JEWEL OF THE REEF

As divers traverse the globe in search of adventure, respecting and supporting local communities can stimulate ocean conservation at a grassroots level

- NICOLE WEBSTER

On this Earth, tucked away in the farthest corners, you can find hidden places. Jewels that are teeming with unique creatures, unbelievable landscapes, and rich cultures. For the indigenous peoples that inhabit these incredible parts of the Earth, it is they, along with scientists and conservationists, who are tasked with the near impossible: protecting these hidden jewels from being exploited, oppressed, and lost to history.

Deemed the Caribbean Jewel of the Mesoamerican Reef, Cayos Cochinos sits just off the northern coast of Honduras. It is a National Marine Monument, an archipelago made up of 12 different cays, each one different than the next. The only inhabitants allowed to settle here are an indigenous group called the Garifuna.

Ancestors of the Garifuna were taken captive from their lands in West and Central Africa, brought to the Caribbean to be slaves, yet were never documented as such. It is theorized they were survivors of shipwrecks, escaped captivity, and found solace amongst the Caribs of St. Vincent, Guadalupe. Upon arriving in the Caribbean, they mixed with Arawak and Carib, developing into the indigenous group we now know as the Garifuna.

The Garifuna lived on the Caribbean island of Guadalupe until the French overtook it in 1795. This was during a time in history when slaves throughout the Caribbean began to revolt. For this reason, in 1797 the British exiled those they deemed ‘threatening’ to Roatan, a large island off the coast of Honduras.

Since then, this group evolved and found freedom and places to call their own throughout Central America, including the mainland and islands of Honduras.