Swinging through the trees only minutes from Tegucigalpa

HTW volunteer Becky Wearn hanging in the trees
 

By BECKY WEARN

VALLE DE ANGELES — Holding on as tight as possible, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leapt from the platform. Feeling the branches brush past my face and my legs dangling several meters in the air I opened my eyes to see the pine forest rushing below me as I glided into the next tree.

The Valle of Angeles Canopy Tour is a must for daredevil adventurers who wish to experience flying like a bird and the thrill of speed at dizzying heights, the Valle of Angeles Canopy Tour is a must for daredevil adventurers. The tour itself is made up of a series of different velocity lines and as your confidence builds you are encouraged to experiment with different stunts.

Releasing your hands from the rope and bringing your knees up leaves you hanging upside down, blood rushing to your head as you tear through the trees watching the sky spin above you. To take this to a nauseating next level the more adventurous, or crazy, of us paired up with instructor to hang completely upside down as they swing you to and fro from your ankles whilst careening to the next platform at break-neck speed. My personal favorite however was “The Superman,” which involved being suspended from your lower back, flying with your arms out stretched just like the super hero himself.

The franchise is based at the entrance to the village at an Iguana Rana restaurant. Two hours of zooming along zip lines with a group of enthusiastic instructors, hire of safety harnesses and transport into the forest costs Lps. 595.00, and is only a half an hour drive from Tegucigalpa.

La Ceiba:
Not just a stop on the way to the Bay Islands

The Garifuna people are notorious for being welcoming to visitors.

By ZOE HOLLIDAY

If you are the sort of person for whom sitting on the beach is boring, and even a waste of time, you may dread heading northbound with your family for Semana Santa, but do not fear! Even around the most popular beach resorts, there are many things that you can do that don’t involve smothering yourself with coconut oil and lying in the sun. La Ceiba has long been considered a jumping point for the Bay Islands, but is rapidly becoming more popular as a tourist destination in itself. But aside from the beaches, and the night life for which the party town is so famed, there are many other options for visitors.

BUTTERFLY AND INSECT MUSEUM

A unique option now available for tourists in La Ceiba is the private butterfly museum in Colonia El Sauce. Owned by a retired lecturer, the museum exhibits over 11,000 butterflies, with over 9.000 from Honduras, as well as many other insects. The museum director is very informative and will tell you about any exhibit that you are interested in – your biggest problem will be leaving, as there is so much to see, including videos in both English and Spanish. It is the perfect balance of being personal, yet with a huge variety to see, and I left much more informed than I had been when I arrived.

If cases full of dead butterflies are not your thing, there is a butterfly farm within the grounds of the Lodge at Pico Bonito, where the specimens are very much more alive! Entry is free for their guests.

GARIFUNA VILLAGES

As Semana Santa coincides with Garifuna Day, on April 12, this year, it is the perfect opportunity to visit the people renowned for being friendly to visitors. There are many Garifuna villages easily accessible from Honduras. I went to Corozal by route (colectivo) taxi from La Ceiba for a day. At first, I felt intimidated by everyone staring at me, no doubt wondering what on earth I was doing there, but within minutes I was surrounded by children who were desperate to chat and play. I was also invited to go fishing with some of the locals, while another tried to teach me the Garifuna language. The small restaurant served delicious fried fish, and there is also a pleasant hotel, Brisas del Mar, which serves local specialities. It also hosts a Garifuna celebration every weekend, where locals dance the Punta, the traditional Garifuna dance. A visit to one of these villages is an opportunity that is not to be missed – you will find the locals welcoming and the way of life a world away from your own.

WHITE WATER RAFTING

It is rapidly becoming very popular to go white water rafting on the River Cangrejal. I went with Garifuna Tours, which I chose mainly because they were one of the few companies that would allow me to book a place on my own – most companies require at least two participants in order for the excursion to take place. Jungle River Rafting also offers an excellent deal – for only $ 2 more, you can sleep overnight in the Pico Bonito rainforest.

The hiking and rafting option, which I opted for, started at 8.00 in the morning. I met with our guide Miguel, the driver, and two fellow rafters, outside the office in La Ceiba. After quite a long drive, we arrived and put the raft in a small sheltered area of water where we were able to follow his instructions. Once Miguel was quite sure that we knew what we meant when he shouted “forward!” (It took us a surprisingly long time...), we continued down the river. The water was very low, but we stopped regularly to check the best path, and so we felt totally informed as to which way we should be steering, even when it didn’t go as planned!

About half way down the river, we stopped for the hike. Actually, it was more of a short uphill walk, one of the other rafters actually walked it barefoot. However, the foliage was beautiful, and Miguel was able to tell us a lot of information about each of the plants and their medicinal properties. We were lead to a beautiful waterfall, which dropped into a very deep watering hole, which we jumped into from all of the rocks surrounding it. This was the most special part of the morning. It was just a shame that none of us realized that we were going on the hike in the middle of the trip, and so didn’t bring our cameras.

We continued down the river, hitting more and more powerful rapids as we went along. After stopping for a light lunch of different indigenous fruits, and a quick look at the cacao trees around our picnic area, we rowed through the strongest rapids, before jumping out of the boat to float to our final destination. We arrived home two hours earlier than expected, but I was completely exhausted.

As we reported in December, the municipal government of La Ceiba has proposed a hydroelectric plant on the Cangrejal River. Although the plans have already been scaled down, if they go ahead, the future of the water rafting on the river is in jeopardy. Miguel said that he believed that the river would dry up and the rafting would no longer be possible.

What better reason can there be to go to the River Cangrejal this year – before the opportunity no longer exists?