HONDURAS
May 2007, Copán, Tela, Tegucigalpa
We arrived into Honduras at Copán, the Mayan archaeological site near to Guatemala. The first time I visited Copán there were no other tourists, so I managed to get a security guard to give me a private tour of the underground tunels! Wow. There is a surprising amount of cool stuff beneath the surface. The ancient Mayan artwork is amazing!
We proceeded to Tela with the idea to pass my birthday on a nice Caribbean beach. We met nice people there, and there was a beach, but unfortunately, it was trashed. Some locals told us, "There are people paid to keep the beach clean, but they do not work!" Given the military, political, and economic domination of the USA and the banana companies, Honduras seems to be in cultural limbo, and as such, there is a notable lack of pride. Trash is all too common, most buildings seem in need of paint, the people are not engaging, and some places are downright dangerous. Overcrowding and cocaine have caused the cities to deteriorate remarkably.
When I bicycled across the country in 1990, the troubles were not so bad, and I felt safe, mostly. It helped that I speak Spanish pretty well, of course, but I was exceedingly cautious. As a rule in Central America, I rode in and out of cities in the pre-dawn darkness, and whenever I camped, I made sure that nobody could see me (out of sight, out of mind). It was fantastic cruising around the countryside, even when the scenery was endless banana plantations.
One highlight from that trip was meeting Andre, a scuba instructor. He sold me a 10-day diving package, including transportation and PADI certification, for a mere $100. So I threw my bike in his old American school bus, and we rode together to pick up the other backpacker PADI students. We stayed on a private island near Utila, with beautiful beaches and great coral reefs. When the diving course was over, I bicycled around the Bay Islands for a few weeks, and then rode to Nicaragua. The Bay Islands are now too expensive for average Hondurans to ever enjoy. By the way, that private island is within swimming distance of another tiny island inhabited by English-speaking descendants of pirates; after centuries of inbreeding, the population has a high rate of birth defects.
All in all, I'd say that unless you want to see the ruins at Copán, or go diving off the Bay Islands, I recommend giving Honduras a miss. But if you speak Spanish and you love travelling in Latin America, then go. I'm sure you'll have fun.
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