“Oh my gosh” moments in Honduras

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! My trip to Honduras was filled with oh my goshing. It started with my first-ever plane ride. Then my first delayed flight. Next, it was the heat and the powerful AC of the hotel. Then it was the mountains, visible the entire journey from the hotel to our next stop. Again, it was said when I saw a Blue Morpho butterfly– an insect I have admired since childhood. I said it while we drove up the mountain, a cliff to the right and ferns the size of the truck to the left. Again as I watched the towering trees pass by and saw a coffee plantation growing on the hillside. Then when I saw the camp and an enormous moth immediately landed on a friends shoe. I just couldn’t stop saying saying it. Everything was so fascinating and beautiful.

Photo by Victor Shegelski and Hugh Tam

The first night at Base Camp the invertebrate team set up a light trap that we could visit. I was amazed by the beautiful bugs I saw– moths of all different sizes, greens, yellow, white, and brown, beatles that sparkled in the light– and every scientist was just as excited as I was.

The first survey I went on was with the mammal team. Our hike was long but not too challenging. We saw gnawed-on fruits and ripped-apart leaves – a telltale sign of kinkajou present – and square-shaped skunk holes, and even the tail of a coati as it scurried down a faraway tree. Of course, there was a lot of oh my goshing.

Photo by Matt Bassett

The trip, although lovely, was the hardest thing I had ever done. Because of that, my self-confidence is now through the roof! Thanks to this trip I am scuba certified! I hiked up a mountain! I did and saw such incredible things, I’m still in shock! Going on this adventure was a dream come true and definitely worth the challenge. Thank you to Opwall for this opportunity.

Hopefully one day I can do it again!

Title photo by Roger Poland