I was aboard a small boat at the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge – 35,000 acres near the Caribbean coast of Honduras. From our boat, we could view the jagged top of famed Pico Bonito Mountain, peeking through the clouds.
This quiet treasure of mangroves and waterways was set aside in 1987 to protect manatees. It would take 20 hours to see it all.
Our guide, Elmer, explained, “To see animals, you must be in the right place at the right time.” He hoped we would see manatees and crocodiles. Plus, armadillos and anteaters could be hidden along the river bank. All of us had to be on alert to find them. It was up to us to be good sleuths.
Our two hours there brought surprises. What seemed like little growths on a tree turned out to be tiny long-nosed bats that took flight when our guide used a laser to pinpoint their locations.
The Northern Jacana bird had a rust-colored body, yellow beak, and widespread feet as it stalked prey atop the water plants. Turkey vultures took flight, their gigantic wingspans like wavy punctuation marks in the sky.
There are even Jesus Christ lizards there, which can walk on water! Our guide made “huh-huh” panting sounds like a monkey. Soon, we spotted a pair of howler monkeys and their four offspring on a tree.
“My, that’s a big log!” No, it was a 10-foot crocodile! It submerged, heading toward us, so we made our getaway into a canopy of trees almost touching our heads. Birds tweeted. Cormorants fled. Breezes cooled us. It was serene in this small private world covered by fig trees, mangroves, and coil palms.
The rail trip to get to this sublime location was an entrée into Honduran life. For this outing, we took a pair of small yellow metal, open-air coaches that were 6-feet across. Their top speed was perhaps 25 miles per hour. More like a trolley than a train, they clicked and clattered along on two slim metal tracks past palm trees, cabins, tethered horses, and the occasional chicken.
We came to a halt to pick up a mother and child. Another time, two teens hopped abroad, parking their bikes on the “running board” of this narrow-gauge train. I was hurled back in time to 1910 when this rig transported bananas.
Sandwiched between Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Belize in Mesoamerica, Honduras has 8,500 square miles of protected land. It’s known for great coral reef diving and ziplining in Roatán and for outstanding Mayan ruins at Copán, both reachable by side trips from The Lodge & Spa at Pico Bonito, where I was staying.
Life is good at Pico Bonito, an eco-lodge in a tropical rainforest three miles from La Ceiba city on the north coast of the country.
Pico Bonito towers at 8,000 feet. So pristine and bio-diverse is this area that UNESCO has declared Pico Bonito National Park a World Heritage site. Its 250,000 acres – much of it unexplored – are a wildlife sanctuary and a birders’ paradise. There are 500 species of birds concentrated there.
Honduras has as many as 725 species. The U.S. has about 900 species total dispersed in a country far larger.
At the base of the imposing mountain within the Park sits Pico Bonito Lodge. This rainforest luxury hideaway has amenities – Wi-Fi, warm showers in Mexican-tiled bathrooms, a swimming pool, and telephones. Trails beckon on the Lodge’s 400 acres, all available to guests. You need never leave the grounds to enjoy nature.
But adventure opportunities abound. You can go whitewater rafting on the Rio Cangrejal through the park or hike to waterfalls. But let’s hear it for the birds! Indigenous ones like the Motmot and the sought-after “Lovely Cotinga” are rarities in most of Latin America, but readily seen here. Other birds migrate from North America during our winters.
The main building and its 22 well-spaced chalets are plantation-style with dark burnished wood and a hammock on every deck. The beautiful tropical plantings, cacao and coffee trees, and six miles of nature trails enticed Sports Illustrated to shoot a swimsuit issue here and have drawn celebrities like Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, and America Ferrara.
Excursions are easily available, including to the wildlife refuge. The Lodge takes botany and biology seriously. Plants are designed to attract birds. Cameras are set up to record the jaguars that come through, and a whiff of Calvin Klein’s “Obsession” in the camera trap keeps the big cats around long enough to get an image.
On a brief night hike, we reached a pond and waterfall that the Lodge built to attract wildlife. It was pitch black. We heard only the waterfall and crickets until a loud repeating hiccup resounded. It turned out to be a small tree frog. These green frogs with red bulging eyes are emblematic of Honduras and Central America. And I was close up and personal with one who was belching loudly as though it had a megaphone.
The next day, we got up early for birding. Birdwatching is a favorite pastime for millions and a multi-billion-dollar industry. Our guide’s bird calls brought out feathered neighbors. The resident biologist pointed out a white-crowned parrot almost immediately. Its wings opened to a riot of color.
On the Lodge’s terrace, I spied a keel-billed toucan, often called the rainbow toucan because of its bright red, yellow, and green bill. “This is the toucan capital of the world!” the biologist told us.
Seen through a scope, a gray pygmy owl with yellow eyes staring back looked wise but vulnerable. After moving through palm ferns and morning glory vines, we climbed one of the lodge’s three observation towers to view the Name of God mountain range, Pico Bonito’s sawed-off peak within it.
Soon, we spotted local birds that we would never see stateside: a blue-crowned Motmot, the bright blue chest and purple throat of the sought-after Lovely Cotinga, a Montezuma Oropendola with its bright tail, and a turquoise-browed Motmot. I experienced psychedelic colors, softness, and utter amazement.
Our guide explained, “Birders come with a target bird, but then they want to see everything.” The Lodge lists sightings on a blackboard. They have identified more than 425 bird species in the area, and animals are listed, too, such as ocelots, jaguars, agoutis (small rodents), monkeys, and more.
Family-friendly here, children under 11 stay free for room and breakfast. Staff members even babysit for a fee. Many cabins have two connectible rooms.
The child in me was entranced with the Butterfly Farm set amidst flowers. An Iguana Farm and nearby Snake House provided more environmental education along with thrills and chills – all included.
The food at the Lodge was excellent. Some had a Latin flavor – baleadas (tortillas with scrambled eggs and refried beans) or coffee-chili marinated ribeye. Many dishes used fruit from the Lodge’s own trees. Mango sauce covered an airy chocolate mousse. Avocado foam and guacamole were perfection. Soursop ice cream was a delight with a pina colada.
Meals were taken as hummingbirds hovered within reach. While I savored coconut shrimp, a furry agouti nosed around the giant crimson torch flowers within my sight. Vanilla bean orchids clung to branches. All of this was in one of the largest remaining true wildernesses. Two and–a-half days at the Lodge seemed a world away. And a full-size spa was right alongside the lovely swimming pool. Bonito? Yes?
As a television producer and on-camera reporter, traveling to Asia, Europe, and around the U.S., Norma Davidoff got hooked on travel. She loved her work on television projects in Italy, France, Spain, Indonesia, India, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Norma liked nothing better than being on-location with a small camera crew, meeting locals to learn about their lives. Among many positions, she was producer/on-camera reporter for Newsweek Broadcasting, Director of Program Development for The Travel Channel, and Senior Producer for Ted Turner’s Better World Society. She is particularly proud of her work in public television in its infancy. These days, she writes feature and travel articles, many with her own photos. That has brought Norma to still more places to satisfy her curiosity about the world.
Holy moly! Pico Bonita is a veritable paradise. Why would one ever leave? Thanx for the photos. The variety and color of the fauna were a feast for the eyes. Viva Honduras.
As always Norma Davidoff does so much more than write about a destination, she literally takes you there.
Wonderful article, beautiful place.
Thank you ,Thank you, Norma Davidoff,without your article I never would have heard or thought about going to the Lodge/spa at Pico Bonito,or to that region. Given the detailed descriptions of the tropical landscapes ,the animals and birds, it seems like a visit would be a magical journey.Staying at the Lodge,surrounded by the treasures of natures colors and sounds, could feel like a soft Psychedelic experience ,that could heal my soul, as vacations need to do!