okaybee

The grand total amount of time I spent in Honduras was 24 hours.

Let me be the first to say I do not consider myself an expert on what to see and do in Honduras now! However, we did go to a really lovely town, went to natural hot springs nearby at night, saw some incredible Mayan ruins, and eat some good food, so I thought it was still worth the post!

You may have heard a lot about Honduras in the news at the moment. There’s been some violence over last year’s election, protests over a dam that’s proposed to be built at the Jimamito river, and talks that the US will soon take away legal protections for Honduran people living in the States. We were a little nervous about going there, given the political unrest, but our guide reassured us that we wouldn’t be near any of the hubs of activity. I certainly found that Honduran people were so welcoming and kind, as people tend to be wherever you travel, and having experienced all that one little town had to offer, I can see how Honduras is a great traveller destination.

We travelled to Honduras from Antigua in Guatemala. It was a long bus journey let me tell you! I was so hungry when I got there. Myself and the girls happened to stumble across this cafe called Café Via Via. We weren’t expecting much, just a quick meal to keep us going. It was so good! I had the garnachas which were so tasty, we had a few drinks, and generally just enjoyed having a chat and some good food. I don’t know why I was expecting the food to be average. Maybe it’s because it seems like such a small town, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

That night we were told there was one thing we simply had to do. We had to go to Luna Jaguar Hot Springs at night. Now, as someone who is literally eaten alive by insects when I go away, a nighttime jaunt in a jungle didn’t sound like the best idea, but I decided to give it a whirl anyway. The drive there was one of the most terrifying drives ever. We laughed about it once we arrived, but honestly, we were rattled after it! There was something about the combination of bad roads, the ancient truck we were in and the fact that it was getting dark that just had me considering walking back to the hotel. But we made it there and back safely!

The hot springs were pretty cool I have to say, but I think they would still be amazing in the day time. As it was night it was hard to see much and I feel like we lost out a little on seeing how beautiful the area was. At one stage the sky actually looked purple, it was surreal!

That night I literally went to bed and crashed. As you will have seen in my YouTube video, there was a rooster that did not want me to sleep. At. All. It crowed all day and all night. I don’t know why it did that, or why other animals joined in at times, but there you go. After such an early start that morning, I managed to sleep through a good portion of the chaos.

The next morning we only had a few hours left in Copán before heading to El Salvador. There are incredible Mayan Ruins right next to the town, so we met up early that morning and headed out to them before it got too hot. After the madness of Siem Reap and the tourist hell that was all the temples, I was expecting something similar at the Mayan Ruins. Honestly, it was such a lovely experience! We only saw one other tour group while exploring the ruins. It was so nice to wander around and not have selfie sticks in your face the whole time. Don’t get me wrong, I realise I’m a tourist too! But some places are so overwhelmingly busy, you miss the beauty of what you are seeing and instead the focus shifts to getting out of there as soon as possible because it’s so crazy.

After the Mayan Ruins, we met up with the rest of the tour group at Cafe San Rafael. Amazing hot sandwiches and iced coffees if you’re ever there, so so good!

One thing we found tricky while we were there was taking out money. It took a few attempts at the atm to get cash, and it only gave out big notes, which we were told shops/restaurants etc wouldn’t accept. This meant we had to queue up to get into the bank, where you were frisked on your way in and then had to queue inside for about 20-30 minutes. Not the most seamless of experiences, so you have been warned!

I would love the opportunity to go back to Honduras and explore more of the country. I feel like it has so much to offer – great food, stunning scenery, lovely people, and the weather was perfect. Obviously use your best judgement when travelling to a country that is experiencing a bit of unrest, but if you travel smart, you can definitely keep Honduras on your list of places to go.