Germán, who has seen all five of the country's wild cat species while on expeditions to the top of Pico Bonito explained to me the genuine danger of such a trip.  "One slip on those rocks, and no one will ever get you out.  You're done.  You're gone.  These days, say there are ten people that want to be guided to the top.  They each pay me so much, and it is a lot of money.  But no amount of money is worth my life."

Hearing Germán's stories of the Honduran jungle reminds me of how this area shaped me for so much of my life.  A very long time ago, I first heard the stories of a lost city that may or may not exist in Eastern Honduras. 

The idea, and the apparent credibility behind the possibility of a completely undiscovered city-sized ruin on my own continent confounded and entranced me.