Farther East

Just before the highway turns inland through the hills toward Savá [1] and the Valle del Aguán, 33 kilometers from La Ceiba [2], is the small town of Jutiapa, where a dirt road (in horrible condition at last report) turns off 10 kilometers down to Nuevo Armenia at the sea’s edge. From here, you can arrange a trip on a motorized lancha (launch) out to the nearby Cayos Cochinos [3].

Prices continue to go up but should be somewhere around US$100–150 for a boat, depending on negotiating ability and number of people going. Finding boats already going out for a less expensive ride is next to impossible these days.

Rene Arzú (tel. 504/9937-1674) is one person in Nuevo Armenia who can help arrange a private boat trip, but there are others. A simple hotel in Nuevo Armenia offers inexpensive, very basic rooms.

East along the coast beyond Jutiapa are the Garífuna villages of Balfate, Río Esteban, and Río Coco, all connected by a rough dirt road.