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///// home travels honduras
cayos cochinos ///// :: C A Y O S
C O C H I N O S :: - t h e H o g
I s l a n d s -
View
towards the north Chachauate Key from the
south Chachauate Key The archipelago Cayos Cocohinos the Hog Islands consists of two small
islands, Cayo Menor (Cochino Pequeno) and Cayo Major (Cochino Grande), and 13
small coral cays. The archipelago is placed in the middle of nowhere, 30 km
northeast of La Ceiba. The two larger islands are covered with thick tropical
forest and are ringed by white sand beaches. The 13 cays and surrounding
waters were declared a marine reserve in 1994, and thus all marine and
terrestrial flora and fauna within a 460-square-km area is protected from
fishing, development or any other harmful activity. The reserve extends eight
kilometers in all directions. Because
of the reserve, and more importantly because only a few people live on the
islands (cf. the population was 108 at the 2001 census), the surrounding reef
is in fantastic shape and is teeming with colorful marine life. All in all,
the Hog Islands are one of the most spectacular collections of islands,
beaches, and reefs in the western Caribbean. They are unheard-off and very
remote, and you have to be either very rich or a quite persistent budget-traveller
in order to go there. Location Below a map of Honduras,
the Bay Islands, and the Cayos Cochinos (Hog Islands) is shown, respectively. Honduras & the Bay Islands: The Bay Islands Islas de la Bahνa : Cayos Cochinos the Hog Islands: During the island-hopping
journey to the archipelago, I visited different islands. The itinerary was: 1 Round Cay Snorkelling 2 Buby Cay Snorkelling 3 Chicken Cay Snorkelling 4 Lower Monitor (Chachauate
Key) Lunch and walk in the village 5 Cochino Pequeno (Cayo
Menor) Visit at the only resort in
the Hog Islands, Plantation Beach Resort 6 Cochino Grande (Cayo
Major) Visit to the Research Centre
and snorkelling
View towards Round Cay and continental
Honduras from the speed boat
Landing on Buby Cay
Landing on Buby Cay I stayed here for one
hour
Beautiful Buby Cay
View towards Cochino Pequeno (Cayo Minor) from
Buby Cay How to get there
As I said, there are two ways to get to the Hog
Islands. If you are moneyed, you can pay the US$ 115 pickup
fee (round-trip) to get transported to the islands from La Ceiba, and pay the
nightly rate of US$ 110 to stay at the only resort in the archipelago, the
Plantation Beach Resort. This is a full-package solution and involves all
meals and unlimited diving. If you are a non-diver, still, the nightly rate
is US$100. Also, you have to pay a daily US$ 10 fee to stay in the national
park. I guess, totally, this would be a quite expensive stay. If you are a budget-traveller, heres what you do:
In La Ceiba take an early morning bus (cheap) or taxi (US$ 10) to Sambo
Creek, a Garifuna village one hours drive east of La Ceiba. Once in the
village, find the beach and start looking for some of the local Garifuna
fishers. Ask if some snorkelling and island-hopping expeditions have been
planned. There are some expensive resorts down the coast and the moneyed
resort-guests pay US$ 80-100 each person for a full-day trip to the
archipelago. As the local fishers are arranging the trip, you can easily
convince them to take you with them for some little money. I only paid US$ 30
for the trip plus the US$ 10 national park fee. If no trips have been
planned, stay there a couple of days and have patience.
Plantation Resort on Cochino Grande (Cayo
Major)
Bridge in front of Plantation Resort on
Cochino Grande (Cayo Major)
Plantation Resort
View towards Cochino Pequeno from Cochino
Grande Where to stay In you are not interested to stay in the small,
upscale resort (the Plantation Beach Resort) you can arrange to stay with the
locals on Chachauate Key for US$ 10 a night including all meals. You dont
even have to plan anything, just show up on the beach. If you decide to stay
in the Garifuna fishing settlement on Chachauate Key, you will stay in small
huts or in hammocks. They will serve fish and rice three times a day
(yummy!). Just remember to arrange a pickup otherwise you can be stuck for
days. But that, as well, can be rewarding!
Arrival on Lower Monitor (Chachauate Key)
View towards Cochino Pequeno (Cayo Minor) from
Lower Monitor (Chachauate Key)
Village in Lower Monitor (Chachauate
Key)
Local Garifuna girl on
Lower Monitor (Chachauate Key)
Lower Monitor (Chachauate Key) Activities in the Hog Islands There are a range of different activities in the Hog
Islands some of them can be planned from Sambo Creek and Chachauate Key,
while others involve the Plantation Beach Resort. Snorkelling and island hopping was what I did. A
snorkelling-trip involves both and is a great and cheap way to get around the
archipelago. The reefs are in good shape and the visibility was quite good in
August, though I think its better during the winter season (November
March). Staying in Chachauate Key is an opportunity to
experience the local Garifuna culture, food, and art. The men are fishers,
while the women produce bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and other ornaments.
If you are lucky, you can join the children to school. They sail across the
sea to Cochino Grande everyday, where a small school is placed inland. Also, you
can do some hiking in Cochino Major, which offers several hiking trails. One
of the trails leads to the highest point on the island and the lighthouse.
Once there you can enjoy the spectacular view of all the Hog Islands. If you want to dive, you must stay at the Plantation
Beach Resort and pay the US$ 110 rate a night. This involves three dives a
day. Another option is to plan a diving trip there from Utila or Rotαn, which
is even more expensive as you have to stay on a live-aboard or do a pricey
full-day excursion. Lastly, you can visit the Turtle and Coral Marine
Research Center on Cochino Pequeno. The research Center is used for a variety
of purposes and it serves as a base of operations for reef monitoring and the
monitoring of aggregation fish spawning sites.
Glassy
waters in the Cayos Cochinos
Beach on
Cochino Pequeno (Cayo Minor) in front of
the Turtle and Coral Marine Research Centre
Another beach
on Cochino Pequeno
Rock
formation in front of Chicken Cay
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