tour guide wasn’t particularly knowledgeable. Or helpful. All he really did was point out where the huge spiders were dangling from the trees so we didn’t walk headfirst into them).
We also got to do some surprise snorkeling once we got back in the boat. As we neared Playa Punto Escondido, the captain offered Brent and I a pair of fins and a snorkel mask and pretty much dumped us about half a kilometer from shore and let us just swim back. Despite the choppy waves we were able to see some cool coral and schools of tiny little colored fish. We both got pretty cut up on the rocks and coral but, vale la pena.
Once we arrived on shore, some local muchachas were busy prepping a traditional lunch of fried fish, presumably caught that day, with tajaditas and rice and beans. Seeing as I had had that very same meal about 3 times already that week, I was a little aburrido with it. But I did enjoy some fresh coconut juice that a local guy cut from the tree just for me. After you slurp out all the milk, you scoop the flesh of the coconut with a spoon fashioned from a wedge of the nut shell. LOVE IT.
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The boat ride from Punta Sal back to Tela might just be the most memorable part of the day. For some reason, I suggested that we sit in the very front row of seats in the small boat. I guess I figured we would have a good view or something. The captain tried to warn us against it, but we (me) insisted. Which is how Brent and I came to learn the verb brincar. “To get the shit knocked out of you by waves” was Brent’s definition and that’s exactly what happened for a solid 55 minutes. The waves were high and choppy and would toss the front of the boat in the air and then come crashing down on the water’s surface con mucha fuerza. It felt like being in lots of little car accidents over and over again. I think we both walked away from that boat ride with minor whiplash and I vowed to myself that the next time a guy in charge says anything about brincar I will definitely heed his advice.
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Back on land, we spend the rest of the week relaxing and generally avoiding the masses of Honduran tourists making messes, leaving trash on the beach and getting their cars stuck in the sands (idiots). One afternoon we got thoroughly kicked out of TelaMar, the fancy resort where I stayed with my parents when they came to visit me in February. Apparently you need to have those colored bracelets to swim and go on the big fancy water slide. We figured that if you’re white and you walk around like you own the place, then you can get away with anything. (that’s how it works in the rest of this country after all) Not so at TelaMar. It was only a little embarrassing being led out of the pool area by a large man in a polo while all the wealthy Honduran families looked on…. Lesson learned.
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Check out all the pictures from the week on my flickr page
What was I doing this time last year? Click to find out…
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–Sarita
