Travel Tales

Republic of Honduras

The Republic of Honduras has a population of over ten million people, a mix from West Africa when Spain began trading in slave labor, and the original Amerindian population bred with Africans. Garifuna people settled in small villages.  The indigenous people are related to the Maya, Paya, Lenca and Tolupan tribes.  Columbus visited Guanaja in 1502 - 1504. The Mayan ruins are 3000 years old. It is famous for archeological Mayan tourism.

A lot of expatriate Canadians, Americans, and even Czechs bought properties in this area escaping high taxes and enjoying the pristine emerald green waters and white powdery sand. A native from Honduras is called "Catracho" or "Catracha." 

Its capital is Tegucigalpa.  The official language is Spanish, but after British colonization of Roatan English is widely spoken.  Schooling is not mandatory.
In 1862 the crown colony of British Honduras was established. British Honduras became the modern-day state of Belize where mahogany harvesting became a big business. The transatlantic slave trade was abolished in 1824. 

The country exports coffee, sugar, and tropical fruits such as mangoes, watermelon, coconuts,bananas, papayas and cantaloupe.  There are no active volcanoes. Electricity is expensive because power is generated by diesel turbines. French Harbour is home to Roatan's Yacht Club.

Scuba divers from all over the world come to dive at the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, and see caves, crevices, chimneys, colorful tropical fish, and other interesting formations.

The country faces weak institutions, endemic corruption, pervasive poverty, inequitable access to economic opportunities, marginalized communities, and contribute to expansion of transnational criminal organizations.  The USA condemns the violence that undermines Honduras's institutions and are inconsistent with the core principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter which Honduras signed as a member of the Organization of American States in September 2001. About 90% of Honduran people identify as "mestizo" - a mixed European de facto Spanish and indigenous ancestry. The Catholic Church reports that 75% of the population is Catholic, however a recent Gallup poll stated that 48% of the population now identifies as "evangelical Protestant."

The national flower is the orchid rhyncholaelia.  Mammals unique to Honduras include the Roatan Island Agouti.  Their rainy season is between September and January.

Tourists should reconsider travel to Honduras due to crime and kidnapping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alinka Zyrmont
Photos:  Alinka Zyrmont

 

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