Honduras

Christmas is such a happy time of year, and it’d be happier if it weren’t for the cold. That’s why this year we decided to spend it with the family in Honduras, home of the baleada, punta, and chiquita banana!

We stayed most of the time at my aunt Daisy's house in San Pedro Sula, a city that’s grown so much since I was last here 6 years ago. What I love most are how lush and green the mountains are, unlike Utah mountains which are very dry and rocky. We fell in love with one of my aunts' puppies, Sasha. She just loved playing with us and cuddling with us every night! Once my mom to flew in the next day, we took a bus to the capital in Tegucigalpa, where the rest of the family lives.

We spent Noche Buena at mi tia Lupe's house with the entire family. They drove Trav and I around the city for a tour and we got to see the new temple built there, the first in the country, it was absolutely breathtaking!

The funnest part about spending Christmas in a latin country is the way we celebrate it. We’re always looking for an excuse to party so Christmas Eve is spent gorging on tamales, pork, and rice, dancing, and watching all the fireworks, and lighting our own, from the balcony. We filmed a mannequin challenge while we were at it which was hilarious and awesome!

Once the clock hit midnight, we all celebrated and congratulated each other to the bombardment of firecrackers outside. We then opened presents, and weren’t off to bed until around 3 a.m.

The following day my aunt Xiomara took us to Valle de Angeles, a quaint little town full of trinket shops and vendors. We got some souvenirs for the family, ate an icy (or as they say in Tegus, Minuta), and stopped by some street-food vendors on the side of the road for pastelitos de perro, fritas, atol, y elote! Corn heaven! Yuuummmm!!!

Then we met back up with the family and went to my other aunt Ruth's house to hang out and check out my uncle Alvaro's Star Wars collection. He's an avid fan and has a room full of figurines and star wars memorabilia he's been collecting since his childhood!

The next morning we said our goodbyes and took the bus back to San Pedro to prepare for our trip to the island of Roatan!

Back in San Pedro we visited el mercado where we were able to shop for more souvenirs and food. Daisy made us an amazing fried fish with tajaditas (plantain chips)! One of my favorite dishes when I go to Honduras. My uncle Andres fished them, and between Trav and I we ate about five!

Then it was off to Roatan! We took a three hour bus ride to the coastal city of Ceiba, where we would take an hour and a half ferry ride to the island. My aunt is friends with the captains family, so we got to go to cock pit and meet the captain of the ferry. The water was choppy so it was quite the ride, but so gorgeous as you approach the island. You can see shipwrecks from hurricane Mitch still peeking out of the crystal clear water.

Once in Roatan we stayed with the McNab family who so graciously hosted us during our stay. They have a beautiful home by the water, every inch of wall space in their living room is full of marlin and sail fish busts, and fishing is their passion. They had the most adorable poodle called Chanel who would follow us everywhere, and they made us the best food- conch, shrimp, jerk chicken, the works!

Our first day there we went to Little French Key, a private key with a days worth of fun activities. They take you on a little boat out to the key where we swam in the ocean, snorkeled with fish, and finally put our go-pro to good use under water!

They had a small zoo there with monkeys, cougars, lions, goats, birds, and deer. There were a ton of activities to do on the key, they had a bar and restaurant, and paddle boarding, too! It was the perfect place to see the sunset that night.

The next day in Roatan was a bit up and down, we went to West End, and it rained on and off the entire day. But that didn’t stop us from a day of adventure! We ate lunch at the Mayan Princess resort on the beach, did a glass bottom boat tour of the world's 2nd largest barrier reef, and drank some coco frio as the waves crashed on shore.

Our last day in Roatan we went to the Parrot Key resort to eat more ceviche, watch some of the native Garifuna people perform and play in the water. We also started a random game of cornhole with other tourists on the beach, it was quite fun, but I was terrible!

Eventually it was time to take the ferry back to the mainland, and the long bus ride home. It was nice to relax a couple days after the trip to the island, and to celebrate New Years with a more intimate crowd. We spent it with Daisy, her husband, my mom, my cousin Paola, and her husband Jesus. We all stayed up to the crazy sound of fireworks and ate the most delicious turkey, rice, beans, salad, and tajaditas. No offense to my fellow Americans, but latinos make the most bomb turkeys for the Holidays!

We spent the rest of the night sitting outside in the lovely 80 degree weather watching the fireworks go off from neighboring houses. At times it sounded more like a war zone, but that made it even funner!

The next day we decided to go to Choloma to visit my uncle Julio who is a cattle-rancher. We got to see his four baby calves along with the momma cows and bull, his two piggies, and a collection of chickens. They were so darling and curious. The calves would come up to us and lick our hands, they have the scratchiest tongues!

After a day of relaxation, it was time for our next and last adventure in Honduras, visiting the Mayan ruins of Copan! We drove with a family friend through the beautiful jungle-filled country side. Once there, we ate a traditional Catracho breakfast at a rustic restaurant comprised of beans, cheese, cream, and tortillas. Then we got a tour of the ancient city. The ruins are absolutely spectacular amidst a jungle of macaws and exotic birds singing and howling.

This altar was for human sacrifices. There were other altars specifically for animal sacrifices, and the Mayans would commonly sacrifice birds, jaguars, and monkeys.

Hieroglyphic Stairway with Copan's history

Ball field- the Mayans played a ball game where only the shoulders, elbows, chest, hip, and knee could be used to pass the ball around. No hands or feet. The object of the game was to get the ball to touch one of the parrot heads at the corners and middle of the structure. The ball was made of pure rubber and weighed 5 lb, so the players would wear wooden pads to protect themselves. Depending on the Mayan city, either the losers were offered to the Gods as sacrifice, or the winners, signifying that they were giving their best to the Gods. In Copan, they would sacrifice the loser.

Aqueduct system- the Mayans were brilliant architects and created aqueduct systems to bring water into the city, and drains to take excess water out. These structures were so well made, that when Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1988 and flooded the country, the drainage systems took all the water out and the ruins never flooded. Below is a pic of the other side of the drain.

This was a ceremonial courtyard where important events like coronations, blood oaths, and weddings took place. During these ceremonies and celebrations, the Mayans would wear elaborate costumes and masks. Hence, this guy looks like he’s wearing sunglasses. Below is another image of someone in a jaguar costume. Trav is breaking it down Mayan style!

These are the remains of the residential area for the Elite a.k.a. the king and his family. Only the walls are left, but the roofs were made of wood and leaves.

One of the many trees and shrubbery that have grown on top of the pyramids.

Archaeological excavation- archaeologists made tunnels inside the pyramids where they made various interesting discoveries. One of the greatest was that inside the pyramid was another pyramid! Apparently, the kings would make an original structure as a tribute to their power. But when he died and the next guy came along, he built a larger and grander pyramid over that one. So this one pyramid contains 3 more inside which we were able to see here.

This is the tomb of one of the kings. When he was discovered only the body remained because tomb robbers had stolen many of the priceless artifacts the king was buried with.

Here we have yet another amazing tribute to Mayan architecture. Can you tell what this is? I’ll give you a hint, it goes flush! YUP! This is a Mayan toilet! They would sit on it and do their business, and then servants would wash it away with pails of water where it would go down their drainage system. Obviously a luxury item like this was only for the king.

Another beautiful piece of architecture is this arch. But this is no common arch, this arch faces East-West, making it a clock! When the sun would rise, the rays of the sun would come from the east and shine west, and when it was dawn, the suns rays would come from the west and shine east giving the Mayans an idea of the time of day.

The surrounding jungle was full of Macaws squawking and singing. The macaw is actually the national bird of Honduras.

This was our tour guide Virgilio who studied Archaeology and shared so many fun facts with us about the ancient city.

Here is a life-size replica of the pyramid inside of the pyramid we saw through the archaeological tunnels. It’s called the Rosalila.

Mayan vampire lol jk it’s a bat…pretty creepy though.

Here’s our last view of San Pedro before heading back to the Utah winter. We had a much deserved vacation and a blast being able to share it with the family. Till next time Catracholandia! #TravelHonduras