Thread: Honduras. A true banana republic

One of the neatest places in Central America I've been to is PUERTO CASTILLA, AND TRUJILLO on the HONDURAN caribean coast. I was there on a military excercise with our ship that ported in Puerto Castilla for a month. We dropped our equipment in a DOLE PLANTATION which the U.S. government leased for 65,000 dollars per day so we could play war games. This was in 1990, the SANDANISTAS were in power in Nicaragua and they were having some free elections. We went there as a show of force and flex our muscles. COOL PLACE. Lots of SALVA VIDA beer we drank. We got a ride to shore on a TRASH BOAT. It was suppose to be off limits but we scored contacts on land for a "TRASH PICKUP" and we were all decked out ready for a night in the town and a little lady companionship. Boy, did we smell good. We just stayed upwind from the all the funk on that trash boat. The little town of Trujillo held some very interesting surprises. It was here that the American filibuster by the name of William Walker was shot to death by firing squad. He shipwrecked off the coast of Trujillo, and was surrendered to the Spanish authorities by the British. This man was a trouble maker, and at one time took over Nicaragua. He made it to the top of the hit list, and by foolishly returning to Central America to stir up more trouble, he met his fate in a firing squad. I saw his grave in downtown Trujillo.
I also saw a Spanish fort called FORTALEZA SANTA BARBARA. Up on the hill, you could go into a museum and see old cannon balls, armor, muskets left over from the SPANISH MAIN days. Columbus had anchored in this bay. Walking along the sun beaten streets, you could buy fresh juices and fruits from street vendors. They would freshly squeaze it in a bag with ice, tie it off, and stick a straw, so you end up sucking juice out of a plastic sandwich bag. I hit the lotto there for 120 Lempiras. How much is 120 Lempiras worth? I'll let you figure that one out. I don't know when I'll ever go back to Honduras again, but to get to Trujillo Honduras, you would have to either get there by boat, or fly into Tegucigalpa and catch a hop. Definately recommend it if you have the adventure and spirit to get away in an off the beaten path place for Americans. The Roatan islands are beyond the coast, a few miles, and we passed them on our way to and from Moorehead City, North Carolina. If you should ever make it to Trujillo, you must see a GARIFANO party. These are decendants of black slaves that were relocated to the coast of Honduras from the island of ST. VINCENT around 1797. Since then, they have mixed with the local population, but are predominately black. They party like there is no tomorrow, and they use home made instruments, such as turtle shells and beer cans. They have this down to a science. Whenever people discuss a Caribean vacation and listening to Caribean music, they JUST DON'T KNOW what the real Caribean is or the music until they have been to one of these parties in coastal Honduras.