Drink of Choice in Honduras: Coconut Water

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One of my favorite aspects of traveling the Caribbean is the serendipitous moment that no itinerary could predict. On a recent trip to the Bay Islands in Honduras, I was on an island tour. On a whim, we headed out on a dusty, rutted gravel road to the island’s east end. I was eager to see some of the undeveloped island and to check out what Roatan sans tourism looked like. My tour guide, Albea, suggested we drop in on a friend of hers who lived oceanside, down an even more indiscernible road. We bumped down her driveway unannounced and pulled up next to her modest home. Far from being aggravated that we’d stopped by unannounced, and that I was a stranger, she greeted us warmly and sat down to chat. We hadn’t been there two minutes when she offered us a drink – some coconut water from her palm trees – a refreshing and only slightly sweet beverage. Her son came outside with a machete, hacked open a coconut for each of us and offered a glass. Coconut water is best when slurped straight out of the nut, so slurp we did, after a toast to our hostess’ generosity. We chatted for a bit longer in her shady yard before going on our way, coconuts in hand and smiles on our faces.