Latin America Collection

The next country that you encounter as you drive south through Central
America will be Honduras. It is the second-largest Central American
country after Nicaragua and has a population of 5.5 million. The country
is a land of many contrasts with with cool mountains in the interior and a
long hot Caribbean coastline. Honduras is bordered by Guatemala on the
West, the Caribbean on the North and Nicaragua, El Salvador and a tiny
bit of the Pacific Ocean's Gulf of Fonesca on the South.

On his fourth voyage to the "new world" in 1502, Columbus landed
near Trujillo on the Northern coast of Honduras. The name he gave it was
"Honduras", which means "depths" in Spanish, referring to the deep waters
of the Caribbean at that point.

The capital was established in Trujillo in 1525 by the Spanish. In 1537,
the capital was moved to "Comayagua" in the much cooler high-lands at
near the geographical center of the country. It remained there until 1880,
when it was once again moved. This time it was relocated to Tegucigalpa
where it remains today.

By around 1600 the British pirates had just about taken over the Bay
Islands
off the North coast of Honduras. Henry Morgan established his
headquarters on Roatán, the largest of the Bay Islands, which is a
continuation of the barrier reef off Belize and Guatemala. English is the
prime language in most of the Bay Islands, which consist of Roatán, Guanaja
and Utila, the smaller of the group.

The most interesting section of Honduras from an archaeological point
of view, is Copán, located west of San Pedro Sula near the Guatemalan border.
The magnificient Copán Ruins, or sometimes just called Copán, are a sight
to behold. The Mayans established and occupied the ruins for over 2000
years. They are now open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00p.m. daily. There is a
nominal entrance fee. The facilities contain a free audio visual show of the
ruins. There is also a patio and restaurant loctaed in the facility. Outside
there are restaurants and snack bars. Since this area has become a prime
tourist attraction there is ample lodging and also places to eat in town.

Some of the sights one can expect to see are the Great Plaza with many
carvings, the Ball Court which is the second largest in Central America,
the Hieroglyphic Stairway with 63 steps with carvings which are thought
to tell the history of Copán, stelae(an upright stone slab with inscriptions),
the Acropolis, Las Sepulturas, and much more. Books and guides are
available at the Visitor's Center. In the town of Copán, which is nearby, the
Museo de Copán
is filled with artifacts that were taken from the ruins.

SAN PEDRO SULA
: This is the second-largest city in Honduras and
has over 300,000 inhabitants. It is the commercial, business and industrial
center of the country and main lay over for traveling to the north coast--
about 40 miles away. As it is only 250 feet above sea-level and near the
Caribbean, it is very hot and humid a lot of the time.

The city sadly lacks much in the way of sightseeing. This was partly
due to its having suffered fire and flooding which wiped out its Colonial
buildings of the early days. There are some parks and museums for your
pleasure.
PUERTO CORTES
, located north of San Pedro Sula, is Honduras'
major port on the Caribbean. It is primarily a shipping point for most of
the country's exports. Bananas and pineapple are the largest commodity.
Being a commercial port, it has very little to offer for the tourist.
TELA
is one of best beaches on Honduras' Caribbean coast and attracts
many travellers. Accommodations are plentiful and inexpensive.
LA CEIBA
which is the largest and busiest of Honduras' towns on the
North Caribbean coast, is also a major shipping point for its exports. The
area has nice beaches and is the closest port to Roatán and the Bay Islands.
THE BAY ISLANDS
are famous for their warm Caribbean waters,
coral reefs, white sand beaches, tropical sunsets and some of the best diving
in the world. The islands are located about 30 miles off the north coast of
Honduras.
Roatán
is the largest and the most famous of the three Bay Islands. It
is surrounded by about 60 miles of living reef, making it a paradise for
diving and snorkelling. There is a lot to do to stay busy and hotels and
restaurants are plentiful. You can even learn to dive if you have never tried
it. The other two Bay Islands are Guanaja and Utila. The latter is the
cheaper of the three islands to visit. Guanaja is the easternmost island and
a good diving spot because of the reefs and sunken ships in the area. About
90% of the island has been declared a national forest and marine park.
TEGUCIGALPA
is four hours (239 km) south of San Pedro Sula and
is the capital city of Honduras. Around 800,000 inhabitants live in this city.
It is located at an elevation of 3200 feet, is pleasantly cool, and surrounded
by pine forests and several peaks. The weather is much cooler than on the
coast making it better for living. The city is divided by the Choluteca River,
with the main part of the city on the east side. On the other side of the river
is a district called Comayaguele, which is a poor district with cheap hotels
and is best to avoid.

Some of the sights in Tegucigalpa are Parque Central (Central Park),
La Merced
and the Palacio Legislativo, where congress meets, the Casa
Presidencial
which is the Presidential Palace.
The city has foreign embassies, plenty of hotels, all sorts of restaurants
and nightlife, several English-language bookshops and even an English-
language newspaper, Honduras This Week. Because of the cool weather and
low cost of living, there is an expatriate community found in this city. We
know several North Americans who moved from Costa Rica to Honduras
because it is less expensive to live there.

If traveling to Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama, it is faster to travel
through the lower western part of Honduras from El Salvador via Central
American Highway 1( CA-1) and not visit either Tegucigalpa let alone San
Pedro Sula on the other side of the country. There is no real need to go out
of your way unless you want to visit either of these two large cities.
CHOLUTECA
is a small city three hours (137 km) south of Tegucigalpa.
There is not much in the way to do in this city. However, it is a main
stopping-off point between borders and a good place to spend the night.
It is only about 25 miles from the Nicaraguan border.

It is a good idea to cross that border as early in the day as possible.
As with all border crossing, make sure you have all of your paperwork in
order and be prepared for long waits and to exercise a lot of patience. Be
aware that the Honduran border crossing is reputed to be the worst in
Central America.
NICARAGUA ROUTES MAP