Greetings! We recently returned from a trip to Honduras (Ohn-doo-rahs; country #91), where we were able to experience Tegucigalpa (tay-goo-see-GAHL-pah) and surrounding areas. Below, you will find information and photos from our trip. Please note that, while there will be references to prominent individuals and events in Honduras’ history, the information in this blogpost is for informational purposes, only, and should neither be considered a political stance nor promotion of the associated politics of the individuals or parties discussed.
Honduras is a country in Central America that is surrounded by Guatemala (to the northwest), El Salvador (to the west), Nicaragua (to the south), and is touched by the Pacific Ocean (on a narrow coast in the south) and the Caribbean Ocean (to the north). Tegucigalpa is the capital, and 75% of the land in the country is mountainous, with the highest elevation at 9481ft (2800m). The climate is tropical, year-round, with temperatures in the lowlands averaging in the mid-60s F (around 15C) to mid-70s F (around 21C), while temperatures in the elevated regions average between the low-80s F (around 26C) and low-90s (around 32C). The seasons are divided into dry season (November to April) and rainy season (May to October). The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which resulted in 90% of the infrastructure being damaged after two weeks of heavy rain, and it took two years to recover.
Interesting Information: After Hurricane Mitch, a lot of money and clothes were donated to the country. We were told that there is a concern that Hondurans began to lose some of their identity at that point, as they wore clothes that were mostly donated from Western countries (primarily the United States), which did not reflect the culture of Honduras. There are now many stores that resell those same clothes in Honduras. We were also told that the influx of American fast food restaurant chains (including Popeye’s Chicken, which they pronounce “poh-pay-yays,” since that is the way the spelling would be pronounced in Spanish if it was a Spanish word) into the country has changed the palates of the locals, which is also contributing to what our guide referred to as a lack of identity.
The mountains of La Paz (lah pahs) surround the area between Comayagua (koh-my-ah-gwah) and Tegucigalpa. It is considered to be the best region for coffee, especially the Marcala (mahr-CAH-lah) region (in the mountains) due to the altitude. While Germans fled to Honduras after World War II and settled in the Marcala region, the original inhabitants of Honduras were Mayans. The difference between Mayans and the Lenca indigenous group is that the Lencas were nomads, while the Mayans settled and built structures to last a long time. Mayans settled in Honduras, and it was said that some of them came from Mongolia through the Bering Strait, and settled in Honduras because it had a nice climate and landscape, and they found water and food.
(A member of the Lenca indigenous group; The local currency is named after him)
Comayagua
Comayagua was the first official capital of Honduras. The city is 480 years old, and all of the buildings are colonial style, as 16 years ago, the mayor declared that there would be no more modern buildings built. There were several churches in this town in colonial times, including one for the poor, one for the middle class, and a main cathedral for the elite. Comayagua is the only city in Honduras that is big enough to host a big celebration for Holy Week (the week leading up to Christian Easter).
Comayagua has a population of 300,000, and is quickly growing, mostly because they relocated the international airport there from Tegucigalpa in October of 2020, which created a lot of jobs for people. The international airport in Tegucigalpa was the second most dangerous airport in the world for a long time, as it was built in an inverted cone (with regard to the landscape around it), and young pilots struggled with safely landing, with two crashes happening shortly before they decided to move the airport. Comayagua already had a runway that was built by The United States Army in the 1980s, and the runway was durable for big planes, so, it was ready to house the airport when the decision was made to relocate.
Children begin attending school at age 6 and go through 12th grade. They can then go on to college/university, or they can go to work, the decision of which is based on the financial situation of the family.
Interesting Fact: When the Spaniards arrived many centuries ago, they used the locals for hard labor (e.g., building churches). However, when the local indigenous people began to weaken, black people were brought from Africa to finish the work because of their strength. This group of Africans is referred to as Garífuna (gah-REE-foo-nuh). As a result, Spaniards were seen to have destroyed the native culture.
Interesting Fact: Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the world, but was the first country in Central America to have electricity, thanks to the mining turbine that was brought in, which used water for power.
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa is the current capital of Honduras, and is 470 years old. It has grown over the years, but we were told that there is no order to the growth. Many people moved to San Pedro Sula (in the northwest) as Tegucigalpa began to grow to get away from the politics/government. Those who could not move to San Pedro Sula moved to the outskirts of Tegucigalpa in an area called Comayagüela (koh-my-yah-GWAY-lah), became squatters, and built up that part of the city. Today, it is the poorest area of the Tegucigalpa metro area.
Interesting Fact: Honduras sends their tomatoes to the Heinz Corporation in the United States to make ketchup, as the quality of the tomatoes is excellent.
Unsettling History within Honduras
While Honduras is currently considered by the locals to be “totally safe,” they had a “bad reputation” over the past 10-12 years, which we were told was orchestrated by the government. In 1980, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua had civil wars and Honduras did not, and they considered themselves to be “in paradise” as a result. Around the time that the United States was finishing the war in Vietnam, Communists were a “pumping heart” in Central America, resulting in the people and workers being exploited, and needing to fight back as a result. In 1981, the military took power in Honduras, and they put their desired president in power. In the eight years prior to this, workers lost rights (e.g., no salary for work), and this resulted in them going to the streets to fight, and they were met with tear gas. Some were killed before that when they complained about the loss of their rights. Subsequently, attempts were made to put a civilian in office, but that person was replaced by a military designee.
The United States had been a Honduran ally before this, as there is a military base there, and the US supported their base due to the fact that Honduras did not take arms from the guerillas or from Nicaragua (this is in contrast to the US’s non-relationship with Nicaragua due to the role/presence of the Contras). The US worked with the people of Honduras to eliminate the power of the military, as there was reportedly significant corruption from the military government, including theft of billions of dollars from the people. The US advised the citizens of Honduras to find someone who could send a message to the people, and they chose a doctor, with whom the locals felt more connected. For the first time, Honduras established a constitution, which declared that they would choose a president every four years. This was the US government’s attempt to help Honduras organize a society.
Honduras has two parties: National/Blue and Liberal/Red. The Liberal party was in power from 2006-2009, and they tried to be on the side of the people (e.g., establishing a social security system, giving rights to workers). The National party was always on the side of the elite, acknowledged the poor, but said that the middle class did not exist. In 2009, there was a coup, and power shifted to the National party. A subsequent election in 2013 resulted in a new president being chosen, but the National party continued with their own choice for president. The people were hopeful that this would be beneficial for them, until the National Party changed the employment laws – previously, if a person worked for a company and then left or were let go, they would have to be paid a salary for every year that they worked for the company. When the rules changed, that benefit was lost, as workers were shifted from salary to hourly. The People resisted and rioted and, once again, the police threw tear gas. The people did not feel that they had anyone defending them. The National party reportedly went on to create bad/negative news about Honduras, and extorted money from international companies. We were told that one journalist had the courage to call out the president of Honduras at the time, saying that he was the head of a cartel. That journalist was subsequently killed, but the seed had been planted.
Around 2014, the US worked to intervene again, but elections continued to result in fraud and abuse of power. Eventually, the US helped to detain and imprison (for life) the younger brother of the president at the time (2018), and in November of 2021, elections were held, and the National Party lost. After the election ended, the US government sent an order of extradition for the now-former president, who was subsequently arrested (he was not arrested before that because he had diplomatic immunity as president). Once he was detained, all bad news disappeared, as he was no longer able to pay the 150 journalists to spin the news.
We were told that Hondurans now feel relaxed because all of the networks of criminals are in hiding since they no longer have protection. That said, we saw a lot of armed guards, even standing guard at restaurants, and all of them were armed with high powered machine guns, which was rather unnerving. We were told that this phenomenon is a carryover from the period of corruption, as business owners are still worried about the potential for a disruption to the peace. In spite of (or maybe because of) the presence of heavily armed guards, we felt very safe during our visit.
On to Brighter Days…
Hondurans are very kind, friendly, helpful people. Their joy was felt within all of our interactions with them, and the warmth that we encountered was incredible! We were able to enjoy many of the gems of the country, including Pulhapanzak (pool-hah-pahn-sak) Falls, and murals in the city of Cantarranas (kahn-tah-rrah-nahs), and I encourage those who are able to explore this part of the world. Until next time, take care and be well…