Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, Honduras

One of the excursions offered at Pico Bonito was a half-day trip to a nature sanctuary. Although there was plenty of wildlife living on the grounds of our lodge, the prospect of seeing even more animals was appealing, particularly to the boys. Since the excursion included a guide who has spent his entire life in this area, it significantly increased our chances of seeing cool creatures. Guides are amazing at spotting things, something we learned long ago while on a safari in South Africa.

It’s an adventure just to reach the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge. While the refuge is fairly close to La Ceiba, three modes of transportation are required to actually reach it, including a car, open air train, and boat. The diesel powered train, or burra, was a unique experience and provided a glimpse into rural life in Honduras.

Upon arrival, there is a basic welcome center with some information on the wildlife found in the refuge, including the elusive manatee. The park is named for the two rivers within the refuge – the Cuero and Salado Rivers. The only other people that we saw during our visit to the refuge were two local fishermen so it was very peaceful until Finnegan started complaining endlessly. He is down with spiders, lizards and snakes, but the plethora of birds couldn’t hold his attention. Our plan was to spend two hours on the motorized skiff exploring three mangrove canals and Salado River, but we only made it about 90 minutes before I was ready to jump into the croc infested river to escape the whining.

Before we gave up on the river tour, we managed to see howler monkeys, two crocodiles, and long nosed bats that are perfectly camouflaged to blend in with the trees. The boys were not able to see them until the boat pulled so close that the bats finally flew away.

We also saw many different kinds of birds. The red jacana was the most prolific. They use their long ‘fingers’ to walk across the vegetation growing on top of the water.

The most impressive was a very large wood stork that stood about three feet tall. I didn’t bring my telephoto lens on this trip so our pictures are not very good. Here is one from Wikipedia instead.

We also saw many different species of heron and a multitude of birds that I’ve already forgotten. We clearly are not birders. If you are, you will love this place. Even you are not a birder, it’s a gorgeous place to visit and there is plenty of other wildlife. For those without young kids, you also have the option to explore the refuge via kayak or canoe instead.

After we made it back to the dock, we had a snack of fruit and cookies packed by Pico Bonito and went to the beach. The walk to the beach was only a quarter mile down a dirt path. The boys each made a friend along the way. Finnegan named ‘his’ dog Coconut.

The beach was rocky, but the water was calm and, more importantly, the whining stopped completely.  There was a small amount of shade under the makeshift hut where our guide relaxed while the boys played.

If you go on this tour, I would strongly recommend bringing bug spray for the walk to the beach. There was enough of a sea breeze to keep the mosquitoes away on the beach, but the walk to and from was brutal, especially for Declan’s chubby arms and legs. Declan seems to be a delicacy to mosquitoes because the poor kid has been mauled on this trip (which has made me have a passing concern about dengue fever).  At last count he had over 30 mosquito bites.

Both boys fell asleep on the bumpy train ride back to town, where we met this guy wearing a Syracuse shirt. It’s nice to meet ‘Cuse fans on the road.

Spiders, Scorpians, and Snakes, Oh My!

“I loved the night hike,” were the first words out of Finnegan’s mouth early one morning at Pico Bonito.  Before he said good morning and before I even knew that he was awake he was still talking about the previous night.  We spent our first day at Pico Bonito doing a lot of hiking (well a lot of hiking for a four year old and two year old) and exploring the extensive grounds and national park.

The Lodge is located at the edge of Pico Bonito National Park within a former plantation.  There are a lot of fruit trees surrounding the lodge and we were especially thankful for the orange trees, which the boys snacked on between meals.  They also ate their weight in rambutans, which look like sea urchins, after the driver introduced them to this sweet and addictive fruit.  I couldn’t peel them so Russ was stuck opening every single one and I think he will be happy if he doesn’t see another rambutan for a very long time.   

On our first morning at Pico Bonito, we met our guide Joel for a two-hour introductory hike.  We hiked to two separate swimming holes that were calm enough for the boys to swim in, an observation tower that I was too afraid to climb, and the beginning of the trails into Pico Bonito National Park.  The trails were hilly and steep at times, but well maintained and safe enough for Finnegan to hike on his own.  Honduras was more mountainous than I had expected so the hiking was tough, especially carrying Declan in a backpack.  We hiked for two hours and saw many birds, including two different kinds of toucans, a baby boa constrictor and a walking stick insect.  

Finnegan was able to cover more ground than I expected, but tuckered out on the hike down from the second observation tower so Russ had to carry him most of the way down.  We finished sweaty with a pleasant burn in our legs and were ready to cool off in the pool.

The pool was too cold for me to actually swim, but the boys didn’t mind at all.  They enjoyed chasing lizards around the deck and playing on the steps of the pool.

Despite all of the hiking and swimming, Finnegan wasn’t down with taking a nap so we decided to visit the butterfly farm and snake house that are short hike away from the main lodge.  Before leaving, we saw a very large tiger snake that crossed over the main walkway to the lodge.  It was over six feet long!  Here is his head peaking out of the bush where he went to hide.

After dinner that night, we went on our third hike of the day with Joel.  It was a night hike that involved flashlights and lots of insects that had Finnegan giddy with excitement from start to finish.  It began to rain soon after we started the hike, but we soldiered on and were so happy that we did.  We saw some amazing wildlife and outlasted the rain, which eventually tapered off.  We saw a few red eyed tree frogs that seemed totally content in the rain, a large toad, a rabbit, sleeping lizards, an armadillo and an array of spiders. 

The highlight for me was the net catching spider that spins a blue web or net, which it holds with several of its legs and waits for its prey to walk by.  The spider then closes the net very quickly to try and catch unsuspecting insects.  We saw him close the net a few times, but he came up empty handed.  This guy was my favorite jungle creature of the night. 

Hands down the creepiest thing that we saw on our night hike was a cross between a scorpion and a spider.  It was like taking two of the most frightening creatures in the rainforest and mixing them together to make something even more horrifying.  There is definitely a horror film waiting to be made about this mutant.

So what did we learn from our day in the rainforest?  If you want to have a great time and really impress a four-year old, all it takes is a walk through the jungle at night with a flashlight (and a professional guide with eagle eyes to point out all the wildlife surrounding you doesn’t hurt either).  Thank you Joel for the highlight of Finnegan’s stay at Pico Bonito!

Honduras, the next Costa Rica?

A few months ago Jennifer suggested traveling to Honduras over the week of Thanksgiving.  I was dubious.  My mother-in-law is an excellent cook and her Thanksgiving feasts are always good.  So traveling to Honduras would mean forgoing Thanksgiving.  But traveling outside the U.S. the week of Thanksgiving has its advantages, as most Americans prefer to spend time with family and do not  travel abroad.  In 2006 we flew to Australia on Black Friday and it was great.  San Francisco Airport was like a ghost town during our layover and on the plane to Sydney we had all the room we needed to stretch out and sleep as there were plenty of rows of empty seats.

Honduras did sound cool so I made Jennifer a deal: I would agree to go to Honduras (and give up Thanksgiving) if she would agree to wear a bikini I that bought for her.  She agreed and she booked very reasonable flights to Honduras.  (She since reneged and did not even pack the bikini).

Although booked two months before, the trip kind of snuck up on us as we have been very busy lately.  As a consequence, neither of us did much research prior to November (which is very rare for Jennifer who usually exhaustively researches most aspects of our trips long before we even book them).  But this time we did not book our accommodations until a few days before we left the US (the upside to this is that you can sometimes get a good deal by waiting).

I will admit I knew very little about Honduras before we began our trip.  In fact I don’t think I know anyone who has ever been to Honduras.  The day before our flight I happened to catch an NPR piece about the presidential election that was occurring the day after our arrival.  Featured prominently in the piece was the many problems in contemporary Honduras, including having the highest murder rate in the world, and significant gang activity and drug trafficking.  HIGHEST MURDER RATE IN THE WORLD?!  WTF?  The report went on to say that there were concerns that there could be rioting in the wake of the elections.  Awesome!

The next day we headed to the airport armed with this most disconcerting information.  While at the terminal waiting for our flight in Newark, I noticed that we were the only tourists headed to San Pedro Sula.  While the plane was full, everyone else on the flight seemed to either be from Honduras, returning home after visiting the U.S., or had family in Honduras whom they were visiting.  Upon seeing this I began to realize that Honduras is not yet a hot tourist destination.  But sometimes that is ok.  In 2005 we visited Belize, Honduras’ neighbor to the north.  Back then very few people were going to Belize, and things were cheap (a meal for two was $5 when we were there).  We had a great time in Belize and took pride in our adventurous spirit.  Now Belize is well-known and has received a lot of coverage for being an eco-tourist destination.  It was the same with Costa Rica thirty years ago, which we visited last year.

My hope when setting out to Honduras was to find the next Costa Rica or Belize.  Honduras has much to offer: great beaches, large swaths of protected rainforests, and it is fairly close to the U.S with direct flights out of Newark and other east coast cities.

Our first stop was at a rainforest lodge located in the northern part of Honduras near La Ceiba.  Upon landing in San Pedro Sula, I noticed the mountain ranges and lack of development.  We were met by our driver and soon departed for our three-hour van ride to the Pico Bonito lodge.  Compared to some places we have been the roads to the lodge were very good.  Three hours is a long trip, made longer with two kids who, by the middle of the ride, were very bored.  But we made it to Pico Bonito by late afternoon and our trip was finally beginning.  As soon as we pulled into the lodge, we forgot all about the NPR story, the murder rate and the elections.  We were ready to begin our adventure in the rainforest.

Stockholm, Sweden: Venice of the North

I learned that Stockholm was often described as the ‘Venice of the North’ on my flight over to this beautiful city thanks to the friendly Swedish-American woman seated next to me on the plane.  It was a phrase that I heard several times during my very brief stay in the city.  I had to travel to Sweden for work and even though I was only there for a one-day meeting, I was able to spend most of Sunday afternoon exploring the city thanks to the inconvenient flight options.  Business travel rarely affords this kind of opportunity for sightseeing so I tried to take full advantage of the opportunity despite considerable jet lag.

I stayed at the Sheraton Hotel Stockholm, which is perfectly located for exploring the city.  It is a short walk from Stockholm Central train station and Old City is easily reachable on foot by crossing one of the many city bridges.  The hotel has a modern Scandinavia feel and seems to attract a mix of business and leisure travelers.  My only small complaint is the hotel is somewhat loud during the day because of all of the foot traffic and rolling suitcases on the hardwood floors.  The location, friendly staff, and large rooms (by European standards) more than made up for the day-time noise and I would happily stay at the Sheraton Stockholm hotel again on my next visit to the city. 

  

I was in Stockholm in late October so it wasn’t the ideal time of the year to visit, but the weather was still crisp and pleasant – not as cold as the forecast would have led me to believe.  More than one Swede said their winters are not nearly as bad as the biting winters of Chicago.  I don’t know if that’s true and I won’t be rushing to book a winter time vacation to find out.  A visit in July or August would be ideal, but late October turned out to be a decent time to visit as well.

Stockholm is undeniably beautiful and the Old City, also known as Gamla Stan, is completely charming even with all of the touristy kitsch shops.  I spent a few hours walking around the Old City, including veering off to some quieter spots and generally getting lost from time to time.  The buildings, streets, people, and even the garbage cans are photogenic.

After having lunch at one of the many restaurants in Gamla Stan, I checked out the Royal Palace, which is so massive that it’s difficult to photograph.  Here is an aerial image from Wikipedia to give a sense of scale and layout. 

It is guarded by soldiers as well as jungle creatures, but is still generally accessible by royal palace standards.

My next stop after Gamla Stan was the island of Djurgården, another one of the 14 islands in central Stockholm.  Djurgården is home to many museums and a beautiful footpath along the water that is perfect for walking or running.  It is the best place that I found to run during my short visit to the city and you will have plenty of company on the trails, which is always reassuring in a foreign city. 

 

You could stay in Stockholm for two weeks and still not have enough time to visit all of the major museums in this city, many of which are located on Djurgården.  Being there on a Sunday was unfortunate since many of the museums were either closed or had shortened hours.  I had every intention of visiting the Vasa Museum, but ran out of time and energy before jet lag really kicked in.  It will be at the top of my list for my next trip to Sweden, which will hopefully include the entire family.  I would also love to take the boys to Junibacken, which is located near the Vasa Museum, to play and learn about Swedish storybook characters like Pippi Longstocking.

I finished my day of sightseeing with dinner at the hotel.  I was too tired to venture out again and didn’t feel like bundling up to brave the cold wind.  My trip was far too short, but I gained an appreciation of the city and a desire to return again soon.

Our First Blog Award – The Liebster!

Somehow another month has slipped away since our last blog post, but we have a lot to catch up on and I was happy to have the kick in the pants that I needed to get back on the blogging wagon.  After a whirlwind week spent in Europe for work and several shorter trips recently, I was excited to find that we were nominated by Life Unmapped for a  Liebster Award!  The Liebster is an award given to bloggers by bloggers. It is handed out to up-and-coming bloggers with 200 followers or fewer in order to bring attention to well deserving blogs that fly under the radar.  Thank you Life Unmapped for recognizing us!

Here are the rules for Liebster Nominations.

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog.
2. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
3. Nominate other bloggers for the award who have less than 200 followers.
4. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer
5. Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Here are the questions given to us and our responses.

1). Where is the last place you traveled?

Jen: Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands last week for work

Russ: Sanibel Island, Florida

2). What is your earliest travel memory?

Jen: going to NYC with my family for the Statue of Liberty’s 100^th year anniversary.  I won the trip by entering my mom’s name into a raffle at a restaurant during a rare dinner out.  Thank you Mr. Steak!

Russ: visiting West Virginia as a kid and going on a paddle boat ride with my dad and brother.  I was sitting on my dad’s lap and was bounced into the water as my dad was pedaling.  Thankfully he had quick reflexes and pulled me out quickly.

3). Do you prefer to travel with others or on your own?

Jen: definitely with others.  I spent a day in Stockholm by myself recently and I was happy to have the chance to see such a beautiful city, but I spent a lot of time wishing my entire family was there with me.

Russ: I’ve never actually traveled by myself so I’m also in the group camp.

4). What is your favorite food or drink you’ve found while traveling?

Jen: mango sticky rice in Thailand.

Russ: sushi at the fish market in Sydney

5). If you could only complete one item on your bucket list, what would it be?

Jen: a trip to the Galapagos with National Geographic.

Russ: seeing the Northern lights.

6). Do you have a favorite travel destination?

Jen: any place that I’ve never visited before!  Favorites trips so far include South Africa, Thailand, and Belize.

Russ:  Ireland.  I have family there so I feel a strong connection with the country.

7). What is your preferred method of travel (airplane, train, bus, car…)?

Jen: depends on the distance.  With kids, I don’t appreciate car travel as much I used to, but they are starting to reach an age (2 & 4) in which they can be entertained with movies on a long car ride.

Russ: train

8). What is the one thing you never leave home without?

Jen: this is a tough one.  I’m not really too attached to anything.  With two young kids in tow, I guess the one thing we try not to leave home without is snacks.  They can go from full to starving in a matter of seconds sometimes!

Russ: a good book to read

 9). What is your favorite travel film or book?

Jen: Travels with Charley (hence the name of our blog)

Russ: On the Road

 10). What are your three favorite blogs?

Jen: Beers & Beans (for their travel photography), Camels & Chocolate (travel writing), and I Suwanee (decorating & fashion blog)

Russ: I don’t read any blogs on a regular basis, but my favorite website is Let’s Run (http://www.letsrun.com).

And here are my nominees for the Liebster Award.  I apologize if any of you have more than 200 followers, but not everyone lists the number of followers on their home page!  We still think you all deserve the award and would love to hear your responses.

The Travel Clan

Greenley Coffee Break

Ty and Sloane

And here are their questions:

1. Where was your first overseas vacation?
2. What is the strangest thing you have eaten while traveling?
3. Do you collect souvenirs? If so, what is it that you always pick up?
4. What is your favorite place that you have visited?
5. If you won trip (all-expenses paid), where would you go?
6. What is your next planned trip?
7. If you could sit next to one person on a plane, who would it be (dead or alive)?
8. What is your dream job?
9. What is your favorite book?
10. What are your three favorite blogs?