The reef in front of Honduras Shores Plantation was discovered to science in 2013, But fishermen have been talking about it for years and years. “Why is this important?” I asked Tony the director of Tela Marine.
“This reef is the only place where scientists know for sure Diandema antillarum are spawning successfully and propagating to the rest of the Caribbean. These long spiny urchins are voracious algae eaters and you may not know, algae overgrowth is one, if not the main reason for coral loss in the Caribbean.
“This reef is the only place in the Caribbean that still has vast extensions of Acropora palmate (Elk Horn Coral). This type of coral is now in the Critically Endangered list, and scientists have proved that Elk Horn coral gametes from spawning events in the bay are seeding the rest of the Caribbean with this essential species of coral. Reefs in Tela are much more resilient to bleaching events due to the turbidity of the water in the bay that acts as a sun screen, protecting coral from the damaging UV rays of the sun.”
Marine Scientists, believe reefs like the one in Tela might be the “Last Reefs Standing” in this climate crisis”, and could very well be the last place with the genetical material necessary to repopulate the reefs of the Caribbean after the climate crisis reverts or starts to get better.”
Marine Scientists are coming from all over the world, and from 44 top universities, including 3 from Canada, through a partnership with Tela Marine and Shores Plantation. Dr. Max Bodmer a professor from Lincolnshire University in the UK is the Science director in charge of coordination of all the scientific work, he spends 3 months a year on the property.
They were building an absolutely gorgeous new aquarium on the site when I was there in August. It will be the largest (and only) Caribbean Species Marine Aquarium in all Central America. It is mainly a fish nursery for aquaculture funded by the government.
Tony said, “The main objective of the aquarium is to create awareness so that this and future generations can use their natural resource in a sustainable manner at the same time creating wealth. Schools and universities will be the target, and we host them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For public school children, snacks, pop and the use of the pool for two hours are included. Guests of the property will be welcome to tour the museum at no charge.”
Honduras Shores Plantation is on a large strip of land in-between the Cola del Mico lagoon and the Caribbean Sea, and has the benefit of being inside the buffer zone of the Blanca Jeannette Kawas National Park. It is a large gated community with 24-hour security. There are 2-5-bedroom villas, 1-2-bedroom houses, a 12-room hotel facing the lagoon with 8 separate bedrooms and 4 studio apartments, 13 eco-casitas, four of which have kitchens and living rooms, and a beach hotel making a total of 46 rooms, with a choice for everyone. There is a discounted rate for monthly stays.
And there are choices for eating too.
There are some facilities where your clients can make their own meals, there is a meal plan available for the restaurant, and if they are staying in the ocean front hotel, breakfast is included.
On the property, we find the food at a restaurant run by Tony and Alejandra delicious. As usual in our two weeks we ate every dinner there and sometimes lunch and once breakfast.
The cobblestone streets are lined with various varieties of palm trees, and flowering bushes are everywhere, the property is a feast for the eyes. There is a large clubhouse, with a restaurant, huge pool and banquet facilities upstairs, which is perfect for a wedding reception. There is also a pool for the eco-cabins, one for the Lagoon Hotel, and one for guests staying on the property at the Beach club. The huge government protected lagoon is a fun place to walk, or paddle, or just sit and watch the birds, the monkeys, and other wild life. People rave about the fishing.
The beach, did I mention the beach? It seems to go on forever, white sand, and shallow entry to the beckoning Caribbean.
Some of the employees have been there since we started going almost 20 years ago, and some Canadian guests have been visiting for the winter for as long as I’ve been going too.
The interesting town of Tela is only 20 minutes away, and there is lots of shopping, and many little restaurants to visit.
We loved the weekends off-season when the Club, pool, and beachfront were full of Hondurans having a great time.
“Tony can’t say enough about the owners (they are shy about their charity work) and really over the years I’ve been amazed at how much they help in the community, both with money, and time.” Tony added, “What is incredible in the case of the Aquarium is the fact that they approved a project that is not intended to create a direct flow of revenue.”
I can’t say enough about the owners either, but they would hate it if I did, so I won’t.