Honduras Travels

I caught an old Russian prop plane (was good to see the Russian alphabet again) to the village of Palacios. Runway was a narrow grass and gravel stretch between shacks in which the locals lived, which made for a bumpy landing. Was able to arrange transport in a cayuco, which is a small wooden craft about 25′ in length and could seat 2-3 people across, powered by a small motor. This particular one was loaded down with supplies going out to the village of Cocobila, the largest settlement on Laguna Ibans, and didn’t seem especially seaworthy. Trip through the river was smooth, but once we hit the lagoon it was a different story, as the small boat was tossed around like a cork on the water by the waves. It was a three hour trip, and the tune to Gilligans Island ran through my mind more than once, recalling a similar 3 hour tour that didn’t end well. Finally arrived in the small garifuna village of Raista. The area was pretty spectacular, with the Caribbean on one side of the narrow strip of land and the lagoon on the other. In the afternoon I was watching a woman standing in the lagoon washing her clothes and beating them against a log. Turning my head slightly I saw another woman attaching some brush to a long stick for use as broom. A further swivel of the head revealed a man cutting up and getting the meat from a turtle, mangos falling from a tree, and chickens, cows, and horses that could wander where they liked. Really was an amazing place. Place I stayed didn’t have electricity, so it was a night of candlelight.

On April 10th, James and I left lovely Roatan and sadly parted ways. We took an early flight (a scary propeller flight again) to San Pedro Sula, a grubby hole of a town on mainland Honduras (nice airport though). I had a bus to catch in the city centre and James decided to tag along as he had time before his next flights to Costa Rica.

Wedged between Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Honduras is Central America’s crooked elbow, jutting into the Caribbean with 400 miles of banana- and palm-lined seashore. Many Americans associate this steamy land, once known as the Banana Republic, with political instability, voodoo and malarial swamps.

But adventurous travelers willing to look beyond the stereotypes and Honduras’ checkered past will find many tropical wonders ripe for exploration. Some of the finest treasures lurk in the warm aquamarine waters just offshore. The tranquil island of Roatan is a scuba-diver’s dream, an endearing hodgepodge of Caribbean culture and a getaway that’s increasingly easy to access.

If you like riddles, you will love Honduras. Is it in Latin America or the Caribbean? Is it just another banana republic or something more sophisticated?

Obviously foreign elements, such as the exotic tropical flowers, blend with elements so familiar that you could be in Woking. The driver who meets me at San Pedro Sula airport speaks Spanish, but there is a poster of David Beckham on the road into the city. A horse-drawn cart pulls out of a Pizza Hut. An olive-skinned bride emerges from the back of a black London taxi. The McDonald’s in the main square is so close to the cathedral that you must be able to smell the barbecue sauce mingling with the incense and vice versa. Complete strangers throw enormous smiles at me just because I am wearing a Barmy Army T-shirt. I am going to enjoy myself.

By Charis Atlas Heelan

Honduras remains a bit of a Central American secret when it comes to tourism. The result is a destination less than three hours flight from Miami, that boast fewer tourists than its neighbors, pristine beaches and world class diving. It’s also culturally diverse with numerous indigenous and mixed origin language groups, a rich heritage of art and music and a friendly welcoming population. English is widely spoken in cities and in resort areas. Eco-tourism is on the rise here with local companies trying to maintain the country’s lush jungles and pure environment. This relative secrecy won’t last too much longer as Honduras is experiencing a tourism growth period with a 78% increase in visitors over the past three years.

COPAN RUINAS, Honduras

Men in jeans and straw hats walked along the highway that snaked through the mountains from San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas; fruit stands and shantytowns speckled the route.

A small landslide caused by some heavy rains made part of our drive difficult, but my local guide, Eli, told me this was nothing - there had been times when he was unable to bring tourists to Copan because labor strikes blockaded this road.

In my mid-20s, this was my first solo trip. And to a country where I didn’t speak the language, no less.

There are a few people in the world who grab hold of life and truly make a difference. Mother Teresa was one of them, and Susan Bruno might be next in line.

Amidst the stormy days of early January, Bruno, a West Shore resident who has been following the work of Mother Teresa for nearly a decade, boarded a twin engine piper airplane set for Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. With her were Incline Village pilot Rob Lober and Dr. Ed Weiss and Dr. Judi Foy from the High Sierra Chapter of Flying Doctors, a nonprofit organization that flies more than a dozen missions a year to administer free medical and dental care.

DURHAM — Getting to Honduras was a quick two- or three-hour plane flight.

But for Emily Metzloff, getting back took two and a half months.

It’s just not as fast on a bike.

Metzloff was in Honduras with the Peace Corps, teaching kids about life skills, health and computers. While she was there, she biked everywhere and realized she liked it.

“I had a really good friend who also liked to bike ride, so one day I said, ‘Hey, we should ride home,’ ” she said. “So we did.”

To get to the Honduras, we had to first take a launch along the coast to Puerto Barrios, another once-important port for the United Fruit company. Omoa lies on the Caribbean coast about 2 hours east of Puerto Barrios. Barrios is a rather squalid seaside town with few still-important commerce connections. The last working train in the Honduras is here, which is evident by the sprawl of tracks that indiscriminately cut across the main street where the buses and collectivos gather.

Copan Ruinas is a small town 2 kilometers west of the the site itself. Rugged mountainous terrain, ranches, and a rustic atmosphere. Highland location with cool nights and warm days: just the way I like it. The town is situated on a hillside with steep cobblestone streets that crisscross back and forth.

As is tradition in most Latin American towns, people gather in the town square in the early evening when the heat of the day is subsiding. Women prepare and sell snacks, children play games on the boardwalk, men sit and discuss affairs, while teens hope for romantic encounters.