Cayos Cochinos

Cayos Cochinos
Christina and I got up while it was still dark Sunday morning to meet our shuttle at 5:30am. We took a taxi into town and the guys from Garifuna Tours were ready to go. We were the only passengers in the mini-van so we stretched out and slept the 1 1/2 hours to La Ceiba.

Upon arrival, we stopped by a hotel to pick up another 21 passengers. One girl was by herself. She was from Washington, D.C. and came to Ceiba for a two-week Spanish course. The other 20 varied in age from late teens to late 50's and were all missionaries from Atlanta, GA. There were staying in Ceiba for 1 week to help out at a church's health clinic that mainly focused on dental care.

After the 15 minute drive from their hotel to beach where the boats were, the 23 of us plus the 4 guides loaded into two open air motor boats. The ride was fairly smooth and only took about 50 minutes. As we approached, the string of tiny cays began coming into view. It was crazy seeing patches of land so small. You never think these places really exist until you see one in person. Cayos Cochinos consist of two small islands and 13 tiny cays. The majority of the cays are only about 24 ft across and 18 ft wide (you can walk the entire length of them in less than a minute), had a group of palm trees growing in the middle with white sand along the edges, and were surrounded but the clearest aquamarine water. The two islands were a little larger, maybe 80 ft long and 36 ft wide. Surrounding and interweaved throughout the cays is a large coral reef and abundant marine life.

Since the area is designated as a Marine National Monument, there is a foundation to take care of the reserve. It is located on the largest island and we stopped there first to sign in to the visitors log book. Then we jetted over to the largest cay, Chachuate, which is inhabited by about a dozen Garifuna families and placed our lunch orders. Finally we cruised over to a small uninhabited cay and disembarked. It was time to snorkel in the crystal clear warm water to explore the coral reef and the abundant marine life. I took some photos on my underwater camera but obviously they won't be developed for a few weeks until I get back to the states. The coral was especially vibrant with green, red, yellow, and blue coral, purple sea fans, large varied brain coral, and some plants that looked like various forms of cacti.

The fish ranged from pinky-sized to larger than my head and encompassed the entire rainbow of colors. My fill of snorkeling being satisfied, I relaxed on the white sand beach just to enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. Across the spectacular turquoise waters were the cloud covered mountains of Pico Bonito in the distance and more tiny cays.After about 1 1/2 hours on that cay, we boated back to Chachuate cay to enjoy lunch. We had rice and beans, tajadas (fried, unsweetened plantains, similar to potato chips), those non-vegetarians also ate some fried fish, and of course we had refreshments. With full bellies, Christina and I traversed the small cay. It took two minutes to walk up and down the length of it. At one end, the cay leads to another cay, Chachuate 2. When the water level is lower, there is a sand bar connecting them. At the other end was the ubiquitous laundry hung up and laid out to dry. The people on the island are able to use their surroundings to their advantage, building houses of thatched palm roofs and wood... and fishing in their colorful cayucos everyday for food. Some local kids were swimming on the lids of ice chests and insisted I take their picture. I spotted a pelican patiently waiting to strike it's prey.It was about 1:00pm when we were all reluctantly herded back to the boats to return to the mainland. It wasn't the blue sky picturesque day I would have hoped but then again clear skies means baking temperatures so maybe a few clouds were preferable... at least it didn't rain. Once in Ceiba, the guides secured the boats, we dropped off the other tourists, and then we took our shuttle back to Tela, sleeping the entire way.

Another Midnight Carnival Celebration
On Monday night there was another carnival celebration in the middle of the night. This one featured a truckload of drummers, loud speakers announcing, "Buenos dias Barrio Venecia," and more honking, cheering, and firecrackers. The motorcade proceeded up and down the street 4 times at 3:23am!