The Lodge at Pico Bonito After our decidedly lazy jaunt from Guanaja, we took a 'puddle-jumper' back to La Ceiba on mainland Honduras and headed to The Lodge at Pico Bonito, the country's best-known hotel and one that has single-handedly put Honduras on the eco-tourist map. The 22-room property is on the edge of Pico Bonito National Park, 80,000 hectares within the Cordillera Nombre de Dios, a mountain range that includes the 2,435-metre emerald-green peak it is named after. The Lodge at Pico Bonito is famous for its well-organised excursions into the park and surrounding landscape, offering hiking, bird-watching, white-water rafting, mountain-biking and horse back riding on the nearby coast. On our first hike, German, our guide and former park ranger, takes us into the park via the coffee and banana plantations that surround it. Butterflies feed on pouty, red flowers know as girlfriends' lips, hummingbirds flit around the greenery, and German points out fresh jaguar footprints under a banana tree. We follow the Corinto River, which flows over the Unbelievable Falls, a two-tier waterfall that cascades into a cool pool below. Outcrops of mossy rock hang overhead and patches of blue sky are mirrored by glimpses of the distant sea. We see huge magnolia and ceiba trees - the latter a soft wood used to make canoes and drum sets - and the occasional hawk. But with the temperatures at 35 degrees C, the wildlife is scarce compared to sightings reported a week earlier: collared peccary (like tiny little boars), pumas, a spider, and white-faced monkeys. It's bird lovers who hit the jackpot here: at least 270 species have been seen on the lodge grounds alone, from keel-billed toucans and red lord parrots to the elusive lovely cotinga, with its brilliant blue and purple plumage. The rain has made the river particularly good for white-water rafting, so after lunch (and safety demonstrations) we head to our boats to attempt the class-III section of the Cangrejal River, towards the lower part of its course. Behind us, 30-metre waterfalls loom on the sheer rock face, framed by misty clouds that linger in the steep crevasses. Paddling gently, we head into the last two stretches of white water, and everyone is silent in order to concentrate on staying upright. We pull the rafts onto a sandbar and hike for 20 minutes up to another cascade from where it is possible to dive into the deep pool created by the falls, then climb back up until the pressure of the water pushes you off. It's late when we head back to the lodge for a New Year's feast with plenty of Chilean Pinot Noir. This may be a place for adventure but it's a relief to have the comforts of a five-star hotel at the end of the day.
-- Ondine Cohane, Conde Nast 2006 |