The Perils of Toucan Alley, a Dangerous Reality in Honduras!

Wow! What else can I say? Toucans here, toucans there, toucans are all over the place! I am at the front porch of La Villa de Soledad B&B in the Cangrejal River Valley in La Ceiba, trying to carry out a conversation with a friend and this is simply getting ridiculous! The trees are full of both keel billed toucans and collared aracary specimens! I can’t finish a sentence without my friend Pepe saying there goes another one… How can anyone expect me to carry on a conversation like that?

I guess that you can certainly call the natural biological corridor between Pico Bonito National Park and Nombre de Dios National Park Toucan Alley. And since everyone likes to write about the perils of visiting Honduras, I have decided I have the right to write about the perils of Toucan Alley!

For starters, if you can’t even carry a normal conversation without getting all distracted by these absolutely beautiful birds. Can you imagine what it would be like if you trying to drive a car? Look there goes a toucan, oh and there goes another…Before you know it, the car you are driving will end up danging from a tree limb. This after you went off the road because you got distracted by one of these birdies. Believe it or not, they do exist beyond the fruit loops packages in the supermarkets back home…

Or if you are trying to keep up with your fellow hikers as you hike up one of the trails in Pico Bonito National Park and you simply walk off the trail because you are looking up towards the canopy trying to spot the toucans that you can hear loud and clear from the trail? Yes, it’s time that someone warned you about the perils of Toucan Alley… that area along the Caribbean Coast of Atlantida, facing the Bay Islands of Honduras that offers one of the best kept rain forests of Central America.

As my friend, Pepe and myself start arguing about who has seen more toucans in the last fifteen minutes. I go ahead and brag about how I saw 8 toucans in one tree when hiking around my property last week! Oh, that’s nothing my friend answers back! I saw 14 in a single tree the day before yesterday as I walked around my farm in El Pino! The farm is close to the famous Lodge at Pico Bonito…

So now you know! When coming to Pico Bonito bring you binoculars with you! By all means do not attempt to drive and bird watch at the same time! You can say the the same about hiking and bird watching. Why don’t you simply relax in a spacious terrace, such as the one at La Villa de Soledad B&B or the brand new Hotel Rio, both on the Cangrejal River Valley and do some serious bird watching from you comfort of your chair or hammock! This way, you can even sip an ice cold beer without being subject to the perils of Toucan Alley!