Honduras, the Heart of Central America!

Honduras is one of the original 5 Central American Provinces (HONDURAS, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) that chose, after their independence from Spain in 1821, to remain individually independent. Of the above five, Honduras is the second largest country, with approximately 112,500 square kilometers of territory. Honduras has fewer inhabitants (Approximately eight and a half million) than Guatemala. It has the most mountainous territory in the region. Yet it is the only country  in Central American that does not have active volcanoes within its territory.

The population of Honduras is divided about half and half between mainly rural areas and several major cities in the different parts of the country.  Tegucigalpa is the biggest and is the capital city, currently with a population that stands at about 2,000,000.  San Pedro Sula in the North of the country has become the industrial and financial capital of Honduras. The city has a population of approximately one million inhabitants. When added to the populations of Choloma, Villanueva, La Lima and El Progreso, all adjacent to San Pedro Sula and which form the metropolitan Sula Valley area, creates the most populated and fastest growing area in Honduras.

Other important cities are La Ceiba, a port city on the Atlantic coast that has close to 250,000; Comayagua, the old colonial Capital, and Choluteca on the southern part of the country (close to the Pacific Ocean).

The Political Stucture of Honduras

The government of Honduras has three basic powers. The Executive, (the president), the legislative, (A congress with 128 representatives) and the judicial. Elections take place every four years. The country is divided into 18 departments, including one that is formed by the Bay Islands. The main language is Spanish, however in the bigger cities, and in the islands, many people speak English.

Honduras is located in the heart of the Central American Isthmus. It has a border to west with Guatemala, to the southwest with El Salvador and to the east with Nicaragua. To its north lies the Caribbean Sea and to the south the Pacific Ocean. With over 800 km of Caribbean coast, Honduras has some of the most pristine beaches in the Caribbean.

The weather in Honduras is usually hot and humid. The exception is in the central highlands, where it tends to be cooler, although you cannot say it is cold. Officially, there are only two seasons in Honduras. Verano, or summer, is the dry season, and Invierno or winter is the rainy season. It really has no correlation to what the rest of the world calls Summer and Winter! In my humble opinion, the best time to visit Honduras is in February and March.

Honduras has a limited highway infrastructure. However work is ongoing to expand the network. Many of the highways are converting to toll roads to finance upgrading them. As you travel on the Honduras highway network, remember that Honduras is a mountainous country. Because of this, it is common to have winding roads, so drive carefully.