The Honduras Gringo

What's all the hype about?

July 14th, 2008 | Honduras - Adventure, Honduras - Must See or Do, Honduras - News, Honduras - Travel Tips | No Comments »

What is it exactly that is drawing more and more gringos to Honduras? It’s hard to say exactly, but this Gringo thinks it’s more than just the beautiful beaches and practically untouched natural settings. It may be the fact that Honduras is manageable; most of the highlights of the country can be seen during a two week vacation. In addition, Honduras is inexpensive. Even in touristy areas prices are far more reasonable than in other Central American countries.

Since it is not as high-profile as its neighbors, Honduras offers a charm that comes with the rawness of undiscovered terrain and untouched pueblos. Its national parks are still pure, and eco-tourism is on the rise. The parks offer Read more

A Tree House for the Big Kids

July 12th, 2008 | Honduras - Gringo Favorite, Honduras - Must See or Do, Honduras - Nightlife, Honduras - Places to Eat | 3 Comments »

Treetanic is one of the coolest bars in all of Honduras. Located in Utila, at the Jade Seahorse Inn RESTAURANT, this elevated wooden deck sits under the shade of a large mango tree. Built to resemble an old ship, Treetanic is the ultimate tree fort for grown-ups.

The d�cor is insane; the tables are made out of marbles, everything is done in bright colors, and even the bathrooms are a piece of artwork!. At the main bar you can mix and mingle while enjoying the music or you can escape down to one of the sub-levels for an intimate moment with your date. Although there is always a breeze, things can get pretty hot, so dress accordingly.

Honduran Spanish

July 9th, 2008 | Honduras - Culture, Honduras - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Hondurans appreciate it when you do your best to speak a little Spanish, no matter how limited your language skills are. Greetings pretty much always start with buenos días (good day) or buenas tardes (good afternoon), using the first up until noon, and then switching over to the latter. Buenas noches (good evening) is used after dark and generally signifies good night, as in good-bye. When in doubt, simply say buenas, it is an acceptable greeting for any time of day.

Say mucho gusto when you are meeting someone for the first time, or when you can’t remember if you have met before. It means nice to meat you, or nice to see you again.One interesting saying Read more

Romance Potion

June 28th, 2008 | Honduras - Culture, Honduras - Gringo Favorite, Honduras - Must See or Do, Honduras - Places to Eat | No Comments »

The native Garifuna can be found throughout Central America, particularly on the Caribbean Coast in Honduras and neighboring countries. While some of the villages have given way to the pressures of the modern world, becoming touristier and less authentic, around Palacios you can still find typical villages where you can enjoy their traditional music, dance, and potions.

Make sure and get your hands on a bottle of Gifiti. This “medicine of love” is alcohol that has been soaked in different roots and herbs. It tastes kind of like a beefed up cough syrup, but locals will tell you it not only heals, it helps out in the romance department as well. While the Gringo Read more

Relaxing on Roatan

June 28th, 2008 | Honduras - Family Friendly, Honduras - Gringo Favorite, Honduras - Places to Eat | 5 Comments »

Out of the Blue on the West Bay of Roatan Island is the perfect place to kick back and relax. It may not be the fanciest of places, but Snokey, the manager, and Marlon, her assistant, make this the most enjoyable of stays, and they even speak decent English! With the beach in one direction, and a whole slew of bars and restaurants in the other, you can’t go wrong.

The kitchen is stocked with all the necessary cooking tools, and it, along with the barbeque, invites you to do some cooking of your own. The Mini Mart stocks the basics, and if they don’t have what you need, they’ll help you find it. Free internet Read more

The Highlands of Honduras

June 28th, 2008 | Honduras - Adventure, Honduras - Family Friendly, Honduras - Must See or Do | No Comments »

Just northeast of the city of Tegucigalpa you will find La Tigra National Park. Sprawled out of 92 square miles of the Central Highlands of Honduras, this rugged playground is home to breathtaking views from the tops of high mountains, spectacular waterfalls, rivers and extensive stretches of dry pine forests.

There are eight different well-kept trails that run up through the mountains. It is important to stay on these trails, as there are many unmarked mining shafts left over from the region’s mining days. On the lower slopes of the park lies the ghost town of El Rosario, once a bustling mining community, now left for the birds, quite literally! The park is home to over 350 Read more

A Slice of Heaven

June 28th, 2008 | Honduras - Family Friendly, Honduras - Gringo Favorite, Honduras - Gringo Owned Business, Honduras - Places to Eat | No Comments »

The best pizza in Honduras, dare I say the best pizza in all of Central America, is found at Weekend’s Pizza in Santa Rosa de Copan. Honduras is not particularly famous for its cuisine; at the center of virtually every meal is a heaping pile of white rice, accompanied by a side of beans. It makes sense then, that Weekend’s Pizza is the product of, not a local, but a former Peace Corps volunteer. The Gringo thinks he missed good pizza so much, he decided to open his own restaurant. And thank heaven he did!

Weekend’s Pizza not only makes their own high quality dough, their special pizza sauce is divine in its own right. Order the Read more

Loco For Futbol

June 28th, 2008 | Honduras - Culture, Honduras - Family Friendly, Honduras - Must See or Do | No Comments »

If you’re crazy for fútbol, then you can’t pass up the chance to see one of the 10 national teams compete while visiting Honduras. Despite the fact that many of the country’s top players head off to Europe, the league is still super competitive, the games are high energy and the crowds are crazy!

San Pedro, Tegucigalpa and La Ceiba all have stadiums where the national teams compete. Just ask at your hotel front desk and they will be able to direct you to the stadium. Crowds can get pretty intense, so if possible get a seat near the door. If you want to play, just keep a look out for any open fields or schools; Read more

Diving Mary's Place

June 3rd, 2008 | Honduras - Adventure, Honduras - Must See or Do | No Comments »

Possibly the most famous place to dive on Roatan, Honduras is Mary’s Place, and with good reason. Located on the south side of the island between Coxen Hole and French Harbour it is here that two large crevices cut through the reef, leading the way to an amazing underwater world.

Swimming carefully downward, the crevice walls are decorated with fans of black coral, encrusting sponges, gobies and banded shrimp. At a depth of about 80 feet the narrow crevice opens to reveal the outer wall, a burst of colors, swarming with fish. You can swim along the wall, or head back up through the other maze-like crevice.

Because of its uniqueness, Read more

Managing Money

June 2nd, 2008 | Honduras - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Upon arrival in Honduras, while still inside the airport, you will see places offering to exchange your dollars into lempiras, the official currency of the country.

It is a good idea to change over only what you will need to hold you until the next day, when you can visit a bank. Banks are the best places to change money and cash traveler’s checks because they offer the best rates. Although the hotel where you are staying may offer an exchange service, or the store where you are shopping may accept dollars, they often charge a hefty commission for the service.

It is best to bring US dollars into the country, as not all currencies are accepted Read more

What's all the hype about?

A Tree House for the Big Kids

Honduran Spanish

Romance Potion

Relaxing on Roatan

The Highlands of Honduras

A Slice of Heaven

Loco For Futbol

Diving Mary's Place

Managing Money

Recent Posts

What I'm Doing...

Comments

Blogroll

Archives

Categories

Tags

The Gringo Travel Network