Honduras Photos: Before the Coup
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Our timing was again impeccable.
Honduras, a country we had just visited, experiences a military coup and begins to melt down just days after we leave its borders. Nicaraguan newspapers go so as far as to headline “Blood Bath.” Nothing from our visit indicated how events would turn so suddenly. With the exception of a taxi driver in La Ceiba ranting about corruption across the political spectrum (a common taxi driver tirade the world over), politics didn’t figure much in our other conversations.
You’ve probably seen the images on TV, websites and newspapers of riot police, protesters and barricades in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’ capital city. But if you’re curious as to what Honduras looks like without a coup, we share photos from our recent visit to the Ruta Lenca, the Mayan ruins at Copan and the bay island of Utila.
Ruta Lenca – Gracias, La Esperanza, Marcala
Our sojourn into the hills of Southwestern Honduras brought us in search of markets and indigenous culture. The Ruta Lenca (Route of the Lenca People) is apparently one of the country’s few remaining pockets of indigenous culture. Although its landscape, and agriculture appear lush and appealing, the region is also one of Honduras’ poorest.
When you consider the slow-going town of Gracias, you may find it difficult to believe that it was once the capital of all Spanish-controlled Central America. One woman active in the town’s reconstruction and development explained: “We don’t want Gracias to be another Antigua (Guatemala). We have a local culture and spirit that we want expressed. We don’t want to be seen just as a city of old, pretty buildings.”
We, however, will always associate Gracias with the Honduras-USA football World Cup qualifier match of June 2009.
Our arrival in La Esperanza was timed for its Sunday market, the largest of the regional markets where locals descend from neighboring villages with their produce and goods. From the town’s edge, the market ripples through covered areas and into makeshift stands on side streets. A minority of vendors and buyers are ethnic Lenca – their facial structures and smaller physiques distinguishing them from the majority mestizo (those of mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage) population. Their appearance serves as a physical reminder of how the people living in this region centuries ago must have looked.
Marcala, an even smaller town tucked amidst coffee plantations and farmland, served as our final stop in Honduras before we crossed the border into El Salvador. A curious characteristic of this place: the visible presence of Chinese interests. The town featured a large gaudy Chinese restaurant whose grandeur was distinctly un-Central American and a bit misfit for the size of the town. Additionally, there were several large hotels built in the blue glass and concrete aesthetic we recognized from our time in China. Perhaps most interesting, the local cable service in our hotel room featured two CCTV (Chinese government-run television) channels, one in Chinese and the other in Spanish.
We are still puzzled as to what business interests attracted the Chinese businessmen to this town.
See more photos from the Ruta Lenca
Mayan Ruins of Copan
Although the Mayan ruins in Copan cannot compete for size with those in Tikal, Guatemala, they easily surpass them in the detail of their engravings and reliefs. Intricately carved stellae (holy statues) portray Mayan leaders from 800 years ago while history is told by the massive hieroglyph staircase.
A bonus of Copan ruins: you are welcomed into the park by a group of rambunctious scarlet macaws. We know the park feeds these birds to keep them around, but they are still really, really cool.
The small town of Copan Ruinas just a few minutes away has a strong tourism infrastructure due to its proximity to the ruins, but it still maintains a sleepy Honduran town feel.
The Copan Ruinas market is no different. From the reactions we received, it seems like not many gringos make it the extra few yards to the rear. Venture back for a plato tipico (local fare consisting of some sort of meat, beans, rice and tortilla) from a comedor (eatery) or fresh baleada (flour tortilla stuffed with beans, cheese and eggs) from the stand at the far right corner.
See more photos of Copan ruins and town
Bay Island of Utila
Scuba diving is what Utila is all about for most visitors. Although our visit was mostly about work, we took some time out for a few dives and to enjoy the beach. Utila is not a place you go to experience Honduran cultural immersion, but its clear, Caribbean waters and laid-back pace can become addictive.
See more photos from the Bay Island of Utila
Some readers have suggested that we will run out of places to see when we complete our journey. We have no fear of this. We tend to depart each country with some familiarity and an even longer list of places we’d like to explore upon our return. For Honduras, this includes its northern coastline and Moskitia (Mosquito Coast), home to the Garifuna among others.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Wow – those are beautiful shots, and a compelling story – thanks! The water is beautiful, and the people have so much depth to them. Latin America is very imminent on my travel list.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
@Nora: Glad you enjoyed these! We try to use our photos to convey a more “every day” view of countries that we visit than what shows up on the evening news or as the latest crisis.
July 21st, 2009 at 11:40 am
GORGEOUS photos as per usual. Wow. Thanks for sharing.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:27 pm
All the photos are awesome; the pictures are telling the story of places. I am glad to read your blog.
July 22nd, 2009 at 5:37 pm
@Andy and Samuel: Thanks for your kind words about our photographs and the story they try to tell of the places we visit!
August 4th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Very nice website I’ve stumbled upon recently. Truly fascinating. You guys are lucky, do you know that?
I mean you guys are doing a great job and I wish you all the best for the upcoming journeys. Keep it up!
August 13th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
@Moign: We are aware of how fortunate we are, including how fortunate we are to have made the decision to travel and work like we have. Thank you for your compliments and words of encouragement.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
So over 150 killings of members of the nonviolent resistance does not constitute a ‘bloodbath’ to you? And yes I see the country wasn’t militarised the way it is before the coup. There are still pretty touristy places today. But there is also a brutal repression to suppress dissent from this non democratic regime that does not serve the interests of the masses. I was in the country in September and we were under curfew at one stage for a full 40 hours (home detention for all) and outside our door we heard police chasing after young people at night who dared to venture out and express opposition to the regime, and on another night, the capturing of a young person and knocking down of his mother to the ground for daring to question why they are taking away his son. The new regime supports/ed the coup and many crimes by security forces are committed under his name, including one woman Vanessa who was killed in February.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
@Rosie: The killings involved with the political coup and current government is tragic. Perhaps even more tragic is that it is not being covered much in the mainstream media. As we wrote, Nicaraguan media used the term “blood bath” in the first weeks after the military took control to describe the situation. Unfortunately, they seemed to have called things correctly. I’m not sure what it will take to return to an environment where people can live feeling safe and discussion and dissent is supported.
March 10th, 2010 at 8:26 am
sorry for slow reply Audrey, you are right there is a lot of silence by mainstream media.. as for what it takes, it would really help if world leaders all condemn the human rights abuses and recognise that it has continued (including yet more killings) since the change of ‘presidentes’ in Jan 2010, there is a real push to recognise the new regime, to resume economic and diplomatic and aid (including military aid) relations with the regime with US and world bank having announced resumed aid so if we can pressure these leaders not to do what they are doing and seek for human rights violations to be investigated independently (eg by ICC) that would be a really good start to ending impunity..so our roles, as citizens of the world, is we can try to push for that one way or another, and express our support for the people’s right to democracy, as you have done. warm regards, from australia,