Jaunted

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.

more ›

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.

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Islands / Beaches / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Castaway Edition

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?

After a couple days exploring Utila, I was ready to get out on the water myself. The thing to do is charter a boat out to Water Cay, an actual Caribbean deserted island. I sorted out my trip at Bandu Cafe, just east of the dock on Utila's main road. At the restaurant, you can hook up with Captain Hector, a salty Bay Islander whose rickety--but floating!--boat is about as old as he is. It took me about an hour to make the trip out to Water Cay where Hector dropped me off for a half day in blissful isolation.

Once we landed on the island, I saw a sign advertising the day use fee (40 Lempiras or about $2) but no one ever came to collect it. On one end of the island, a sandy beach slides into the water for optimal ocean lounging. After a couple hours watching pelicans dive for fish and swimming with them myself, I was happy to catch some shade on the other side of the cay under the almond and palm trees. Campfires are discouraged, so pack some sandwiches if you're the hungry type. A jug of water, a bucket of sunscreen and a bottle of rum might make your Crusoe fantasy complete. Just leave your Blackberry back on Utila, k?

[Photo: fuzzyyeti]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Bars / Drinking / Diving / → All Tags

Tranquila Bar in Utila

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?

On Utila, everything moves a bit slower than you're used to. But it only takes a day to fall right into step with everyone else. The island is famous for its diving, but I decided to give diving a pass this trip. Or so I thought. At Tranquila Bar, just west of the dock off the main road, you'll be talking about diving until your face turns blue. Tuesday's the night when everyone drops in.

It's staffed by divers and full of them, recounting tales of the deep to anyone who will listen. Drink specials--like two rum and cokes for 24 Lempiras (about $1.25)--keep the crowd lubricated. Once you've heard enough about Utila's whale sharks, head out onto Tranquila's overwater dock to count the stars while the music blasts inside. If you want to get info on which dive shops run the best trips, this is the place. Tranquila also has a bulletin board with info on trips to Water Cay, the Cayos Cochinos and elsewhere.

[Photo: Travellin' D]

Related Stories:
· Drinking in Honduras [Jaunted]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Transportation / Boats / Islands / → All Tags

Getting to the Bay Islands

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?

When you're a tourist in Honduras, there's one question that everyone seems to ask: Are you going to Roatan? That largest of the magical Bay Islands is probably best known for its SCUBA diving, but these days it's also known for its real estate bubble. No, I'm not going to Roatan. Utila is more my speed.

To get here, just a few miles west of Roatan, I flew on a "vintage" Fairchild turboprop operated by Atlantic Airways to La Ceiba, on Honduras's northern coast. Once in Ceiba, it was easy to grab a taxi to the ferry port, where the Utila Princess departs twice a day for the island. It's an easy one-hour cruise, but there's not much on the boat besides seats, so take provisions if you're interested in happy hour. On the other side of the cruise, the passengers and I were met by a handful of touts with SCUBA fliers. Funny thing was, with the sun beaming down and the water lapping the shore, I didn't mind.

[Photo: pnendick]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / → All Tags

Drinking in Honduras

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?

After settling into my hotel, the Guadeloupe Dos, I met a friend for a drink at the Hotel Honduras Maya. It used to be the nicest hotel in town--until Marriott arrived--but it's still pretty impressive. Two floors are open to the public: upstairs, find an ATM and a bar with a full cocktail menu. Downstairs, check out the gift shop, the massage parlor ($10 for 50 minutes!), the restaurant, the courtyard and a pool. You'll have to pay a day use fee for the pool, but I skipped it since it was overcast and cool when I stopped by.

Instead, my friend and I sat out in the courtyard, enjoying a 7 year old Flor de Cana rum and a view of the mountains around town. Rooms at the Maya, if you're into the convention hotel vibe, start at $70. But you'd do better to snag a room at a simpler hotel and save your money for a flight, rather than a bus, to La Ceiba and the Bay Islands.

[Photo: Dr Robt]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Airports / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Getting There

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?

If I were to start from the beginning, I'd have to tell you about Tegucigalpa's brand new Toncontin International Airport. Sure the airfield has been around for years, but if you haven't been lately (or ever) you'll be happy to know that the entire terminal has been redone. You can check it out for yourself, like I did, by flying on American Airlines from Miami to Tegucigalpa.

What hasn't changed about the airport is the aggressive approach to the runway made necessary by the fact that Tegucigalpa is in a bowl-shaped valley. Not exactly Top Gun, but exciting. Our captain even made an announcement before we came in: "They don't give us much concrete to work with down there, but what we're gonna do is just standard operating procedure."

more ›