Cayos Cochinos

A few weekends ago, Ken and I spent the weekend at the beach for our friend Jenna's birthday. On a Sunday morning we headed to a small group of islands called Cayos Cochinos which is about a 45 minute boat ride from La Ceiba. It is supposed to be some of the best snorkeling in all of Central America and we would definitely have to agree! We had a wonderful time, besides our backs and legs getting burnt from the hot sun even with sunscreen, and we saw some awesome things.

The main island in the group is actually called Cayos Cochinos and it is a nature preserve. There are hiking trails and a small educational center for tourists to learn about the things that are present in the area. We stopped there for about 30 minutes to pay the park fee and to watch an educational video about the area. Then it was on to the snorkeling. We headed to two different snorkeling places and both were fantastic.

In the first one, we were able to see 2 LARGE sting ray (I've never seen tails that long!!), lots of sea urchins, a lobster, and a large barracuda. Ken and I were together for that one and Ken scampered off quickly scaring me even more. The barracuda was just staring at us as it opened and closed his mouth.....freaky! The next snorkeling area was full of beautiful, vibrant coral. It was also a perfect day for this as well with no clouds in the sky. The water was the perfect temperature and it felt great to be in the water again.

We stopped on a Garifuna island for lunch where we ate a plato tipico (friday fish, rice, beans, and fried plantains). Yum!!!! I think the pictures below speak for themselves...