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How to Get Away This Christmas Without Offending Your Family

In Four Christmases, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon want to take a relaxing tropical vacation for Christmas. But, to get out of dinner with their families, they have to come up with the perfect lie. Like Vince says in the move, "you can't spell families without lies." So they decide to tell everyone they're doing charity work, like building houses in third world countries or teaching English as a second language in Puerto Rico, when they're actually about to board a plane to Fiji.

If you've been looking for an "out" this holiday season, we've got the perfect volunteer vacation to use as your cover and a romantic tropical destination where you can actually spend your time off. We just hope your plan works out better than Vince and Reese's. Needless to say, a canceled flight and a nosy reporter land them right where they didn't' want to be—at home with their families for Christmas.

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Political Travel / Honduras Travel / Travel Advertising / Tourism Boards / Travel Ads / → All Tags

Honduran Tourism Minister Launches Blistering Ad Campaign Against...Honduras?

Normally when you see negative travel advertising about a city or state, it's one locale trying to play itself up as an alternative to another and occasionally you run into a campaign that's more or less being done to punish a place. An example of this is food companies' punitive response to New York's ongoing war against smoking/alcohol/transfats/fun, but it's very unusual to have a campaign that's just pure "don't go to this place" spite. What's been happening in Honduras, where the exiled Tourism Minister is screening negative ads about his own country, is indeed very unusual.

The politics down in Honduras are obviously a mess. Manuel Zelaya was ousted from the presidency with various degrees of legitimacy and justification, the answer to that varying with where you fall on the political spectrum. The US government, along with Honduras' neighbors, insist it was a coup. The Honduran Supreme Court, legislature, and army mostly beg to disagree. None of that matters for our purposes. Instead we enter the story where Ricardo Martinez, Zelaya's former Tourism minister, is invited to act as the country's legitimate representative at the Central American Travel Market.

He was, all things considered, not the best imaginable spokesman for the Honduran tourism industry...

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Dangerous Travel / Honduras Travel / Airport News / Wars / Travel Safety / TGU / Travel Warnings / → All Tags

Honduras Travel Gets Riskier After Weekend Airport Drama

Central America's most serious political crisis in years has Honduras sliding further into instability, and tourists are not surprisingly second-guessing trips to the tiny nation.

Exiled President Manuel Zelaya played at a return to Honduras on Sunday, borrowing a plane from Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and attempting to fly back into Toncontin International Airport in the capital, Tegucigalpa. But as clashes broke out between Zelaya supporters and police, soldiers blocked the runway and the ousted leader decided not to risk a crash landing—perhaps he was aware that even without the demonstrators, TGU is already one of the world's most dangerous airports.

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Travel Warnings / Honduras Travel / Wars / Travel Safety / → All Tags

Is It Still Safe To Travel To Honduras?

We bet that there a more than a few of you out there clutching tickets to Honduras, while shaking in your boots over the current military coup situation and wondering whether or not to cancel your vacation. This is why god invented trip insurance, and we recommend that if you have it, now would be the time to cash in on it.

We know that the Honduran Bay Islands are famous for scuba diving with whale sharks, but there's a friggin' military coup playing out back in the capital Tegucigalpa, and we paid enough attention back in junior high history class to know that it means potentially violent demonstrations, soldiers with guns in the streets, and a generally confused and upset populace. These elements, unlike malibu rum and pina colada mix, do not combine to form a perfectly relaxing vacation away.

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Roatan's Only Homemade Submarine in Limbo

Just because Karl Stanley's homemade submarine can dive to 2,000 feet off the coast of Honduras doesn't mean passengers will get to see exotic deep sea creatures. You've got to lure them out of hiding, which Capt. Stanley does the old fashioned way, says one of his recent passengers:

Eight hours earlier, Stanley had bought a tired old horse from a nearby stable, led it onto a boat, shot it in the head, tied cinder blocks to its hooves and dumped it in the ocean.

And that actually wasn't the craziest part of the experience.

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World's Most Dangerous Airports / TGU / Manuel Zelaya / Delta / New Routes / → All Tags

Fear of Flying Travel: Delta Planning New Service into Terrifying TGU

Just because Toncontin International in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is one of the most dangerous airports on Earth doesn't mean Delta doesn't wanna fly some jets down there. So starting December 18, subject to governmental approval, the airline plans to start daily 737 service to TGU out of Atlanta.

A couple of things are worth noting, first and foremost the fact that the brand-new 737-700s Delta plans to use will be small and nimble enough to handle the short runway and high altitude at Toncontin. Still, if you're not a fan of elaborate airborne maneuvers, you'd probably prefer flying into San Pedro Sula, less than a couple hours away, where the runway is big, flat and, you know, not deadly.

Also worth mentioning is that, yes, indeed, flights are being allowed into TGU. After a crash at the airport earlier this year, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ordered all flights diverted to Palmerola Air Base, north of Tegucigalpa. But on July 7, Toncontin was reopened to commercial flights because the military installation still wasn't ready to handle passengers.

Related Stories:
· Details on Delta's New Service to TGU [Official Site]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Toncontin, TGU [Jaunted]

[Photo: egmb757lover]

World's Most Dangerous Airports / TGU / SAP / Manuel Zelaya / Videos / → All Tags

World's Most Dangerous Airports: Toncontin, TGU

One of the world's most notorious airfields, Toncontin International, was closed to flights Saturday after a Taca A320 skidded off a rain-drenched runway and onto a nearby road on Friday, killing four people on board and one on the ground. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said a new international airport would be built to finally replace TGU.

Built in 1948, Toncontin has been dangerous since the day it opened, 3,300 feet above sea level. Normally, that altitude would call for more runway room than usual, but TGU gives pilots just 6,112 feet of asphalt to land on. The short runway was clearly a contributing factor in Friday's accident.

If it weren't already dangerous enough, the airport is situated in a valley surrounded by hills, meaning pilots have to execute some hair-raising turns just to line up for a difficult landing. On our last flight into TGU, the pilot made a quick announcement during our descent to put nervous fliers at ease before banking in for a landing.

All that said, Friday may have been the last day for Toncontin. Zelaya's proposed new passenger terminal at Soto Cano Air Base in Comayagua won't be ready for at least another two months, so flights are already being diverted to San Pedro Sula. Good thing, too: The runway at SAP is a comfortable 9,203 feet, sitting just 91 feet above sea level.

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Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Hasta Luego and More Photos

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady just returned from a tour through Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

Well, I'm sorry to say, I've written all I can for now about my trip to Honduras. There are more stories to be sure, but for now, I'm more interested in whether Nicky Hilton will ever get her hotels open. If there's something you need to know that I didn't cover, shoot an email on over.

In the meantime, check out my photos, in the Jaunted Flickr pool. (There are also some other great snaps as well as a bunch of screen caps from The Amazing Race 10.) To step up your viewing pleasure, you can also click over to Jaunted's YouTube channel where I've posted a couple shorts. Have your own travel pics or vids? Submit 'em!

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Restaurants / Food / Drinking / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Fine Dining in Comayagua

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady just returned from a tour through Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

So after I saw all the sights in Comayagua, I was ready for some grub. Sure, I had my choice of dozens of baleada stands and shacks. But I'd been eating them for days. A visit to Comayagua means a stop at restaurant/bar/disco/karaoke club Villa Real.

Lots of people say it's the best restaurant in town, and they're probably right. But the food leaves a little to be desired for "best in town" and (relatively) high prices. Still, the overall experience is great, with some of the best service in the country.

Villa Real also gets bonus points for its lush interior, so don't let the facade fool you. I ate in the restaurant's open, central courtyard, and shared a bottle of wine with two friends. The fact that they had wine was a major plus--it's muy hard to find in Honduras. Late nights, you can settle your dinner check and move into the disco for some Spanglish karaoke if that's your thing. It wasn't mine, but, hey, I'm not judging.

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Churches / Sightseeing / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: South to Comayagua

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady just returned from a tour through Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

After running myself through a biblical rinse cycle, I changed into some dry clothes and hopped a bus south from Lago de Yojoa toward Comayagua. The former colonial capital of Honduras, it's a fairly large city right along the main highway between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. Having been the capital on-and-off for nearly 350 years, it has plenty of European-style cultural things to see.

Number one on that list would be the Cathedral of Saint Mary in the heart of town, which everyone will tell you has the western hemisphere's oldest clock. Honestly, it didn't look that old to me, but what do I know about clocks? (Anyway, the story goes that Philip III donated the clock to the cathedral in Comayagua, but the details change depending on who's telling the tale.) Another nice sight is the Church of Mercy (Iglesia de La Merced), just up the road from the Cathedral. It's not usually open, but the colonial architecture and the leafy park across from the building are nice.

When you're done with the sights, the Hotel America Inc. (actual name!) is a good bet for a clean bed.

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Active Travel / Nature / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Pulhapanzak Waterfall

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady just returned from a tour through Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

Now, I didn't want to spend my entire trip in Utila. So I eventually packed up the swim trunks and my new tan and took the ferry back to the mainland. After catching a bus in La Ceiba, on the northern coast, I rode south to Lago de Yojoa. The lake, between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, is a gem (though in recent years, it's shrunk in size because of environmental damage).

There are a couple of nature lodge/all-inclusives surrounding the lake, and I stayed at Agua Azul, on the road between La Guama and Pena Blanca. Why was I in the middle of nowhere? To swim beneath the tongue-twisting Pulhapanzak Waterfall that drops 140 feet (Niagara Falls is 170) near the town of San Buenaventura. What it's like, after the jump.

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Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Restaurants / Food / Toilets / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Thompson's Cafe

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

Even though there's a lot about the Bay Islands that's very different from things in the rest of Honduras, one constant remains. It's the baleada, a sort of unofficial national dish that works as breakfast, lunch and dinner. The basic model is simple: a freshly-made thick flour tortilla is smeared with refried beans, salty farmer's cheese and cream (which the Hondurans call mantequilla, or butter). That's it. Three of these can kill your biggest hunger pangs.

At Utila's Thompson's Cafe, they do have the regular old baleada. But why order that when you can get the Super Baleada (pictured above) packed with beans, cheese, cream, scrambled eggs, lettuce and tomato? It's about the size of a football but it sells for only 30 Lempiras ($1.50). Unlike lots of places in the Islands, and despite the English name, Thompson's is staffed by Spanish speakers, so be ready for that. Oh, and one warning I wish I'd had: Thompson's bathroom is an adventure even by Honduran standards.