Likes & Dislikes

Opinions

During my first week in Honduras, I found out what it feels like to travel on a ‘chicken bus’. These vehicles got their name because you can transport anything on them, including – yes – live chickens. I felt a little uncomfortable, of course, when everyone stared at me as I stepped onto the crowded bus. Maybe I’d have blended in better with some flapping poultry under my arm.

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I still don’t understand why there are no bus stops or timetables. When the bus slows down, people just jump on and off amid the street vendors selling their wares, and on several occasions I saw the ticket collector clamber up onto the roof while the bus was travelling at speed, just to reposition the luggage. At first, I was completely lost in this alien world.”


Honduras - street art - v.g. photo

Practicals

Transport

“During my first few days, I found out what it means to travel by chicken bus. The vehicles got this apt name because they genuinely transport everything, including chickens. Of course, I felt self-conscious when I got on and everyone stared at me – maybe if I’d had wings and a beak I’d have been less conspicuous.
I also didn’t understand why there are no bus stops or timetables anywhere. Whenever the bus slowed down, people would simply jump on or off, while vendors sold their wares along the entire route, and the ticket conductor repeatedly clambered onto the roof of the speeding bus to check that the packages were tied down correctly. At the start I felt very lost in this alien world.”


Central America -Honduras - bus - Elter photo

Honduras - Docked in Roatan - Allure of the Seas cruise - r.g. photo

Honduras - dirt road

Honduras - road condition - Elter photo

Honduras - camioneta de pollos (chicken bus) (trambilla) - m.d. photo

Food

“I really liked the local version of a kebab, and could put away three or four of them a day 😊. Basically on a small plastic dish you get two or three corn tortillas, grated cabbage, a bit of chili/tomato sauce, the indispensable bean puree and your choice of meat cooked on a skewer – usually beef or pork. The portions aren’t large, but the price is low, so I often eat more than one.”


Honduras - Baleasa, a very poular flour tortilla - refried beans, thick cream, cheese, avocado - p.c. photo

Shopping

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Honduras - Roatán - souvenirs - s.b. photo

Honduras - road side fruit stand - k.a. photo

Fun

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Honduras - Roatan Island - Mahagony Bay - entertainers - k.a. photo

Honduras - Roatan Island - p.a. photo

Public safety

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Honduras - Tegucigalpa - Paseo Liquidambar, a walking street - police patrol - Alexander S. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - police with shield - Alexander S. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - Plaza los Dolores - statue of Archangel Michael slaying the devil - k.a. photo

Health

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Honduras - Roatan Island - the town of Coxen Hole - hospital - k.a. photo

Others

Roatan

Honduras - Roatan - cruises - agnes e.o. photo

Honduras - Islas De La Bahia - Roatán - s.b. photo

Honduras - Roatán - s.b. photo

Honduras - Roatán - s.b. photo

Honduras - Roatán - s.b. photo

Honduras - Roatán - s.b. photo

Background

Central America - Honduras - Tegucigalpa - national flag of Honduras - Catedral de San Miguel - v.g. photo

Destination in brief

Neighbors: Guatemala (northwest), El Salvador southwest), Nicaragua (southeast). Honduras has coast along the Caribbean Sea.

Size: 112,492 km² (43,433.4 mi²)

Capital city: Tegucigalpa

Population (in 2020): 9.9. million

Language: Spanish

Religion:76% Christian

Political system: republic

Currency: Honduran lempira (HNL)

Average net monthly salary (in 2020):470 USD

Most common surname: Hernandez

Most important tourist attractions: Copan (Mayan site), Roatan. Guanaja island, Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve


Nowadays

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Honduras - Tegucigalpa - square life - Alexander S. photo

Honduras - tumble-down cottage in a poor village - k.a. photo

Honduras - banana plantation - v.g. photo

People

“Most people here aren’t particularly fond of white people from the United States (especially if they come to Honduras and behave arrogantly) but they do feel a sense of kinship with the other peoples of Central and South America. On the other hand, there are two neighboring countries which they do not have good relations with: Nicaragua and El Salvador.
In contrast to other Latin American countries, 88% of Hondurans – generally Spanish-speaking mestizos or ladinos (terms for mixed-race individuals of European and native-American descent) – proudly identify as indios, or Native American.

Honduras - ice cream - v.g. photo

Honduras - burden - v.g. photo

Honduras - Islas De La Bahia - Roatán - s.b. photo

Honduras - corpulent man - y.m. photo

Honduras - mother and son - u.i. photo

Honduras - this Garifuna lady sells coconut sweetnesses - d.p. photo

Tourist etiquette


1.    If you want to take a photograph of a local person, be sure to ask permission of everyone who is ‘in the frame’.
2.    Walking in smaller towns and villages, greet everyone you meet with a loud ‘buenos dias’ even if you don’t know them
3.    It’s considered offensive and humiliating to arrogantly chuck or toss something to a local. In their eyes you would only do this with a dog.
4.    Try to tolerate the unique Honduran concept of punctuality. The buses, for instance, run quite independently from whatever is indicated in the timetable. Try to plan your trip with plenty of leeway for delays, and if you’ve agreed to meet a local (e.g. a tour guide) at a given time, don’t be surprised if they turn up late.

Gastronomy

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Honduras - tacos - Alexander S. photo

Attractions

Mayan ruins in Copán

Central America - Honduras - Mayan Ruins in Copán - v.g. photo

Honduras - Copan, archaeological site of the Maya civilization - Elter photo

Honduras - Copan - v.g. photo

Honduras - Copan - the famous Hieroglyphic Stairway - k.a. photo

Tegucigalpa

Just “Tegus,” as the locals call it.

Population (in 2020): 1.4 million

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - Basilica of the Virgin of Suyapa - n.g. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - Football is the most popular sport in Honduras - v.g. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - Iglesia Santa María de los Dolores (church) - Alexander S. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - The St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral (18th century) - Alexander S. photo

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - hilly city - k.a. photo

San Pedro Sula

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - Cathedral - v.g. photo

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral - k.a. photo

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - walking street in the center - k.a. photo

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - Francisco Morazán Avenue - k.a. photo

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - Town Hall - k.a. photo

Honduras - San Pedro Sula - Museum of Anthropology and History - k.a. photo

The contemporary town of Copan

Honduras - contemporary Copan - k.a. photo

Honduras - contemporary Copan - k.a. photo

Honduras - contemporary Copan - La Plaza, main square - k.a. photo

Roatan plus

Honduras - Roatan - k.a. photo

Honduras - Roatan - West End - Sandy Bay - k.a. photo

Honduras - Roatan - Yellow Submarine - k.a. photo

Honduras - Roatan Island - the town of Coxen Hole - k.a. photo

Tegucigalpa plus

Honduras - Tegucigalpa - arriving to the capital - k.a. photo

Comayagua, capital of Honduras until 1880.

Honduras - Comayagua - the 17th-century Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with the oldest tower clock of the Americas - k.a. photo

Honduras - Comayagua - Parque Central - k.a. photo

Honduras - Comayagua - San Antonio market - k.a. photo

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