TRAVEL & TOURISM |
TRAVEL & TOURISM |
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Monday, December 31, 2001 Online Edition 52 |
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Long known for it's tropical exuberance and extensive waterways, La Ceiba is third largest city in Honduras. Home to a mixture of the ladino and afro-caribbean ethnicities, the city's friendly inhabitants offer a unique blend of culture to this coastal, Caribbean city. Tourist attractions are many and include: white sand beaches; river rafting and kayaking; a butterfly farm boasting more than 9,000 specimens; tours through the Cuero y Salado wildlife refugee, home to jaguars, monkey's and the manatee, as well as 198 species of birds; hiking and trekking the Pico Bonito National Park, La Ceiba's principal landmark, a lowland cloud forest of 8,000 feet supporting diverse tropical plant life, charming waterfalls, and spectacular vistas. The city is also home to Standard Fruit Company, major producers of bananas, pineapples for export.
Getting there is easy as La Ceiba boasts an international airport and is also readily accessible by car. If you drive from San Pedro Sula or any other central area, an hour before reaching La Ceiba, just before the town of Tela, are the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens, famous for it's enormous collection of tropical plants and trees. La Ceiba also serves as a departing point to the Bay Islands of Roatan, Guanaja and Utila, internationally renowned for their white sand beaches, clear blue water, and spectacular reefs. Daily ferries also leave to and from the Islands twice a day. So if you are planning a trip to Honduras, La Ceiba is a definite must see as the city is full of wonderful tourist attractions and host to a vibrant night-life of sabor latino (latin flavor), you'll definitely have a great time. Please
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TACA Airlines which is based in El Salvador has completely renovated it's
fleet this year with the purchase of 28 Airbus 319's and 320's. |
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Monday, December 24, 2001 Online Edition 51 |
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Birding the banana republic: on the north coast of Honduras
Punta Sal National Park is located in close proximity to Tela. This beautiful peninsula has untouched beaches and high rugged cliffs. We had made plans to go to there next day. However, as it happens in the tropics, it began to rain and it rained hard for three straight days. Not to be deterred, we attempted to go to sea in a storm in swelling waves in a dugout boat with motor and a Garifuna as a pilot. Our pilot Hector Ramos turned back. He took us to Los Micos Lagoon instead. This lagoon is the nucleus of the Punta Sal National Park, a wildlife refuge for abundant marine life and over 342 species of birds. In pouring down rain, we drifted past many Garifuna dugouts with soaked fishermen. Our birding that day was a wipe-out. We did manage to see a mangrove warbler and a Northern waterthrush. But the highlight was seeing two endangered white-faced monkeys. I will never forget watching one pat the rain from the top of his head, just as I had been doing all day.
Our next adventure was at the Punta Izopo Wildlife Refuge. This was an excursion that involved sea kayaking to the mouth of the Rio Hicaque. There we surfed in and began the trip upstream. The weather was ominous but it was not raining yet. The Rio Hicaque is a maze of mangroves, where trees rise out of black inky water and bromeliads and orchids explode with color in contrast to the green background. It became very quiet and then the skies discharged their buckets of water once again. Families of howler monkeys raged and roared their protests. We saw few birds but the trip was saved for me when I heard an explosion of wing beats and turned to look up, just in time to see a boat-billed heron take off. It was a life bird that I have been waiting to see for a long time. Fortunately, the weather improved on the day we took off in a small airplane to go to Roatan, famous for its coral reefs. It was there where we picked up most of our water birds that we missed due to the rain. We visited Carambola Botanical Gardens. Birding along the creek bed was excellent and Dennis was thrilled when he found a North American warbler that he had never seen, a worm-eating warbler. There is no one field guide for Honduras. Before we left, we pondered what books to take with us. When traveling by air, weight becomes a factor. We ended up taking Peterson’s Field Guide to the Mexican Birds, Irby Davis’ Birds of Mexico and Central America, and Stiles and Skutch’s Birds of Costa Rica. We should have included Curson, Quinn, and Beadle’s Warblers of the Americas. We ended the trip with 20 North American warblers and since many of them are eastern warblers in winter plumage, we were often confused. We were disappointed in our hummingbird count. We only saw four species, little hermit, fork-tailed emerald, cinnamon hummingbird, and the common hummer, the rufous-tailed hummingbird. Our birds of prey included osprey, hook-billed kite, white-tailed kite, common black hawk, gray hawk, crested caracara, barred forest-falcon, and collared forest-falcon. Birders flock to Costa Rica and Belize when they go to Central America. Costa Rica was the first Central American country to realize what natural treasures they possessed and led the way to eco-tourism. Belize was soon to follow. Honduras is at the beginning brink of paving the way for protection of their natural resources and developing eco-tourism. It has not always been that way. Many years of military rule and Contra opponents of the Sandinistas supported by American funding and troops, kept this land in chaos. Now Honduras is a free country with elections and is ripe for tourism. As the second largest country in Central America, Honduras has given national park status to 18 natural wonders. Many of these parks are not set up yet for visitors on their own, and access is difficult. Dennis and I first visited Honduras ten years ago, six months after the Contras left. We found the people gentle and curious to know American people, other than American soldiers. There were no postcards or souvenirs to buy. Today, San Pedro Sula is a thriving city with shopping centers, Pizza Huts, and Burger Kings. Birding Honduras is definitely for the more adventurous birders at the present time. There are few bird watching tours to Honduras. Being able to speak a little Spanish is a great advantage. The paved highways are in excellent condition but the back roads, especially during the rainy season, should be driven with a four wheel drive. The maps are often wrong and there are few signs. But for those who want virtually untouched white sand beaches, a kaleidoscope of tropical birds, and people as warm as the weather, then Honduras is for you. Who said Honduras just has bananas?
By SANDRA SAMPAYO Known for their warmth and hospitality, the Bay Islanders have worked hard to ensure that they are able to offer many exciting options for those who visit the islands this festive season. Guanaja Bayman Bay Club, located on the northern shores of Guanaja, is offering guests a very special Christmas and New Year discount of $65 per person per night. This includes meals, transfers from Guanaja airport and a New Year’s glass of champagne. For more information on Christmas and New Years activities, please call 991-0281 or email the resort at bayman@caribe.hn. Roatan Anthony’s Key Resort is offering its resort guests a Dolphin Scuba Camp for children aged 5 to 14. The Scuba Camp, which draws many families to the resort each year, will be held between December 23 and 28. AKR guests will celebrate the coming of a new year by being led through a series of fun New Year’s activities, which include Garifuna dancers, music, the limbo and fireworks. To book your stay at Anthony’s Key Resort, please call 445-1003 or email akr@globalnet.hn. The Parrot Tree Coffee Shop is open and serving wonderful meals. Santa Clause will be making a special appearance at the coffee shop this Sunday, 23 December from 9a.m. and all children are welcome to come and collect a treat from Santa. The Parrot Tree Coffee Shop is situated at Parrot Tree Plantation. Chez Pascal, a new restaurant in West Bay, is run by a Frenchman who loves to cook, will also be open this Christmas. For more information on pricing and to book your place, call 991-1858. Utila Laguna Beach resort is offering a 20% discount off its usual rates and will offer a traditional Christmas dinner as well as a sumptuous dinner and party for New Year. To receive more information about activities at Laguna Beach, please call 425-3239. Utila Lodge will also be offering guests both a Christmas and New Year dinner and bookings can be made by calling Utila Lodge at 425-3143. So, whether you are looking for a quiet, romantic Christmas dinner, a traditional evening or a wild and festive New Year’s, just come on down to the Bay Islands and treat yourself to a little Caribbean island hospitality.
After a good nights sleep and some good breakfast chow, you’ll be ready to face the day and trek the ruins, be prepared, as the ruins of Copan are some of the most spectacular you’ll see in the Maya world. Getting to Copan Ruinas, is now easier than ever. The Hedman Alas bus line now runs 1st class direct buses daily to Copan Ruinas from San Pedro Sula. Buses leave SAP - Copan Ruinas daily at 7a.m. and 2:30p.m.. Friday through Sunday there is an additional departure from SAP at 9:50a.m. Buses return daily from Copan Ruinas - SAP at 5:30a.m. and 2:30 and Friday through Sunday there is an additional departure at 10:30a.m. Weather wise, the holiday season is one of the best times to visit Copan, daytime temperatures are warm while evenings provide perfect sleeping weather as temps dip to the pleasantly chillrange, remember the average year round temperature in Copan Ruinas is an extremely tolerable and almost wonderfully perfect 78F.
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Letter from Honduras: A Honduran road trip You can stop off at one of the parks like the Aurora. Quite pleasant. There is a zoo which would give any animal rights campaigner an instant heart attack. There is a lion so sad and moth-eaten it is doubtful he could catch a mouse and a large glass house full of stuffed birds on the wing or sitting in branches which are even more moth-eaten. Their feathers have often fallen out and their bodies mummified and the result is so ghoulish it looks like something out of a surrealist film of the thirties. This is probably a very good thing as it makes one feel so sick as to dampen any desire to stop and eat. Eating en route is not really recommended. There are the little diners overlooking the beautiful Lake Yojoa, and selling fish which all taste as if they have just come out of the sewer. I am told this fish doesn’t come from the lake itself as one might reasonably suppose. The fish that does come from the lake tastes sweet and delicious but is supposed to be heavily contaminated by the toxic wastes spewed into it, besides which you have to leave the main highway if you want to be pleasantly poisoned rather than disgustingly. Which leaves the endless diners and little restaurants nearly all serving the same tepid, warmed-up, warmed-over tired and tasteless buffet food. The best of these is undoubtedly the Granja Delia, a large and growing complex that not only houses an extensive restaurant but more caged birds and animals, playground for kids, a nursery of flowers and plants, spotless cloakrooms and an big supermarket that sells it own homegrown vegetables. This is where the “Jaylosas”. (Hilosas, high-lifers. those of the high life, i.e. The rich) stop off. If this was our only glimpse of Honduras, looking at the gleaming recreation vehicles that fill up the car park and their fat owners with their plump, spoiled brattish children, your would never know this was poor country, a desert of poverty only yards away. Problem here is less well-off customers are not always appreciated. Once my little girl, then aged two, broke a glass and I was charged for it as if it was priceless crystal. Why, I asked politely, was a two year old given a glass to drink out of? It was nicer, I told, which I suppose is fair enough, but where not such losses absorbed by the business? (I could have replaced the glass at a fraction of what I was charged). Yes but only if the child was good, not naughty, came the reply. How do you distinguish, I wondered, between a good and a naughty two year old? Two is two and two year old’s slop things, spill things, drop things. They also have tantrums and throw things but my daughter did not such thing on this occasion, she was “good” but clumsy and messy (And Hondurans are usually very understanding and tolerant of small children). I refused to pay and asked, to speak to the manager. The charge was waived and so on, hard feelings, I went back on another occasion. This time was stocked up on vegetables, all placed in plastic bags to be weighed, leaving us with a dozen small bags, awkward to carry. The remedy, as before, was to put them all in one big bag, but this time we were charged for the bag. You spend 30 dollars or so and are expected to fork out a couple of lempiras to carry your purchases away with you so we left them all piled up on the counter and walked out, our appeal to management this time falling on deaf ears (“Bags are expensive”). Our explanation that carrying a dozen plastic bags was inconvenient especially as we had no pick-up to dump them all in waiting for us outside was apparently not a reasonable one. Perhaps that was the trouble: not posh enough. My wife looks Indian (she is Indian) and although my looks are, impeccably “gringo” (whitey - pink, high brow, firm jaw) I am perhaps a little on the lean side, and my second hand clothes bought from the “bulto” (The Honduran oxfam shop but strictly business, no charity here), once spotless and ironed, were now rumpled and soiled from travelling in the back of pick-ups, crammed into buses and crushed into shared collective taxis, from the highlands and on to and along the highway of death to this little oasis. Hondurans sure do have a funny way of doing business sometimes. My wife and I gave up going to a local supermarket after the owner refused offensively to replace or refund an orange juice costing four lempiras that had I bought when, with great tact I pointed out it was off rancid, sour. She lost about two or more thousand dollars worth of purchases a year as a result. I doubt if she noticed, she certainly didn’t care. It is not as if I want the gringo style treatment either where even the smallest transaction is treated like a family reunion (enjoy your coffee sir, a pleasure to serve you sir, you come back again sir and have a good day - all for fifty cents), but I do want a little courteously and respect. Ah, respect. Hard to obtain in Honduras, where the population maybe divided into two tribes, those with a huge inferiority complex and so low self-esteem (the majority) and those with a giant superiority complex and so unbelievably arrogant (the minority). The first don’t respect themselves so can’t respect anyone else, convinced as they are of their own inferiority. “Respect” if means anything at all, means sucking up to your “social superiors” and looking down on anyone else worse off than yourself. And the second are so impressed with themselves that no one else gets a look-in and so is obviously inferior and merits at best a crushing condescension or more usually, indifference or withering contempt. Then again, this is only a third world version of what is true in every country. Would I get my kicks on Route 66, and do I jump for joy at the idea of traveling along the M1 and M6? Not on your life. Indeed, one of the advantages of the awfulness of the Tegucigalpa - San Pedro Sula highway is that is concentrates a lot, if not all, the crap in the country in one sad, sorry, miserable place. Once you get away from it, you can usually have quite a good time, enjoy the trip, eat well, haggle pleasurably in the markets, swim in warm blue seas or clean mountain rivers.
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Monday, December 17, 2001 Online Edition 50 |
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Scientific publication explores unknown territory in Honduras
By MARIA FIALLOS The Tawahka reside in five communities along the Patuca River in what is now known as the Tawahka Asangni Biosphere Reserve. This reserve lies adjacent to two other protected areas in Honduras, and a fourth that continues on in Nicaragua, forming the bi-national Solidaridad Reserve System; the largest track of remaining lowland rainforest in Central America. For environmentalists concerned with rainforest conservation, this resource will prove invaluable in their efforts towards protecting unique eco-systems. Although the focus of study was the Tawahka Ameridian and data concerning their way of living was collected, in the preface, the study states that it is not an ethnographical study of the Tawahka. The focus of the research was rather determining changes in rain forest use and other subsistence practices resulting from increasing wealth and integration into external markets. A Tawahka home along the banks of the Patuca River. The answers to five main questions were sought: "How do different levels of wealth affect labour investments, leisure, consumption rates and sources and amounts of cash earnings? To what extent do trade links with the outside world alter the economic behavior of indigenous households? How does the total use of forest resources change with increasing household wealth and integration into markets? Are there marked differences in Tawahka economic behavior as a result of seasonal rhythms, and what are the roles of the forest and wealth as safety nets during lean periods? What is the impact of increased household wealth and integrations into the market on plant and animal populations in the surrounding rain forest?" It is obvious throughout the book that the authors were very meticulous inasmuch as information gathering is concerned. For some aspects more than 2500 surveys were conducted during the study period. To state just a few of the conclusions drawn from the study: It was found that an increase in wealth was directly related to more time spent on agricultural activities and/or some other form of specialization such as canoe building; not to forest activities, such hunting and foraging. There is therefore, little incentive for the Tawahka to conserve forest habitats. Consumption levels of industrial products increased when wealth doubled, while in medium ranged homes, utilization of wood, game, fish and other small non-timber forest products was higher. Substitution of wild game by domesticated meat was only found in the richest homes. Increased market integration has brought more work and less leisure to the Tawahka, with higher consumption levels of industrial products. No significant relationship with any one productive activity was found, a fact the authors attribute to increased specialization. Doubling integration into the market corresponded with 68%, 64% and 120% increases in cash income from the forest, agriculture and non-forest/non-agriculture, respectively. Generally, with integration too, more money is earned from the sale of fewer forest products. More particularly, there is increased pressure on hardwood species used for canoes and sawn wood, while forest meat and fish are of minor importance as sources of cash income. In other words, while the extraction of forest products decreased when wealth and market integration doubled, cash earning activities detrimental to the forest and land clearing increased. Another interesting detail pointed out was that although higher levels of wealth and market integration decrease pressure on certain species of fauna, specific exploitation of forest products such as hardwoods has several negative side-effects: destruction of smaller trees upon removal, disruption of food chains and nutrient depletion. In the long run, exhaustion of good-quality species will bring about the depletion of poorer quality species that wear out faster, and result in continuous forest degradation. It was also found that increased wealth added pressure on nearly all the animal species due to the affordability of ammunition, particularly large game. Typically bigger species are affected more by increased hunting because of low reproduction rates. Given these findings, the authors make a strong case towards not using traditional extraction data to determine total forest resources use. Extraction data may prove unreliable when promoting such activities as the production of non-traditional forest products (NTFP) and ecotourism, and even detrimental to forest conservation. Furthermore, data collected points out that forest activities decreased as wealth and market integration increased, suggesting that the marketing of NTFPs could be used as an additional source of income rather than the main source. Summing up their dissertation, the authors remind us that indigenous communities live well below absolute poverty levels; consequently, the value the rest of the world attaches to rain forests overshadows what they are able currently able to gain. Therefore, it is up to national and global communities to implement policies and strategies that provide them financial incentives that will permit conservation of these areas. Please
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POSADA
DEL SOL
Guanaja, located east of Roatan, is the ultimate get away for those seeking an out of the way vacation. For those seeking upscale resorts, several will cater to your every need including, diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and horseback riding. The tallest of the three main Bay Islands, the island is covered in pine trees and was once called Pine Island. Transportation on Guanaja is done mainly by water, since most of the islands residents don’t live on the main island but rather on Bonacca Cay, therefore getting there or to any other population or resort requires a boat ride.
The Best of Honduras.... End of The Year -Best upcoming ecotourism project to open 2002....Copan Tropical Bird Park. -Best bus service...Hedman Alas, exec service, great buses. -Best hotel - Utila.....Mango Inn, clean, comfortable, exec restaurant. - Best funky fish shack - Utila.... Mario's...can't beat the fried fish. -Best non-Honduran restaurant - Copan Ruinas... Restaurant Vamos A Ver. -Best Honduran food - Copan Ruinas... Nia Lola, Tunkul, Llama del Bosque. -Best horse tours - Copan Ruinas...Yaragua Tours...good guides, good price. -Best mid priced hotel - San Pedro Sula..Ejecutivo...free breakfast, dwntn. -Best tours of Tela Bay...Punta Sal day trip via launch with Garifuna Tours. -Best restaurant Tela....Hotel & Restaurant Maya Vista. -Best backpacker lodging - Omoa....Roli's Place. -Best gringo chow - Sta. Rosa....Pizza Pizza...great pizza, internet cafe. -Best hotel & restaurant - Gracias...Guancascos... a Gracias institution. -Best Honduras travel guide...Moon Handbook Honduras Guide. -Best hot springs...Agua Caliente, Copan Ruinas.. hot water, cool stream. -Best restaurant - West Bay Beach,
Roatan...Bite On The Beach...Diane rocks! -Best backpacker jungle lodge...Omega Lodge, La Ceiba..raft the jungle. -Best bird guide...Bob ' The Butterfly & Bird Guy ' Gallardo of Copan. -Best Christmas lights display...Central Park, Copan Ruinas. -Best white water rafting...Cangrejal River, La Ceiba..great adventure. -Best botanical
gardens...Lancetilla, Tela. -Best eco-friendly tour operator, Garifuna Tours & La Mosquitia EcoAventuras. -Best cafeteria...Cobel, La Ceiba..hearty Honduran chow, good prices, dwntn. Best cafeteria....Skandia, San Pedro Sula...in the Gran Hotel Sula. -Best place to buy crafts...Valle de Angeles and Guamilito Market, San Pedro. -Best resort -
Guanaja....End of The World...sun, sea, food, -Best bar - Copan Ruinas... a close tie between Tunkul and Carnitas Nia Lola. -Best place see monkey's...Cuero Salado, La Ceiba & Punta Sal, Tela Bay. -Best museum...Mayan Sculpture Museum, Copan Ruinas. -Best web
site............honduras.com -Best pizza - San Pedro
Sula....Pizzeria Italia. -Best renovation of an old, exsisting hotel...Hotel Gran Central, Tela. -Best place to dance all night....La Ceiba. -Best place to really get away from it all....Rio Platano Biosphere, La Mosquitia. Howard Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the Village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the Casa de Cafe and Breakfast. He can be contacted by e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn> |
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Monday, December 10, 2001 Online Edition 49 |
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The smallest of the three main islands known as the Bay Islands of the coast of Honduras, Utila is internationally renowned for its low price dive certification courses, with several schools offering a variety of options. If your not into diving but just swimming along the surface, most operators offer tours specifically for snorkelers while others combine the two. Land activities are also diverse and include hiking, bird watching or lizard watching. Utila is home to an indigenous species of iguana only found on the small island. You can also spend the day and or several on Water Key, an uninhabited isle just hang out and do your own thing. Houses on other keys can also be rented on a daily basis.
Goloson International Airport in La Ceiba - the nations busiest, has received the green light from the Municipal Environmental Protection Office to go ahead with the expansion of the terminal building and other remodeling. Construction is slated to cost Lps. 60 million. For seafood lovers, Mario's is a small shack that offers little in the way of decor but serves up a mighty good platter of fresh fish at $4 a pop. Utila is a throwback to what the Caribbean must have been like say 50 years ago, when most hotels and restaurants were mom and pop operations. There's a daily ferry to Utila from La Ceiba or better yet fly in via an Islena's or Sosa's puddle jumper flight. There's a special on right now with r/t air tickets running an incredibly 'dirt cheap ' Lps 410! Please
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Honduras shines at world's biggest travel show |
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Monday, December 3, 2001 Online Edition 48 |
Not yet on the web...well this may change your mind......According to the latest stats, close to 72% of the people in the US are connected to the web, this up from 66.9% a year ago. For those tourism sector businesses looking to get the most for their marketing & promotion buck, the net is surely the place to be these days......especially in that all important US market. * * * Good news for the Bay Islands.....The Honduran Institute of Tourism is projecting that at least 60 cruise ships are expected to dock in the Bay Islands this winter. Caribbean cruises may be a better option this year for many cruisers as the Mediterranean may be off limits for many due to security concerns. * * * Good news for those seeking some wintertime sun and fun on their upcoming Honduran trek....You will be happy to know that the hurricane season officially ended Nov 30...the bad news is that come June 1, the 6 month long hurricane season kicks in once again. On the Atlantic Coast the worst of the hurricane season usually tends to hit around mid August to October with September having the dubious distinction of being the worst month for hurricanes. * * * Looking for that perfect gift to bring back to loved ones after your next Honduran vacation.....well permit me to recommend one of the finest flasks of rum this side of anyplace...Flor de Cana produces Centenario, an exceptional sipping quality rum which has been aged 12 years. The bottle comes in an attractive gift box and straight out of the bottle it's smooth, full-bodied and oh so yummy especially on those chilly, frigid winter nights...enjoy. * * * Be the first on your block to own your very own condo or villa on the lovely beaches of Roma, Honduras.......The soon to open Barcelo Palma Real Beach Resort located 22 kms outside of La Ceiba is gearing up to sell villas and condominiums. In addition to condos, villas and time shares there will be a large all inclusive resort, a water park, casino and all the other expected bells and whistles. For info on pre sales of condos and villas contact: La Constancia La Ceiba Tel 443-2520, San Pedro Sula 553-4512, Tegucigalpa 232-6149. * * * Tourism...onward and upward....the new President elect stated in the closing days of the campaign that among the objectives of his government is to increase tourism 20 - 30% per year over the next five years, generating 30,000 new jobs in hotels, restaurants, transport, crafts, tour operators and construction. To reach this goal the President will establish incentives to lure foreign tourism sector businesses to Honduras as well as give incentives to Hondurans interested in opening a tourism enterprise or expanding an existing one. On a personal note...I wish the new Press the best of luck and godspeed in his quest to take tourism to it's rightful place as the number one source of hard currency for the nation. * * * .........and don't forget........Copan' First Annual Calle El Centro Fair will make it's debut Dec 7 from 4 - 9pm. Fun for all.... typical food ( and lot's of it ), typical music and plenty of typical down home Western Honduran Copan style hospitality...ya'll come out and see us ya' hear...Howard Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the Casa de Café Bed and Breakfast. He can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>. Please
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Traveler’s
Guide Calm crystal blue waters, coral reefs teeming with wildlife, endless white sand beaches and jungle hillsides form the natural beauty of Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands located off the coast of Honduras. World famous dive resorts as well as budget travel lodges can be found to accommodate every traveler. A variety of activities from great diving, swimming with dolphins, glass bottom boats, fishing expeditions, snorkeling, and sea kayaking can be enjoyed. A lively night life on this island can also be enjoyed in any of the many discos and bars.
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La
Ceiba 
On the trail at Lancetilla Gardens, birders will find the road to the Visitor’s Center to be very productive for bird watching.
Lake
Yojoa is Honduras’ largest natural lake and it has more than 300 species of birds. Hotel Agua Azul offers basic accommodations, but is the place where bird watchers want to stay.
Leaping dolphin in Anthony’s Key Resort, Roatan
THE MAYA WORLD
There is no better place to lay low for a couple of days this coming holiday season than Copan Ruinas. If laid back, mellow, relaxing, quaint, friendly, enriching and educational all sound good to you, then a couple of days in Copan Ruinas should fit your vacation bill nicely. The hotels are small in size but big on down home charm, all are family run and the owner will usually be around to sit and chat a spell and serve up recommendations on must see places to go and things to see. Restaurants and bars as well are family owned operations, small, yet big on funkiness and world traveler/gringo trail atmosphere. Belly up to the bar and sip happy hour rum and cokes with travelers from a dozen nations as dinner hour approaches. Leave plenty of room for some that good old Copan country far...plates piled high with grilled meats are a favorite around these parts. 
Utila
