Hopkins - Day 1

Thank the good lord no snakes were in my mom's mattress last night, because i don't think there's enough wine in this country to make things ok.

After breakfast we headed to St. Herman's National park which had a self guided cave to venture into. So Alexa and I put on our headlamps and i outfitted mom with a flashlight. On the jungle hike there, Alexa twice saw a lizard "Alfred" that runs upright on two feet! I really wish i saw that. She has a weird knack for spotting all creatures.

We finally reached the opening of the cave and started descending down into it. And mom suddenly had a moment where it looked like she was thinking "i have seen this movie and it didn't work out so well for the tourists" and she announced she would not be going any further, which quickly progressed to "i will see you back at the car", and off she went. So Alexa and i descended deep into the pitch black cave. It was pretty eerie and cool at the same time.

After collecting mom in the parking lot, we drove to a jungle swimming hole called the blue hole. We all jumped in and cooled off. Alexa and i noticed a small cave downstream and waded over to it. The echo as we approached was awesome, so i walked into the cave yelling silly things and a flood of bats flew out and scared the crap out of me.

From the swimming hole, we drove a bit further down the hummingbird highway to Billy Barquedier National Park, and hiked through a dense jungle trail to a waterfall and swimming hole. Alexa and i had fun climbing the rocks at the waterfall and mom decided a nearby boulder needed some company and watched us splash around.

On the walk back, Alexa was leading the way maybe 15 steps ahead when she turned around terrified and started running towards us. And then ran right past us. Mom and i looked at eachother wondering what she had seen, so we stopped dead in our tracks. Alexa was hysterical and we could barely understand a word she said for quite a while. Finally we understood she saw a huge black snake with yellow spots curled up on the trail. I went over but there was nothing there. It probably took off the other way just as fast.

Hopping back in the car, we drove to Hopkins, which is a authentic garifuna community (jamaican) with gorgeous beaches. So we settled in quick and altered between hopping waves in the ridiculously warm waters, and lounging back in beachside hammocks. Topped off by an awesome beachside meal. Great day.Read more