La Ceiba, on the north coast of Honduras, is a spot with enormous potential for adventure. But the best part is that you can dial that adventure to however much you think your family can handle, which makes it a great place to travel with children! Last week I took you on a kayaking trip to the beautiful Cacao Lagoon. This week we are traveling to the Pico Bonito Mountain, on the other side of La Ceiba, for some kid-friendly fun in the jungle!
We saw in our visitor's book of La Ceiba that there was a butterfly garden somewhere, but we were a bit confused as to where that somewhere was. The book has listed the location as "The Lodge at Pico Bonito," but was it really located at a hotel, or just near the hotel? Honduran directions can be extremely vague, but after an online search, we set out to see what we could discover.
Following the direction of a small sign we turned off the main drag and towards The Lodge at Pico Bonito located at the end of a long, winding dirt road. The men at the entrance gate explained that, yes, the butterfly garden was located inside, and for a small fee, we were permitted to spend the day on the grounds.
Perfect! We paid our lempiras, and headed in to find a parking space.
After slathering on sunscreen and bug spray, a guide led the way to the Butterfly House.
The guide, thankfully, spoke English, so it was much easier for all of us to understand. For instance, did you know that this area is technically a rainforest? It's not exactly the vine-covered, tall-canopied, parrot/macaw/cockatoo-filled thing that you see in the movies, but it is, by definition, an actual rainforest. If you look closely, you might even see Diego swing by! Go, Diego, go!!
Halfway through our walk, the guide stopped and pointed to the cacao trees a few yards away. The guide strolled off the path, walked straight up to a cacao tree and picked off three fruits. He banged one onto the side of a tree until it split apart, revealing the milky-white insides. The dark seeds in the center are the main ingredient of chocolate, but the white encasing is edible as well.
Finally, we reached the clearing that housed the butterflies, as well as some other interesting sites. First we stopped inside the Larvae House to see where the caterpillars are fed and looked-after until they burst out of their cocoons.
This is a Blue Morpho butterfly. The outer wings contain a beautiful mix of browns and auburns, but turns into a real stunner when he spreads his wings and displays the gorgeous azure on the inside.
Next we stepped into the screened-in Butterfly House, home to Blue Morphos and many other beauties that are not commonly seen in the U.S. In the above collage, that bottom pic on the left has a little butterfly in it - can you find it?
Nearby, housed in a seperate building, was the Serpentarium. Here they had a small variety of locally found snakes and lizards. The girls were excited to hold one, then repelled at the revelation that they were actually touching a snake!
Also located in this area - an Iguana Farm. No good shots of the iguana's residing here, though. They were too busy hiding from the strange alien creatures, screeching and howling and running in circles around their house. (I tried to hide from the aliens, too, but they kept finding me!)
After an exciting morning of discoveries we were tired and starving. We trudged back to our parked car, right in front of the Lodge at Pico Bonito, and were thrilled to find a lunch menu in their charming restaurant. It was pricier than what we are used to in Tegucigalpa, but the food was excellant and we were too hungry to care!
While we waited for our order, we passed the time watching a tribe of hummingbirds zip from feeder to feeder and other little birds and creatures wandering about in this peaceful paradise.
Well, as peaceful as paradise can get when you are being visited by strange, screeching aliens.
The Lodge at Pico Bonito also boasts trails and other birding opportunities, but, even after our tasty lunch, we didn't have enough steam for any more walking. Near the front desk, though, was a sign that let us know what all we might have seen if had been up for a hike further up the mountain.
Thank you for coming along on our trip to the Pico Bonito Mountain in La Ceiba. I hope you will join us on our next journey, and in the meantime, be sure to discover the adventure around you!
