Dolphin Encounter in Roatan, Honduras

After three days of rain in Roatan and missed flights, the Curley’s were ready to get out of our hotel room and have an adventure.  The break in the weather allowed for us to partake in a dolphin encounter at Anthony’s Keys Resort, which was a 15 minute drive from our hotel.  We picked up our tickets and took a short boat ride over to the enclosed dolphin pens with a dozen or so other passengers.  The large pens are used to train and study the dolphins, and while giving the dolphins plenty of room to swim, it keeps other marine life out and to our surprise were low enough for the dolphins to jump over and ‘escape’ if they desired.

As soon as our boat pulled up to the dock by the dolphin pens, the boys squealed with excitement as they saw the dolphins swimming close by.  We were quickly ushered over to our guide, who gave the group a quick overview on what to expect during the encounter and instructed us on which areas the dolphins liked to be touched and where they do not (the guide also instructed us on where the male and female dolphin parts were and suggested avoiding touching those areas, as the dolphins might enjoy that touching a little too much).  Then, without much more fan fare, we were striding into the water and dolphins were everywhere!  The group was split up into two groups: English speaking and Spanish speaking.  One lucky couple from El Salvador were the only Spanish speakers, so they got a private dolphin encounter.  Jen thought we should have used what little Spanish we know to try and barge in on that group, but I thought better of it.

Our group was the four of us, plus three other couples for a total of 10 people.  It was a small enough group where everyone one had ample time to touch the dolphins and pose for pictures.  With no more than a whistle or a hand gesture (and a bucket full of fish), the dolphin-guides could make the dolphins swim right up to them and perform a variety of tricks on command.  First, the dolphins laid still in front of us and everyone got to touch the top and bottom, being mindful to avoid the blow-hole and to be gentle around the dorsal fin.  It was remarkable how calm and trusting these creatures were, as it permitted a bunch of strangers to feel its body.  Several different dolphins cycled in to be touched and all were equally gracious and patient with its visitors.  Next the dolphins would give each person a “kiss” on the cheek, which was professionally photographed.  Although that felt a little staged and touristy, you can’t beat the photograph that you get!

When the boys first got to touch the dolphins they could not believe it.  Both remarked how smooth and sleek the dolphins felt.

I was impressed with how strong and fast they are as we were treated to tests of their speed and agility.  The trainer put the dolphins through their paces, racing them around the pen and then stopping just feet from us or leaping high out of the water.  Absolutely amazing!

And then it was over all too quickly.  The tour guide thanked us for coming, but hung out on the dock to answer all questions put to him.  Finnegan broke the ice by asking the first question – do dolphins sleep?   After the guide answered everyone’s questions, he also explained that the dolphin encounters fund the research center as scientists are still learning a great deal about dolphins.

On the ride back to the hotel I chatted with the couple from El Salvador that was staying at our hotel (his English was pretty good, hers was not).  I was curious to hear about El Salvador and what life is like there today.  For years I heard only of the civil war that ravaged that country.  Like Honduras, El Salvador has a lot to offer, but has many impediments in its way.  But, to hear this young man tell it, El Salvador should be high on our list of countries to visit.

There’s a Monkey on Your Head (Gumbalimba Park Review)

We took a chance by visiting Roatan in the rainy season, and unfortunately the gamble did not pay off. It poured three out of the four days that we planned to stay on the island and indirectly led to us staying an extra two nights, but more to come on that saga later.

On the second day that we were holed up in our hotel room, I was losing my mind and the kids were driving us crazy with their endless requests to build forts and watch cartoons.  We decided that we had to do something even if it meant getting drenched because like most Caribbean islands, there were no indoor attractions to be found in Roatan. When I asked the “activities director” at our hotel for suggestions of things to do inside with our kids, her only idea was coloring. Oh, so helpful.

We settled on a visit to Gumbalimba Park instead. It is a big tourist attraction on Roatan and a common shore excursion for the thousands of people that visit Roatan as part of a Caribbean cruise. If you are looking for an authentic island experience, this is not the place. However, it suited our needs of escaping the hotel room and entertaining the kids perfectly.

Upon arrival to the park, you have the choice of crossing the Pirate’s Bridge or taking the chicken walk around the small lake. Finnegan chose the Pirate’s Bridge and Declan picked the chicken walk. I’m not sure if Declan was afraid or just didn’t want to wait in the line.  He had too much pent up energy and was running down the trail before I could find out.

Since Declan took off before we could really figure out how the place worked, we did the tour without a guide. It worked out fine because there are only a few areas where you can hold the animals and it was easy to join in with other groups to hear the commentary.

The first area houses the parrots. There are scarlet macaws as well as green parrots (red crowned Amazon parrots, I think). It was raining during our visit to the park so I had a hard time keeping my lens clear and dry and most of our pictures are a little blurry.

To my surprise Declan ran to the front of the line to hold the parrot. He’s normally a pretty cautious kid, but he had no fear of these birds that were almost as big as him.

Equally surprising was the fact that Finnegan seemed too nervous to hold the parrot so we moved on to the monkey area.  The ‘park’ includes a large group of charming, mischievous white face capuchin monkeys.  Russ was carrying a backpack with bug spray and a plastic bag in the outside pouch. We were there for less than a minute before the monkeys spied these prizes and stole them in the blink of an eye.  As a warning, other people lost much more valuable things like sunglasses and cameras to these sneaky thieves so make sure you hide your things or hold onto them tightly.

Thankfully, not all of the monkeys were so cheeky and a few came down to visit.

On the way back, we met another monkey off on his own. Perhaps he was looking for some peace and quiet or maybe some extra attention.

While we were at Gumbalimba, we also explored the rest of the grounds and visited the Pirate Cave. In nicer weather, there is a pool to enjoy and a small beach with hammocks. For the adventurous, they also have a zip-line tour.

The grounds are very pretty and well maintained. There is even an area with several hummingbird feeders that were very active despite the rain.

The boys raced through the Pirate Cave so we didn’t see too much, but it’s worth a stroll through if you are traveling with kids.  There is some information on the history of the island and the famous pirates that visited the area.

If we were traveling on our own, I don’t think we would have paid Gumbalimba Park a visit, but it was a lot of fun and it’s always a thrill to get a chance to interact so closely with animals. There would have been even more to do if the weather had cooperated. Visit the Gumbalimba Park website for a full list of activities.

National Aquarium: Baltimore, MD

Last month we traveled to Baltimore, Maryland.  Jennifer had a business trip there, which meant a free hotel room for the rest of us!  (Jennifer says she prefers to have her entourage accompany her whenever possible and we made sure not to interfere with her work).

We stayed at the Baltimore Hilton, which is located right next to the Orioles baseball stadium at Camden Yards.  When I saw the view from the fitness center, I wished we were there during baseball season as we could have watched a game quite easily from the hotel deck.  The hotel was also connected to the Baltimore Convention Center, and more importantly for us, was a short walk from the Inner Harbor.  Quite a few years ago  “Charm City” revitalized the Inner Harbor and it has become somewhat of a tourist destination.  One of the main draws is the National Aquarium.  I had heard good things about Baltimore’s Aquarium from friends who had visited it and I knew both boys would love to visit.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Jen was off to her business meetings and I was tasked with keeping both boys entertained all day.  We managed to kill some time swimming in the hotel pool and having lunch in the Inner Harbor before setting out to the Aquarium.  It is a cool looking building, situated right on the harbor, with an impressive submarine (the USS Torsk, a retired World War II era submarine that saw action in the Pacific theater and is now a maritime museum), docked outside.

I must say I had a bit of sticker shock at the cost of admission to the aquarium.  Even with Declan being free, the cost for me and Finnegan was $56.  I have been to several other aquariums and none were as expensive.  After getting our tickets and making our way inside, I was advised that the aquarium has a strict no stroller policy.  I was prepared for this as a friend warned me ahead of time about this policy.  The aquarium does permit visitors to check their strollers and other items in a room that is carefully guarded.  This only became an issue after our three hour visit and both boys were tired and yearned to ride in the stroller.

Once we began exploring the aquarium we quickly began marveling at all of the cool species of aquatic life residing in the various exhibits.  The aquarium is fairly comprehensive and includes all of the animals you would expect to find and several other you might not. The aquarium is basically divided into three parts: the glass pavilion with an Australia Wild Extremes themed exhibit with saltwater crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles; Pier 3 Pavilion contained a multi-level shark and sting ray exhibit and the Pier 4 Pavilion had dolphins and jelly fish exhibits.  I thought the layout of the aquarium was a bit confusing, particularly since there is no Pier 1 or Pier 2 Pavilions (and I admit I kept searching for them and it was only after consulting the map that I realized my search was futile).

To me the piece de resistance of the Baltimore Aquarium is the Dolphin Discovery exhibit.  I had never seen an exhibit like this at any other aquarium and, outside of SeaWorld, I don’t know where else you can see it.  The dolphins performed a plethora of tricks, jumps and acrobatic feats, much to the delight of the crowd.  We were able to sit very close to the water, but just outside the splash zone so we did not get wet.  Both boys enjoyed this exhibit, and I may have enjoyed it even more than they did.

A close second was the multi-level Blacktip Reef exhibit, a re-creation of a piece of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Teeming with sharks, sting rays and over 70 different species of fish, in a curved viewing area 20 feet wide, the exhibit allows visitors to be immersed in the aquatic habitat (without getting wet).  Each level had different animals and each level represented the different species that reside at varying depths of the ocean. The lower levels tend to be darker, which made Declan a bit frightened so some smaller children might not enjoy the lower levels.

There was also the Upland Tropical Rainforest, which is a green house type exhibit that featured several tropical birds that were hard to see.  This exhibit seemed oddly out of place for an aquarium as none of these birds actually live in water, just in the rain forest.  We did not stay long in that exhibit as it was uncomfortably humid and we only saw one bird.

There were also two films playing, both billed as “4D” (which I don’t really understand as time is supposed to be the fourth dimension according to Albert Einstein).  We skipped the films as they required an additional ticket and because I was convinced that both boys would have fallen asleep in the darkened theater (which would have left me brooding over spending even more money on a nap).

By the end of our visit both boys were tired and wanted to ride in the stroller (damn that no stroller policy!).  So we hurried back to the room where we checked all of our belongings and headed for the door.  Since we do not have a double stroller, Finnegan was forced to walk back to the hotel (which he did with surprisingly little whining).  He then practically collapsed in the lobby of the hotel and took a quick nap while we waited for Jen.  If we had more time (and energy), we would have liked to visit the Port Discovery Children’s Museum as well.  Next time.

Have you been to the National Aquarium?  What were your thoughts?  Any tips besides bringing a baby carrier for little ones that need to nap?

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!

Mount Vernon (with the Boys & Rosalita)

We visited Mount Vernon while we were in the greater Washington, D.C. area this weekend.  Mount Vernon was the home and plantation of George Washington.  It is roughly 50 acres and contains numerous original buildings that are maintained to reflect what the estate looked like in 1799 when Washington died.  George and Martha and several of his relatives are buried on the grounds of the estate.  It is a national historical site and draws a million visitors every year.

This was not my first trip to Mount Vernon, but it was for the rest of the family.  In the mid 1970’s I visited Mount Vernon as a small child and apparently caused a bit of a stir.  Although I have no recollection of the incident, my father likes telling the story of how I slipped under a rope barrier while touring the house and ran over to a 200 year old chair, climbed up on it and looked out the window at the Potomac River.  My father ran over to get me, and in doing so, tripped a security alarm.  That sent guards scurrying over to investigate.  Apparently everybody had a good laugh when they saw it was just a toddler trying to get a better view of the river.

Fast forward to this past weekend and I was half-expecting to be denied entry into Mount Vernon over my past indiscretion or in the very least I thought one of the guards might say, “Oh, it’s you again – I remember the last time you were here!”  But I was able to slip past security unnoticed (I guess I have changed a bit in the last 37 years), although I did have a sinking feeling that either Finnegan or Declan could pull the same stunt I did – or worse Rosalita might get into mischief.  That’s right – we brought Rosie to Mount Vernon as it is pet-friendly.  Given that a significant portion of a visit to Mount Vernon involves strolling the grounds and touring gardens and other outdoor areas, there is much you can see and do with your dog accompanying you.  Dogs are not allowed to visit the inside George Washington’s house so you will have to skip the tour, but they are welcome in all of the outdoor areas including the famous back porch.  More than one person came up to me and said that they wish they had known the site was pet-friendly as they too would have brought their dogs along to visit.

We opted to skip the tour of the house, not only because we had Rosie, but also because I do not think the boys would have survived a 40 minute tour that would have been a bit cramped.  When you enter Mount Vernon your ticket has a time stamp that designates the tour of the house to which you are assigned.  That is the only tour you may attend.  When our assigned tour rolled around, the boys were getting ready for a snack, so we headed to the food court instead.  Although it would have been nice to see the house and some of the short films offered to learn more about George Washington, that will have to wait for another day.  Finnegan already knows a bit about George Washington, mostly because we live very close to the spot where he crossed the Delaware River en route to turning the tide of the Revolutionary War.  George’s legacy looms large in our neighborhood, even to modern day.

It does not take long to see why George loved Mount Vernon.  From the manicured gardens to the majestic views of the Potomac River, the country estate had everything a country gentleman could want: a blacksmith, a horse stable, an ice house, a cobbler, salt house, spinning house, several pens of livestock and many other necessities of the times.  There were also slave quarters and a memorial to the slaves that served there.  Touring the grounds is an enriching way to spend several hours.  There are even boat rides that dock at a wharf along the river that would be fun, but we were not in time to take one.  The two and a half hours we spent at Mount Vernon was certainly not enough to see everything, but it kept the boys’ attention and Rosie loved it too.  My hope is we will return to Mount Vernon when the boys are older and begin learning about the great man Washington was and the remarkable things he accomplished in his life.

Crocodiles and Waterfalls

We traded our normal routine of the beach and pool, and spent the day meeting some American crocodiles in the Black River – Jamaica’s longest river.  The town of Black River, where the Caribbean Sea and the Black River meet, is about 25 minutes from Bluefields.  The river cruise was perfect for our boys – there were plenty of boats so we didn’t have to wait long and the boats are covered.  Plus there are trees full of egrets before you even get on the boat and we already mentioned how wildlife of any kind pretty much makes our kids giddy.

 We saw our first (and biggest crocodile) less than a minute into the tour.  His name is “Terrorist” since he doesn’t really respect the territory of the other crocs in the river.

We saw four other crocs, including one sunning itself on a log and another rather large one that the guide tapped on the snout.  Finnegan didn’t understand why he couldn’t “pet” the croc.  The tour also passes through a really nice mangrove forest where they shut off the engine and demonstrate the absolute silence of the forest.  This quietness really rattled Declan and he kept covering his ears – I guess he’s never experienced silence since he has a very loud older brother.

 

After the crocodile tour, we headed to YS Falls, which we would highly recommend for kids of all ages (and grown-ups too).  The property is gorgeous and still operates as a working farm with cows and horses.

The falls are in a forest setting and it’s a pretty easy hike up to the middle level.  The stairs get steeper (and wetter) towards the upper falls so we kept our guys at the middle level.  There is a rope swing that Finnegan desperately wanted to try, but it’s probably not appropriate for kids of any age, as it would take some skill to actually get out to a point deep enough to fall in without some serious battle scars.  You can also go zip lining and the last section goes right over the falls all the way to the bottom.

There are also two pools and the surroundings couldn’t be prettier.  The sun wasn’t out while we were there so it was a little chilly, but our boys didn’t mind.

So if the Finley’s are still reading our blog, we highly recommend that you do both excursions.  And for anyone else visiting Bluefields, it’s a great way to spend a day.