Pico Bonito National Park

On Thursday evening, Christina and I grabbed our bags and hopped on the bus for Pico Bonito National Park. Luckily, we made the last bus at 6:30pm. It is about a 2 hour bus ride to La Ceiba and then we took a taxi to the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito (about 20 minutes down a bumpy, gravel road). (I visited this same place in January with my sister and 2 friends). We decided to stay in a private room (as opposed to the dorm room that you share with up to 6 other people and has a shared bathroom outside). Our room had private bathroom and a full bed with another full bed in a loft above. It was late so we ate dinner and went to sleep.

On Friday, we woke up and went to breakfast. The lodge is situated right in the jungle perched on the edge of the Rio Congrejal. The dining area/bar has the best view of the river and jungle and has a pool and adventure equipment stored below. As in most of Honduras, it doesn't really get too cold here so everything is open air. The window in our rooms only have screens. The view is so amazing it almost seems like a painting.The lodge offers a few different adventure day trips: white water river rafting, kayaking, jungle hiking to waterfalls, treetop canopy tour, and mountain biking. I had hurt my foot fairly bad during the UN day and was worried about hiking. Some people mentioned the rafting was fun so we decided to try it.

Neither of us had done it before so we were a little nervous. The guides, Darwin and Elias, gave us life jackets and helmets and then led us up the river. They taught us how to row forward and backward, how to get on the floor in rough rapids, how to ride on the side of the raft, and what the commands are for each action. They also had us practice floating on our backs with the current and grabbing the rope in case we fall in and missed the handles on the raft.Then we hopped in the raft and headed down the river. Overall, we rafted through Class I - Class IV rapids. Not too shabby. The water was cold and it was raining out but with the adrenaline pumping through us we barely noticed. It was a rush of excitement. The end of the river was calm and we got to just lazily float by and take in all the gorgeous scenery and wildlife. Afterward, we dried off and changed into warm clothes. We then walked up the dirt road to a suspension bridge that crossed the river. Those afraid of heights would not want to attempt crossing this. The view from the middle was great though. We headed back to the lodge to read, eat dinner, and talk with the other guests. We met people from places like: Texas, Russia, Germany, Boston, and Washinton D.C. One girl from Germany had been working and living at the lodge for 7 months and she had to go back to Germany on Sunday for an unplanned reason. She didn't want to leave and it was a sad weekend. We spent a lot of time with her and the guides and owner (all Honduran). We quickly were included into their family. They even have two macaws that will occasionally talk to you. On Saturday at breakfast we discussed which adventure to try (I had already been on the hike back in January and my foot was still recovering so that was out). Somehow, unexpectedly, we both decided to do the treetop canopy adventure. Neither of us had done this before and we were once again a little frightened. We had the same main guide, Darwin, as the day before. We were strapped into our harnesses and donned our helmets yet again. We were led through the jungle to the first platform. On the way we learned about some plants you can use for soap, for stomach aches, and for good dreams.

There are 9 ziplines altogether, the first and last go over the river and the rest are through the jungle. Basically, your harness has two cords with a clip attached to the end of each one and those are attached to a trolley which attaches to the top of the zipline cable. With thick gloves on, one hand holds onto your harness cords and the other holds onto the cable so you can keep yourself straight and you can slow down when needed. As you fly across the zipline cable, you lay back, put your feet up, and enjoy the quick ride. It was very relaxing and fun and not the least bit frightening. My only complaint is it didn't last long enough.
Check out the videos of us:
Here is a link to me flying over the river:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiGgoqxNZvA

Here is a link to Christina zipping over the jungle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkSGjZyyvGY

Afterward, we walked up the dirt road to a small nearby village, El Naranjo. There was a sign for a tourist center with local handicrafts for sell but we couldn't find the building. We asked a boy and he led us to a woman's house. She brought out a plastic bag and proceeded to take out some jewelery and carvings one-by-one for us to admire while chickens and ducks pecked around our feet. The "store" consisted of about 15 items total. It was lovely. Oh, and the woman had gold stars on her teeth.

On the way back to the lodge, we stopped at a newly opened bed and breakfast. It is owned by a Canadian woman and it was immaculate and insanely expensive ($90 US a night!). Our lodge on the other hand is free each night you go on an adventure and $10 US if you don't. Plus our lodge is right on the river and is Honduran owned and operated. It only has cold water but who is going to pay $80 extra for hot water?

Since Christina and I already went on 2 adventures and were running out of money, we decided we were going to head back to Tela that night. We informed the lodge we would need a ride to La Ceiba before 5:00pm to get the last bus back to Tela. They said it would be fine. Then at about 4:00pm the owner decided they all like us so much they want us to stay another night. We explained that we had no money to pay for a room or eat and he said it would all be on him. How could we say no to that? So we stayed another night hanging out with the owner, Oscar, the guides and the German girl, Roma, who sadly was getting ready to leave. We slept in the bunkhouse that night with 5 other people. Everyone was very quiet and respected the other peoples right to sleep.
On Sunday we woke and ate breakfast, pancakes and cereal, and basically relaxed with the others until our ride came at about 1:30pm. Our ride, by the way, was a huge army vehicle. The back had bus seats.
I was sad to say goodbye. Although I had only been there for 4 days, I spent a lot of time getting to know all the people and relaxing in the natural beauty of the area. It was all very welcoming. I will come back again.