Day 13: La Ceiba - Cayo Mayor (How to go to Cayos Cochinos)
Yesterday we went to bed and slept accompanied by the sound of the storm that received us when we arrived in La Ceiba and the mind overshadowed by the bad weather and the probability that today the sea was so bad as to not be able to reach Dirty calluses. You can imagine that every time we have opened an eye at night the first thing we have done has been to look out the window and check the weather, something that has calmed us watching how hour after hour the rain seemed to disappear, although not the swell, which was still noticeable, crashing into the beach. And we have the room right next to the sea, so we have been privileged spectators throughout the night of the development of time.
It is 5:30 in the morning when we can no longer sleep and take the opportunity to work for a while, discovering as soon as a clear day and a sea have dawned, as the owner of La Casa de Nery has told us, stable enough to reach Dirty calluses, which will be our last destination of this trip to Guatemala and Honduras that we are enjoying so much.
With everything already collected we have breakfast at 7 on the terrace of the hotel facing the sea, accompanied by a breeze that makes us think again that if really in Cayos Cochinos we have good weather the next few days, this is not the best time to come, yes we can confirm that we have triumphed Over time on our trips or as we always say, someone follows looking for us in that aspect.
A few days ago we stayed with Roger, the manager of Mike the owners of Turtle Bay, who will be ours accommodation in Cayos Cochinos and we will talk about in the next few days, at 8:30 in the Hotel Paris, from where we will leave by boat to the hotel.
Terrace of La Casa de Nery
We check out and tell the hotel owner to call us a taxi to get to the Hotel Paris and start our new adventure on this trip to Guatemala and Honduras for free, but he surprises us by refusing to tell us that he takes us directly .
With him we comment on the subject of security in La Ceiba and tells us that in this area, which is the most central, nothing happens, especially in recent years in which the tourist police are very present. Although, despite that, we recommend not to walk with the cameras or mobile in hand, to avoid any setback.
Accommodation in Cayos Cochinos
In Cayos Cochinos there are not too many (if not almost none) accommodation options:
- Turtle Bay: Located in Cayo Mayor, it was the one we chose, since it was the only one that offered the basic amenities that we were looking for. Today, and as you can read in the review that we will publish shortly, despite being a unique and spectacular place, seeing the bad management of it, we would probably look for an alternative option.
- Cayo Chachauate: This is the only inhabited key of Cayos Cochinos. Here you can arrive and find accommodation directly. It is not always possible, since you will have to find a family that wants to house you at home.
- Rental of house / cabin: This is the best option, but also the most complicated, since they are not advertised on the internet, so you should get here, start asking the local people what houses are rented, which are also not many, locate the owner and make the reservation. Without a doubt, if you have time, this is the best option.
These days we have seen that house rentals are around $ 100 per day. Considering that they have a capacity for 10-15 people, we believe that this price is more than adjusted.
How to get to Cayos Cochinos
When we consider Cayos Cochinos as the end of trip to Guatemala and Honduras, one of the problems with which we find is the little information that there was about both accommodation and how to get to Cayos Cochinos. After our experience, we will try to shed some light on these doubts.
There are several ways to get to Cayos Cochinos:
- Through a tour, in which for about 35-40 dollars they will pick you up at your hotel in La Ceiba, they will take you to Sambo Creek and from there a boat will take you to travel Cayos Cochinos, stopping at different points to snorkel , finishing the tour in Cayo Chachauate, where you eat and then return to La Ceiba.
- If you stay in Cayos Cochinos, in Turtle Bay, on Thursdays and Saturdays they have free transfer to / from La Ceiba, but you have to adapt to their schedules. If you are not doing well, you must hire a private transport for about $ 50 per person.
We arrived on time at Hotel Paris where Roger is the manager of Turtle Bay, who tells us that we will travel to Cayo Mayor in a 26 'panga boat, confirming that since yesterday the ferries to Roatan and Útila are suspended due to the bad sea. This makes us doubt what awaits us on the way, but Roger reassures us, explaining that the cancellation of the ferries is not by bad sea, offshore, but by the great swell that is at the entrance to the port, something to what can not be faced with ferries of more than 5 meters deep since they touch the rocks and could run aground, so they can not take risks and the days of bad sea, cancel the ferries, something more usual than we thought and is So far, we hadn’t even thought this could happen.
We take the opportunity to ask for the Weather in Cayos Cochinos and confirms that yesterday, as we saw in La Ceiba, it was very bad, but today it has clarified a lot and it is expected that the next few days will continue. Do not imagine the smile that has been drawn on our face after hearing him say that.
Paris Hotel Lounge
We left past 9 in the morning by taxi with Roger, who will accompany us to the cabotage dock, a few kilometers from the center of La Ceiba from where we will leave our way to Dirty calluses. This pier is currently closed, but through an agreement with the workers who are still there, Turtle Bay continues to use it, although this should not be confused with Sambo Creek, 15 kilometers from La Ceiba, from where boats and tours depart the different islands of the coast are Honduras, including tours to Cayos Cochinos.
Dante is waiting for us at the pier, in Turtle Bay's cook, with our captain, to take us to Cayo Mayor, where our hotel in Cayos Cochinos, of only 5 rooms.
You can imagine the journey of almost an hour on a 26 'panga, with the vision of Cayo Mayor always in front and a sky so clear that it seems to reflect the sea. All this landscape dotted with small keys, a total of 13, along with the two major keys, which remind us, we will not deny it, that we are in the paradise where the famous television program is filmed Survivors.
If this trip is already incredible, justifying on its own having come here, go watching the waters turn turquoise blue as you move away from the coast and go seeing in the distance the small desert islands that appear from Suddenly in the middle of nowhere, it is one of the most impressive experiences we have ever had and of which we will only keep the memory, since our cameras are next to the backpacks under some canvases, to prevent them from getting wet. Thus, open-mouthed by the incredible spectacle of nature that we have within our reach, we arrive at Cayo Mayor, the place where we will stay in Dirty calluses.
Turtle Bay jetty in Cayo Mayor. Dirty calluses
At our entrance to Turtle Bay, the manager welcomes us, where after accommodating us in the bar area with some refreshments, he gives us different recommendations for our stay, as well as explaining everything we need to feel these days at home.
After having all this clear, we go up to our cabin / room, which has before entering, a small corner from which to watch the sunset with two hammocks, which only see them already become one of our favorite corners.
Views from our room
You can imagine that where we spend less time is in the room, so we quickly leave it to begin to know Cayo Mayor, which will be our home the next few days in Dirty calluses.
Cayo Mayor
In Turtle Bay, of which we will make a complete review in the next publications, it is eaten around 1 noon, when the boat arrives with guests who have gone diving or snorkeling in the morning. Today we enjoy a delicious Pad Thai with rice, which we end up with a couple of coffees, enjoying a magnificent table in front of the sea, which makes us begin to intuit what awaits us these coming days.
Turtle Bay rest area
And from here you can imagine that little more must be explained that it is not that we have taken advantage of the afternoon to enjoy those little things that we like so much, that we continue to do in our daily lives, but that we have not just done with all the tranquility they deserve, like enjoying a good book, without thinking about anything else.
Enjoying a unique desktop in Cayos Cochinos
Cayo Mayor
It is mid afternoon when after enjoying a good desktop, we take the opportunity to walk a small path that leaves the room area to the left, from where in about 10 minutes we have reached a local beach, from which we have unique views of Cayo Balfate, Cayo Largo Arriba and Cayo Largo Abajo.
Views of Cayos Cochinos from Cayo Mayor
It seems incredible that we are in this incredible place, which seemed so difficult to reach and in which we intend to enjoy until the last minute of our stay. Without knowing very well if we can access the beach or not, since many of them are private, we go down the rocks, finding a beautiful environment, which we fell in love with just one foot in the sand.
Cayo Mayor Beach
Pier from the neighboring beach to Turtle Bay
After spending more than 1 hour here, we begin to understand the reason why they call Cayos Cochinos on last Eden of the Caribbean.
Cayo Mayor Beach
It takes less than an hour for the sun to begin to fall, a moment that we hope to enjoy in our accommodation and how could it be otherwise, two hammocks have witnessed with us one of those sunsets that we will not forget.
Sunset in Cayos Cochinos
Although it may seem a lie, the sunset in Cayos Cochinos, lasts longer than it can last anywhere in the world, or at least that is what it seems to us, leaving us not only some unique images with the sun falling on Cayo Menor, but giving us a last bath in a water so hot, from which as you can imagine, we find it hard to say goodbye.
Sunset in Cayos Cochinos
It's a little after 6:30 in the afternoon when they start serving dinner in the lounge, which we have to recognize devour, hoping to be able to leave again as soon as possible to enjoy this incredible spectacle of nature, which we do not want say goodbye
Sunset over Cayo Menor
Without a doubt, this is paradise. We spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying reading, talks of future trips with a coffee, until it is time to say goodbye to Eden, although only a few hours, the fair times in which we will enjoy getting into bed, just a book and the sound of the waves right next door, a sensation that we didn't have since we were in Maldives and that we are not going to lie, we were looking forward to living again.
Day 14: Cayos Cochinos Tour
