La Ceiba and Los Cayos Cochinos

So this past weekend I had two of the most exciting days of my life. We drove the five hours to La Ceiba/this small beach town. (We had all gone discoteca-ing the night before, so let me tell ya: waking up at 5:00 was pretty rough for everyone…) But once we got our Latin American Dunkin Doughnuts, everything was great!

We had breakfast and then went to the beach and drove jet skis. (Mom; I want one now… ) Jet ski and beach pictured below...

After jet skiing, we proceeded to drive UP the mountain next to the beach for a good fourty minutes. During which, the air seeped out of two of our tires.
But anyway; we got to our eco-hotel safe and sound. And this place was absolutely GORGEOUS. The ‘Jungle River’ hotel was this oasis on the Congrejal River in the middle of the RAINFOREST.

So we get there and then immediately are recruited to zip-line through the jungle. Pretty amazing, right? Our first line was over the incredibly strong river. I was pretty nervous, but not about to miss that kind of opportunity!

Our zip-lining led us far up into the rainforest canopy where we found a small village coffee farm! So basically, my dream of opening a coffee shop could definitely happen in Honduras...

After zip-lining, our guide showed us rocks from which we could jump into the river safely. One rock was definitely more than 25 feet above the river, so of course we all had to jump off. Twice.

I also made friends with the hotel parrot, who memorized my name and continued to screech it during the night. He also bit my finger and left a pretty big 'beak mark'.

Oh, and did I mention I fell off the sidewalk of the hotel? I zip-lined, drove a jetski, and jumped 30 feet off a rock! And then later that night I fell on the sidewalk and cut up my leg pretty badly. It was infected for a few days, but it’s getting better now. Oh, Honduras. :)

The next day we headed to Cayos Cochinos Islands at 6am. The Islands in the middle of the turquoise Caribbean have to be among the most beautiful places I have ever been.

We snorkeled in crystal clear water, met the Garifuna natives, and hiked through the jungle. (Where our guide illegally picked up a wild pink boa for us to meet, and an Australian woman walking past yelled at us.)

So after this amazing day, we get back to our car to find that not only have we left the keys in the car, but we’ve left them in the ignition with the battery running. Smart, huh? But, no big deal, because most people in this country know how to break into a car, if ya know what I mean. ;) Within thirty minutes, we had it open and the battery jumped.

We stopped at another beach (Tela) on the way home and then got back to Villa Soleada safe and sound in time for my last week here! I can’t believe my time in Honduras has almost ended, but I know that I have definitely had the time of my life!