I'm currently researching Honduras for a project, and it would be cool to have some insider info. Has anyone been there and does anyone know anything about the country? Unfortunately I won't be able to use PTLA as a source... It actually premieres on my last day of school! Good day for a celebration, huh?

Well, anyway, I'd appreciate it if anyone has some information on Honduras that could help me. Thanks!

I've been to Honduras. the capital city, Tegucigalpa or TEGUZ for short is situated in a valley and the city is split by a river (to me it looked like a sewage canal). People identify which side of the river they live on and it can tell you socio-economic level. I believe if you live on the Comayaguela side you're slightly poorer. Toncontin airport practically sits on a mountain top and has a shorter runway. Pilots literally say you fly to this mountain, pull down your landing gear and hope you don't overshoot the runway.

Honduran people call themselves CATRACHOS.

The term 'Banana Republic' was meant for Honduras because of the United Fruit Company and its predessors and rival fruit companies bought political favors from Honduran politicians to get land concessions in order to drive off the competition. the Honduran politicians sold themselves to rivals for more money and this back and forth led to the fruit companies controling the Honduran gov't with all of the coups and counter coups in a bid to control the lands in the banana region of the country.

Honduras has about 6 to 7 million people and about half (or more) live below the poverty line (survive on less than $2 USD per day) it has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS or SIDA. The country was getting back on its feet when Huricane Mitch struck in Oct '98 TWICE and devestated the country.

The second city of Honduras is San Pedro Sula which is near Puerto Cortes. Its an industrial town (due to its location near the port) and kind of dingy. The north coast of Honduras and the Bay Islands is where all of the tropic fun is located. Wealthy Hondurans go to places like La Ceiba, Tela, and even Trujillo to party on the caribbean beaches. You will find Americans living on the Bay Island of Roatan and Utila. Of course its very wealthy and has a caribbean feel more than it has a latin America feel.

The north coast is also where you'll find the Garifunas or the Afro-Hondurans. They mostly speak a caribbean patio-english and invented the Honduran national music and dance called Punta.

The mountain area is where I'll say is the heart of Honduran people. the biggest department (the country is divided into departments not states) is that of Olancho. They call themselves Olanchanos. The two towns of Juticalpa and Catacamas is where most are from. Its a farming region but this is where the logging industry is, with many mature trees to cut. The Honduran wood is everywhere in Honduras with carpenters making beds, chairs, cabinets and other funiture, to wooden boxes etc... Everybody know something about carpentry in Honduras. oh yeah there are a lot of caves in this department.

The department of Copan is where the copan ruins is located. Its an ancient Maya pyramid site.

The Honduran people seemed nice and warm but its a rustic soceity. And what I mean by rustic is that people are a bit raw. No the people are not mean but the country is not used to tourists like Mexico where the locals put on a good face for the tourists and the tourists are shielded from the "bad part of town". The Honduran gov't like tourists, wants more tourism but the gov't is not tourism driven like Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Jamaica etc... So you just don't only see the good part of the town, you see all of the town. You will see the little tienda, the street vendor, traffic, gang bangers, grafitti, citas, street kids, the museum, the cathedral. You will get it all.

One of the best time of year to go to Honduras is during Holy Week or Semana Santa. These streets or cobbled streets are closed off so that people can take colored sawdust, flowers etc... to decorate the actual street into works of art. Some people managed to put down famous paintings, elaborated crosses, Jesus praying, angels etc... and its looks like one continuous carpet with different scenes. It's unreal at how this is down. it's beautiful. But you have to watch out for drunks. Holy is also a good time to get drunk every single day. Only recently have the gov't officials decided that they should do something about drunk driving during this week.

Last thing, hondurans do not say they live in barrios (which is a Mexican usage) rather COLONIAS (like colonies) although some still call them barrios. A colonia can tell all about a person too. These are some names: Colonia Kennedy, Colonia Los Angeles, Colonia Miraflores. it's wild listening to them about where so-and-so lives and why they won't go there.

Gang bangers are problem not only in Honduras but in the other four Central American countries that had to deal with massive deportation of gang members from the U.S. in the last 5 years or so. They mostly go after each other so don't go there flashing any american gang signs because these gangers know about them too.

Deaths of Americans by Honduras is extremely low and for about a year it seems Americans were being targeted. They weren't. it was mostly the wrong place at the wrong time type of situations. In some regard, Hondurans don't mess with Americans and it helps that most Americans live in Roatan.

That's about all that I have.

quote:

Originally posted by pcortega:
That's about all that I have.

Oh, well if that's all... Haha, just kidding! Thank you so much, pcortega- I didn't find harly any of that information where I was researching. Your post is extremely helpful! It's interesting that when you go to Honduras as a tourist, you don't see the watered-down version of the country like you do when you go to Mexico. I will definitely keep your info in mind for my project!

Mil gracias!

If you go to the CIA World Fact Book you will find every piece of information you will need and much, much more, and it is free...We have used it for every project my kids had, here's the link:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

hope it works out for you

Dear Cruiseluver:
I'm from Honduras and I will tell you that it is a Beautiful place to visit. First of all because of the Beautiful Nature(think Costa Rica)and second because of is Cultural and Historic Value. If your planning to visit this is a priority.Not if Comayaguela is poorer or richer than Tegucigalpa,which in fact it isn't since there is beautiful housing in Comayaguela like in every other country that has it's ups and downs.Places to Visit? definitely The North Coast, Bay Islands,La Ceiba, the Preservation Parks, Which are wonderful,Trujillo is a Fantastic Destination also in the north of Honduras and yes it is of a Caribbean feel like the many other countries that are near the "Caribe". By the way The "Caribe" is also part of Latin America.
I don't particularly recommend you the eastern area, though is also beautiful I will recommend the western side of Honduras, Rich in Culture, old and humble Spanish cities, delicious foods and home to "Copan", the Famous Mayan site Pride of Hondurans,the people in this region is very friendly and respectful,part of their Indian heritage you definitely can't miss Copan is very Spiritual. Santa Barbara,Intibuca,Comayagua are few of the Departments(States) that I recommend you,if planning a trip in Fall there is a lot going on during that time in this areas since is harvest time and many religious celebration of Mayan Influences take place, like "huancascos".
The south also has it's enchanting areas like La Paz, or The tip of Honduras where you can find very secure areas to visit,great weather and many of the most beautiful mountain sites,There is a place call "La botija" in a city called San Marcos de Colon, is a Forest denominated Dry tropical Forest,unique in the world for it's nature, Australia has some similar forest as well,definitely worth it.
Semana Santa is a great time to be in Honduras,yeah is true that people drink a lot but whit a Little care you'll have a blast.
As every other city in Latin America I definitely recommend you to be aware on the streets,Poverty is High in Honduras (which i think makes it truly special looking at it from a better prospective).some sites are not quite what you expect when you're visiting a new country or City.
Lodging is not a problem and affordable, you'll find great hotels,3,4 or 5 stars at great prices in major cities and service is superb in some,even if you go backpacking I don't think you'll have a problem finding a good place to stay. Hondurans are approachable I would say,and warm,despite what pcortega says,prove of that is that I'm here being friendly and hopefully helping you with this information.

quote:

I don't particularly recommend you the eastern area, though is also beautiful I will recommend the western side of Honduras, Rich in Culture

I strongly resent that, being as all Latin America has different cultures, languages, ect. Also for the sole reason that Honduras's Caribbean coast is much like my country's (Nicaragua) own. The Gafiruna, Miskito and all the other indigenous people have contributed much to the overall culture of both countries. I Honduras and Nicaragua the Caribbean coast's traditions are more similar to that of the Caribbean nations like Jamaica, it is full of culture, diversity, and mixtures of Indigenous, African, Caribbean and many Chinese influence (particularly in Nicaragua). Both "coasts" are wonderful to travel too.

I'm so sorry lanicoya I was responding to Pcortega about his comment on Olanchos and the mountain area of Honduras, You're absolutely right,I wasn't specific enough of what I was trying to say.He refers of the north coast as Caribbean and not very Latin American( Hello!!).As you said the fusion of cultures is wonderful on both countries and I think he shouldn't refer of the coast like he did because what makes it special is that fact,besides we are so close to the Caribbean...I love my country and Love Nicaragua too I was trying to make a point.
By the way I'm very fond of the "purisimas" Grew up near the borders and just love that wonderful tradition and LOVEEEE the food too

quote:

Originally posted by itzamna:
Dear Cruiseluver:
I'm from Honduras and I will tell you that it is a Beautiful place to visit. First of all because of the Beautiful Nature(think Costa Rica)and second because of is Cultural and Historic Value. If your planning to visit this is a priority.Not if Comayaguela is poorer or richer than Tegucigalpa,which in fact it isn't since there is beautiful housing in Comayaguela like in every other country that has it's ups and downs.Places to Visit? definitely The North Coast, Bay Islands,La Ceiba, the Preservation Parks, Which are wonderful,Trujillo is a Fantastic Destination also in the north of Honduras and yes it is of a Caribbean feel like the many other countries that are near the "Caribe". By the way The "Caribe" is also part of Latin America.
I don't particularly recommend you the eastern area, though is also beautiful I will recommend the western side of Honduras, Rich in Culture, old and humble Spanish cities, delicious foods and home to "Copan", the Famous Mayan site Pride of Hondurans,the people in this region is very friendly and respectful,part of their Indian heritage you definitely can't miss Copan is very Spiritual. Santa Barbara,Intibuca,Comayagua are few of the Departments(States) that I recommend you,if planning a trip in Fall there is a lot going on during that time in this areas since is harvest time and many religious celebration of Mayan Influences take place, like "huancascos".
The south also has it's enchanting areas like La Paz, or The tip of Honduras where you can find very secure areas to visit,great weather and many of the most beautiful mountain sites,There is a place call "La botija" in a city called San Marcos de Colon, is a Forest denominated Dry tropical Forest,unique in the world for it's nature, Australia has some similar forest as well,definitely worth it.
Semana Santa is a great time to be in Honduras,yeah is true that people drink a lot but whit a Little care you'll have a blast.
As every other city in Latin America I definitely recommend you to be aware on the streets,Poverty is High in Honduras (which i think makes it truly special looking at it from a better prospective).some sites are not quite what you expect when you're visiting a new country or City.
Lodging is not a problem and affordable, you'll find great hotels,3,4 or 5 stars at great prices in major cities and service is superb in some,even if you go backpacking I don't think you'll have a problem finding a good place to stay. Hondurans are approachable I would say,and warm,despite what pcortega says,prove of that is that I'm here being friendly and hopefully helping you with this information.

I never said that Hondurans were warm or cold people. I write anything. Generally speaking, all people are warm and inviting, rude and unapproachable. Nobody or no culture has an ownership on warmness or friendliness.

About the North Coast. When I was there, the vibe, the feeling I got from visiting the cities in the north coast was more caribbean than latin american. That is not stating that the North Coast of Honduras is separate from the rest of Honduras, I'm just writing that the north coast has a caribbean feel, the same vibe I felt when I visited the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamiaca and the Bahamas. It had that similar feeling.

Don't get so defensive. My husband is from Honduras, I go often there. In fact, he is there now finishing up his licenciatura. His family is from Olancho. Most have relocated to where I live now. I gave cruiseluvr an American perpective of what I think about Honduras; the good and the not so good and then let him decide what to do.