Lago de Yojoa and Ojo de Agua, Honduras

Lago de Yojoa, Honduras
Where do I begin. Three years ago our friends, Bobby and Marcia, were shocked to hear that we had not gone to the Pulanhapsak Waterfalls while visiting Lago de Yojoa. They said it was the best waterfall they had ever seen. Now I've been thinking about these falls since that time and told myself that if I ever got there again I was seeing those falls. Shortly after the trip began LuAnn contacted the owner of the hotel/restaurant where we stay and asked for assistance in finding transportation and information about the falls. He was more than happy to help and even found another zip-line adventure for us at the falls. We new little more than that.
Twenty-three out of thirty-four people excitedly departed for a view of the falls, a tour behind the falls and a zip-line that would take us across the falls. The first obstacle was our guide – Victor got sick. So Victor #2 came along but he didn't speak any English so Gabriel the owner and his wife rode along; Gabriel was the interpreter. Gabriel was around 30 and had lived in the US until the age of 16 so his English is perfect but he hasn't had the opportunity to use it much in the last 14 years. He was hysterical. He showed several looks of shock and surprise when the guide rattled on for seconds; Gabriel shortened the answer to a few words. Then he expressed concern that he had never stood on a bus while the bus doors kept popping open. Finally we arrived at the falls. Some wanted to do the zip line first then others wanted to take the tour. After several very confusing moments, Gabriel told us the guides wanted to take us on the tour first and asked how many needed a plastic bag to protect their cameras during the tour as we would get wet. They told us we would get wet maybe 4 times. But we didn't really understand what this meant. Then we started to see people coming up from the tour soaked and giddy with excitement. We walked on. Then we got to almost the bottom of the falls and stood on a platform with water splashing around us and off the rocks. We found out that this was the beginning of the behind the falls tour. A few opted out. It was a little scary as the rocks were surrounded by mud and little pools of water. Oh and the path was right next to the drop off of about 20 feet to the water.
The hardy sloshed on. Through the small streams, through the waist high water, over the boulders, and finally under a small stream of water to an overhang. Now we are excited. Two more dropped out of our group but the hardier continued on. We went in groups of four holding hands and being told to breath through our mouths. LuAnn left her glasses back with the two that dropped out. She couldn't see anyway since they were steamed up and water was dripping off them.
I'm not sure what happened then. The water was dumping down on our heads, we were stepping from rock to rock and sometimes dropping into chest high water then waist high. The water falls were so strong you couldn't even look up at times. We held on to each other for life. Sometimes we smashed our hands against rocks sometimes it was our legs. Finally we came to a stop and found ourselves on the underside of the falls and looking up at the 42 meter waterfall. Our last surprise was being able to climb into a cave underneath the falls. The opening was 30 inches wide and about 3-4 foot long. I have no idea how big the inside was since we couldn't see a thing. There were three of us in there repeatedly asking where are you. One by one we backed out of the cave; LuAnn was last and it got pretty spooky in there in the dark by yourself. Back through the waterfalls, the pools, the deluge of water, rocks and more rocks until we found ourselves back at the overlook. We were offered the opportunity to jump off the rocks but only Brian took them up on the offer. We began our journey back up the hill. LuAnn took a little fall. Tripped on some safety wires, then slipped on the mossy wooden walkway. Just a small scrape.
We were thrilled, exhilarated. We feel that we are now a part of some club.
The zip-line could not possibly compare. It was 5 zip-lines. There were two that crossed the river. Really neat. Not fast but definitely a thrill crossing the river. Some people dipped on purpose others just happened to dip their feet. The final cross was at the top of the waterfall. We crossed from one side to the other and it was beautiful. Maybe not the same thrill as the behind that falls tour but definitely prettier.
We got back to the rigs a little cold and tired but still buzzing with excitement. Our day was topped off with a delicious dinner of lake tilapia with red beans, rice, cabbage & beet slaw, tamirindo juice and ice cream.
One a day. Our friends were right. This was a fall not to miss.
Ojo de Agua
This is one of our least favorite stops. It is a gas station/restaurant parking lot frequented by dogs, horse and wanderers. It is dirty, dusty and the restaurant closes at 6 pm. We did our best to have fun with a Cuba Libre and Michelada party. With the appetizers it made for a small improvement to the location. We were all happy to be off early the next morning as we were not only leaving this hot, dusty spot but heading to Nicaragua.