For me, Honduras was the country I was a little anxious about visiting for a few reasons. But this tour gave me the perfect opportunity to get a feel for the country. We spent a short 48 hours here and I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely it was!
Hondurans call themselves Cataracha – not quite as catchy as the other countries nicknames!
Exiting El Salvador was free. We passed by private bus through Guatemala ($2USD entry) to enter Honduras ($4USD). As we were only spending 48 hours in Honduras, we only paid the exit tax once. Honduran currency is lempira and I advise you use this (you can exchange dollars at the banks for excellent rates or direct from ATMs). Otherwise you will get a rubbish rate paying directly in dollars.
We spent our 2 days in the town of Copán which was once an important centre of Mayan civilisation. It still has many Mayan features and is just the prettiest place. We stayed in Brisas de Copan Hostel.
My Copán activities –
Laguna hot springs – which has many pools with various temperatures (from very warm to freezing), a mud bath area and steam area. There was also a cool bit in a cave which we awkwardly entered and left as a couple were getting very cosy in it!
The river that flows around some of the pools is boiling hot so don’t fall in!
We visited the springs with a fellow tour group who were doing Central America in the opposite direction so enjoyed rum and a barbecue with them.
Tours here cost about $22 if you shop around town.
Macaw Mountain – this is a bird sanctuary which tries to return maltreated or wrongly domesticated wild birds back into the wild…ranging from macaws to owls, toucans and more. It’s such a lovely idea and great to see the different stages of their recovery. No speaking to the toucans though, even if they say hola (see below)!
It costs $10 USD each on the door…we didn’t pay extra for a guide but tipped well.
We were offered the chance to have macaws on our arms or even head for pictures. However I could only manage one. They are magnificent birds but also heavy!
Food and drink highlights:
Llama del bosque – beautiful restaurant with plenty of seating inside and out and the speediest waiter I have ever met! They have an extensive menu of Latin American as well as international dishes. I had a pupusa again as I couldn’t resist these from El Salvador. Also their piña coladas are delicious.
Sacbe Maya – does fairly cheap traditional breakfasts, with tea or juice included.
Hello Mono – for drinks and karaoke! We challenged the fellow tour group to karaoke and won of course!
Honduras final tips:
Your Honduran passport stamp will look strangely like a souvenir…you’ll see what I mean if you visit!
Do visit the Copán ruins if you want to see free flying macaws. This is the perfect introduction to Mayan culture which will feature quite a bit in my next few blogs…next up, Guatemala!
J Xo
Road2Culturedom 