South of Yoro

Some 25 kilometers west of Yoro [1] on the highway to Santa Rita [2], just before the village of Punta de Ocote, a dirt road turns southward to Yorito and Sulaco. At Yorito, 12.5 kilometers down this road, a side road continues six kilometers farther to Luquigue, a colonial mission church established in 1751 by Franciscan missionaries in an effort to convert the Tolupán Indians who lived in the region at that time.

The friars were generally unsuccessful; the Indians were kept there only by force and fled whenever possible. The mission was abandoned shortly after independence from Spain in 1821. The single-domed, whitewashed church, seemingly long forgotten in this isolated little village surrounded by pine-forested mountains, is worth seeing more for the atmosphere and surrounding countryside than the structure itself. Ask around for the mayordoma, who will give you the key to go inside to see two simple, carved wooden retablos (altarpieces).

The next major town south of Yorito is San Antonio, known for a lovely natural bridge with a river cutting through it, called Puente Natural de San Antonio. The bridge, about six meters high and some 20 meters long, is a kilometer outside of San Antonio—ask anyone in town to point the way. Keep an eye out for a large ceiba tree, which marks the spot. Inside the cave are fine spots to swim in the Quebrada Los Anises, as well as thermal waters cascading down from the roof! It’s a lovely spot to camp, and no one will bother you, except during Holy Week, when locals come to enjoy the waters.