Honduras

Honduras, a country in Central America , extending from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean , is a rugged, mountainous country with a fringe of lowlands along the Caribbean coast. Explorer Christopher Columbus landed here in 1506 and named the land Honduras (Spanish for “depths”) for the deep waters off the Caribbean coast. The country's official name in Spanish is La Republica de Honduras. From the 16 th century to the early 19 th century, Honduras was part of Spain 's vast colonial empire. In the 20 th century it came under the influence of big fruit companies from the United States that established banana plantations there. For a long time bananas were the mainstay of the Honduran economy. Although the economy has become more diversified, Honduras remains primarily an agricultural society. Its wealth is controlled by a small minority, and its people are among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere . Honduras is second only to Nicaragua in area (112,492 sq km =43,433 sq mi) which makes it slightly larger than the state of Tennessee . The country is bounded on the north and east by the Caribbean Sea , on the south by Nicaragua , on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean and El Salvador , and on the west by Guatemala . Honduras is primarily a highland plateau, consisting of broad, fertile plains broken by deep valleys, and traversed by mountain ranges in a northwestern to southwestern direction.

The mountains, which are volcanic in origin, rise to their highest elevations of more than 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in west-central Honduras . Two lowlands line the coast, one extending about 640 km (about 400 mi) along the Caribbean Sea and the other extending 64 km (40 mi) on the Pacific Ocean . The Caribbean lowland, which extends into Nicaragua , is known as Mosquitia, or the Mosquito Coast . The name comes from the Miskito, indigenous people who once inhabited the region, and not from the insect. Most of the country's rivers drain to the Atlantic Ocean . Navigable Atlantic rivers include the Ulúa, which drains approximately one-third of the country, and the Coco . The Coco forms part of the boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua . The Choluteca River flows to the Pacific Ocean . Lake Yojoa , a beautifully situated mountain lake 900 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level, is the only large lake in Honduras . Caratasca Lagoon is the largest of the several lagoons along the Mosquito Coast . Forests, covering 48.1 percent of the land, yield valuable hardwoods and softwoods. Fertile pasturelands provide the basis for increasingly productive dairy farming and cattle. Valuable mineral deposits, such as lead and zinc, are also present in Honduras . The climate of Honduras is tropical but becomes milder at the higher elevations of the interior. The average annual temperature in the interior is 21°C (70°F). The low-lying coastal regions, however, are warmer, and the humidity is oppressive; the annual temperature here averages 27°C (80°F). Rainfall is generally heaviest in eastern Honduras , where there is no dry season. The average annual rainfall ranges from 1,000 mm (40 in) in some mountain valleys to 2,500 mm (100 in) along the northern coast. A dry season lasting from November to May occurs in the south-central highlands and on the mountain slopes facing the Pacific.

Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa (800,000) is located in the southern part of Honduras , in Francisco Morazán province. The elevation is around 3,000 feet. Native Americans were already living in the area of present-day Tegucigalpa , and calling it by that name, when the first Europeans–Spanish miners–arrived in the middle of the 1500s. Those Native Americans were mostly of the Lenca people; however, they have died out and their language is dead so not a lot is known about their culture. The city was named capital of Honduras in 1880. The descendants of the Native Americans and Europeans in Tegucigalpa were joined, early in the 1900s, by two other ethnic groups–Arabs and Chinese. The Arabs continued to immigrate for about fifty years, and Chinese continue to come to this day. Both communities are visible in the capital; the two largest hardware store chains carry Arab names, and Chinese restaurants abound. About one-third of Tegucigalpa –the area lying to the south and west of the Choluteca River –is known as Comayagüela. They were separate cities until 1938 and have since been further subdivided into barrios. The center of town features fine old churches, other old buildings, a pedestrian walkway, and the National Art Gallery which was formerly a priests' residence. Parque La Leona is a pleasant park with a good view of downtown–but don't think you can skip a visit to El Picacho because you have been to La Leona. If you stand by the statue of Morazán in the central park and look up north, La Leona is the first concrete thing you see as you drop your gaze down from the statue of Christ. The birthplace of Francisco Morazán , who served as the president of Central America , is marked by a plaque off Calle Mendiete. The Villa Roy National Museum has interesting collections, including vintage cars used by former Honduran dictators, and is also notable for its green grounds and beautiful main building, a former private residence.

Gualaco

In the district of Olancho, one of the poorest districts in the country, in the Agalta River Valley sits the town of Gualaco . The land is beautiful.  The local economy is based on agriculture.  As in many third-world countries, a few rich people own most of the land.  The majority of the locals are "campesinos" (laborers). People live in relatively primitive conditions. 

Most homes are very small and made of adobe, wattle or wood with sheet metal roofs.  Wealthier peoples' homes are made of cinder blocks.  The majority of homes have dirt floors.  Women cook in primitive adobe ovens heated by a small cook fire or directly over an open flame.  There is no indoor plumbing.  Only those living along the main highway have electricity and only if they can afford it.  Few people have more than a couple of changes of clothes, and children are often barefoot. The government does a pretty good job of providing elementary education to all children, but public school only goes through the sixth grade.  To continue your secondary education, families have to pay.  The secondary schools are only in the larger towns so children often have to leave home to attend.  Gualaco's secondary school has only two specialties to offer students (agriculture and bookkeeping) so many go to the capital to study other technology specialties.