Travel
Rest — and unrest — on vacation in Honduras
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-19 11:52
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This photo taken June 23, 2009 shows a sunset on the beach at Roatan, Honduras. The island is known for snorkeling and scuba diving.[Agencies] |
ROATAN, Honduras – "The president's been arrested already this morning," hotel owner Jeff Kuken told my wife and me one Sunday morning in late June.
We had spent months planning a vacation across Honduras, but now Latin America's first military coup in decades was unfolding on the third day of our trip. Not exactly part of our plans, and definitely not included in guidebooks that painted Honduras as the Next Big Destination for affordable eco-tourism.
"The military flew him out of the country at gunpoint," said Kuken, a Boston native who owns Casa Calico on this beautiful island known for its scuba diving and snorkeling.
We wondered whether it would be possible to have fun and relax in a beautiful country going through political chaos. The answer turned out to be a resounding yes — with some changes in plans and a bit of luck.
We spent the day of the coup at Gumbalimba Park, where we took a zipline from tree to tree down the side of a mountain and onto a picturesque beach. We spotted iguanas that looked like small alligators and learned about cashew trees. We visited the park's bird and monkey sanctuary, carrying both on our shoulders and feeding them with the help of their trainers.
Back at our room that afternoon, we watched on state television as Congress defended the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya and swore in the new president, Roberto Micheletti. Micheletti wasted no time imposing a 9 p.m. curfew that would last for the rest of our trip.
On Roatan, an island reachable by a 75-minute ferry ride from the mainland, there were few signs of unrest. We had the white sand beaches largely to ourselves, sipped pina coladas at beachside bars, and treated ourselves to delicious local foods like shrimp coconut soup and fried plantains. We enjoyed fresh Honduran coffee.
We snorkeled in one of the world's largest barrier reefs, seeing all kinds of exotic fish. No need for a guided tour: the best snorkeling is very close to shore. One tip for travelers: it might be worth bringing your own mask and fins because the quality of rentals can be suspect. We did not scuba dive, but Roatan is a popular place for Americans and Europeans to do so.
With the U.S. Department of State advising against nonessential travel, we decided to cancel trips we had planned across the mainland.
(That advisory has since been softened; State now advises travelers to "exercise caution" but avoid the capital, Tegucigalpa. While the country's political crisis continues, with the presidential election set for Nov. 29, bus and airline services and daily life are largely back to normal.)
We had planned to visit the Mayan ruins and coffee plantations in Copan Ruinas in the western part of the country and beautiful Lago Yojoa in central Honduras, where we had expected to stay at a bed-and-breakfast that is also the country's one and only microbrewery.
For now, we were stuck in paradise.
We explored more of Roatan, water taxiing to shop from vendors on the beach at West Bay across the island. We did more snorkeling, ate more fresh seafood, drank more of the country's Salvavida beer. And we constantly visited an Internet cafe to get the latest updates on the situation.
