Valry in Wonderland: Lago de Yajoa

Waterfalls, rowing, and a brewery in Lago de Yajoa, Honduras.

Sometimes I feel a bit jaded when it comes to travel. I see amazing things every day but then the amazingness turns to mundane. Places I go don’t live up to the image I have in my head or to places I’ve already been. I forget to appreciate things for what they are. I forget to appreciate this amazing life I’ve been able to forge for myself.

After hitching a ride from Copan to San Pedro Sula and grabbing a chicken bus on which a man questioned why a girl who barely speaks Spanish was traveling alone in Honduras, I checked into a brewery off of Lago de Yajoa. A brewery. That was also a hostel. This alone kind of excited me. Not that I am a big beer aficionado but it was nice to have some fresh brews of something different than the normal Salva Vidas. And they had a cat. Which we all know is pretty much a requirement for me when looking for habitation.

On my second day I invited myself along on a boat trip down to the lake with some of the guys who were also staying there.

As we (OK, they) rowed to the lake, slowly but determined, everything seemed new. There were plants I’d never seen before: giant lilies that made me feel like perhaps I’d fallen into some sort of rabbit hole, drank some potion that shrunk me down. There were bugs I’d never seen before. There were birds I’d never seen before.

And the next day we hiked to two waterfalls. Despite the fact that I am terribly out of shape and not used to walking upwards I finished the hike and swam in a freezing cold fall as rain started pouring down.

And the next morning I hiked for three hours around a coffee farm, taking my time with the giant trees, the coffee beans, the flowers.

Part of me never wanted to leave this little oasis, this beautiful place that had me falling in love with Honduras, with Central America.

I’d been struggling here. Especially since so many people I meet rave about how much they loved Guatemala and I just didn’t get it. But Honduras, in the brief time I stayed there, started to capture my heart.

I guess there is always room for something new, something that will wow and amaze even the most jaded of minds. But maybe sometimes you just have to stumble down a hole to find it.

Valry in Wonderland: Lago de Yajoa Waterfalls, rowing, and a brewery in Lago de Yajoa, Honduras.

Bucket List Idea: Travel to Honduras Valry in Wonderland: Lago de Yajoa Waterfalls, rowing, and a brewery in Lago de Yajoa, Honduras.