Huts in Miami, a sleepy Garífuna village. (1029k) Thatch-roofed hut in Miami, a sleepy Garífuna village. (1166k) Village scene in Miami. (1111k) Village scene in Miami. (1453k) Mud-walled hut near Copán. (998k) Village scene near Copán. (1291k) Hut on the way to Cuero y Salado nature reserve. (1168k) Hut on the way to Cuero y Salado nature reserve. (1319k) Local restaurant on the way to Cuero y Salado nature reserve. (1337k) Village scene in Triunfo de la Cruz, a Garífuna village. (912k) Houses in Triunfo de la Cruz, a Garífuna village. (811k) House in Triunfo de la Cruz with a neat small garden. (1111k) A more up-scale house in Triunfo de la Cruz. (902k) Cemetery of Triunfo de la Cruz. (750k) A small church on the way to Cuero y Salado nature reserve. (1073k) Getting roofing material. (1165k) There were two types of thatched roof. This one was made from long palm fronds. (1052k) This type of roof is made from leave bundles that branch out from one point. (1102k) Fence posts are made from freshly cut wood. Some of them start sprouting again. (1.5M) In some fences, most posts have turned into trees again. (1352k) It rained a lot. This is what the streets in the villages looked like. (773k) This is what the village looked like. (893k) Catching rain water. (587k) The beach in the rain. (579k) Driving through the villages. (705k) The local town, Tela in the rain. (754k) La Ceiba in the sun, a much nicer view. (1129k) The towns were quite clean. Even an empty lot was not loaded with garbage. In the USA such lots frequently look a lot worse. (850k) A well maintained park in La Ceiba. (1170k)
Traffic
US and Canadian school buses are in use everywhere. (1027k) Taxis were for the most part quite new cars. (786k) Many towns along the major roads slow down traffic with serious speed bumps. (673k) These bumps can really hurt you if you are too fast. (644k) Buses between the cities are often crowded. They fill every available nook and cranny, with plastic extra seats in the aisle. (644k) This was the truck of Coco Tours that I used most of the time. (941k) The small train line to the Cuero y Salado nature reserve. It used to be the train that hauled bananas from the banana plantation. (1011k) This is the train. The train ride is about 45 minutes between Cuero y Salado and the village. (1233k) On the train. The kid in the background is passing us on horseback. (730k) He has passed us. The train runs quite slowly. (941k) Horse-drawn carts are still used fairly frequently. (858k) Transportation on the ocean. (585k) He had pulled down the sails and negotiates the breakers with an oar. (708k) A kid crossing the river in Cuero y Salado. (735k) He is checking lobster traps. (1190k) Scenic view of some boats. (975k) There is no bridge here, so you have to ferry yourself across the brook. (1073k) School girls, on the way home from school, ferry themselves across. (1136k) This was one dilapidated boat. We started going into one of the nature areas in this. He rowed the boat backwards, I guess because the tail was leaking too much, so he tried to keep it out of the water. Fortunately he soon turned back and we got into a slightly less dilapidated boat with an outboard motor. (915k) Foot bridge in the Lancetilla Nature Reserve. (1444k)
Agriculture
African palms for producing palm oil are one of the big businesses in Honduras. (991k) Coconut Palms (Cocos nucifera, german: Kokospalme, french: Cocotier) are also important. (1348k) Most palms around Miami died during a hurricane a few years ago. New ones are slowly coming back. (955k) Bananas are the most important crop in Honduras. (1285k) Banana flower. (755k) Pineapples are another important crop. (845k) Pineapple fruit. (723k)
Business
Doing laundry in the local brook. (1213k) The local bakery in Triunfo de la Cruz. (697k) Cabañas Tucan, a hotel outside Triunfo de la Cruz, where I stayed the first night. (664k) The hotel had a white capuchin monkey as a pet. (578k) They used solar power with a collector on the roof of each cabin. (692k) The battery that collected the solar electricity. It is a good idea, unfortunately it didn't work, the converter that was supposed to produce current for the lights didn't do its job. (490k) It rained a lot, and the roofs were leaking. (431k) Cabañas Colon's was the hotel that I stayed in Triunfo de la Cruz most of the time. (1132k) The shower in the Cabañas Colon was a somewhat improvised construction. And it was only cold water. (409k) Local restaurant on the beach in Triunfo. (732k) The local pool hall and bar in Triunfo. (932k) Pool setup. You had to pocket the balls in numerical order, starting with the yellow one-ball, around the table. The final standing was the sum of the numbers on the balls that you pocketed. (654k) Paying after the pool game. (709k) These beads on a string were used for counting penalty points when you scratched or missed entirely. (713k) Local produce market in Tela. (886k) USA food habits are getting big in Honduras. All major brands of fast food were represented, like this Dunkin' Donuts. (715k) And Burger King. (795k) And Pizza Hut. (687k) Complete with delivery. (868k) Maggi set up a some seats under a tent, and did advertising with blaring loudspeakers. (794k)
People
Preparing food in Miami. (932k) Repairing fishing nets. (670k) School girl in Triunfo de la Cruz. (872k) A little girl in the rain in Triunfo. (911k) Mother and Child on the beach, having fun (or not?). (720k) Making of a hairdo. (698k) Contemplating in the drizzle on the beach. (474k) Contemplating. (438k) Having fun in Cuero y Salado. (775k) Evening fun in Cuero y Salado. (783k) Triunfo de la Cruz on a Sunday. Thousands of people from the surrounding areas come to the beach in Triunfo. (795k) This is what the beach looks like on Sunday. (727k) Vendor on the beach. (622k) Beach grill. (835k) Locals from Triunfo set up a roulette table for the beach goers. (752k) Beach vendor. You can already see what it will look like when the tourists leave. (891k) But for now they have fun, playing in the sand. (620k) Fun for the young. (851k) ...and the old. (846k) Fun in the surf. After the rains the previous days, the surf was up. (669k) Fun for boys and girls. (754k) This what it looks like without the tourists. (943k) The beach huts without the crowds. (902k) Scenic moments on the beach during the week. (710k) Scenic moments on the beach during the week. (725k) Scenic moments on the beach during the week. (922k) Scenic moments on the beach during the week. (1202k) Sunset on the beach during the week. (532k)