The 5 stars on the Honduran flag represent the 5 countries that make up Central America
Capital: Tegucigalpa
National Flower: Rhyncholaelia Digbyana
National Mammal: White-tailed Deer
National Bird: Scarlet Macaw
Main exports: Coffee, bananas and wood
Chief Religions: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Mennonite, and Jehovah Witness
September 15th is celebrated as Independence Day. Honduras gained independence in 1821
Soccer (or football) is the main sport in Honduras
Lake Yojoa is the largest natural lake in Honduras
Honduras has 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Copan- Mayan Ruins (note to my future teammates- we ARE taking a adventure day to go see them as I’m not leaving Central America til I see some Mayan ruins! Hahaha) and Roatan- Bay Islands
Christopher Columbus first discovered Honduras in 1502
The Cathedral in Comayagua is home to the oldest clock in the Americas
Honduras is the 2nd largest Country in Central America
Honduras means “great depths” in Spanish
The Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang controls broad swaths of territory across Central America including Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala
Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world
Honduras was formerly known as Spanish Honduras in order to differentiate itself from Belize, which had been known as British Honduras.
There is an annual phenomena in Yoro of fish falling from the sky, a.k.a. “rain of fishes” or “Lluvia de peces,” which happens between May and July
The Patuca River is infamous within Honduras for a section of rapids known as “El Portal del Infierno” or “The Gates of Hell
The archaeological site of Puerto Escondido in Honduras has early evidence of the use of cacao at circa 1150 B.C.
Honduras is 80% mountainous
More than 50 percent of Honduras lives below poverty levels. According to the Human Development Index, Honduras is the sixth least developed country in Latin America, following Haiti, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Guyana
There are 110 mammal species in Honduras. Half are bats
Ninety percent of Honduras’s population is mestizo: a mix of Amerindian and European ancestry. Seven percent are indigenous, two percent are black (primarily residing on Honduras’s Caribbean coast), and around 150,000 are Garifuna
It was the 1st country to be nicknamed a “Banana Republic” and this term was first used by the American writer William Sydney Porter
It was the 1st country to ban smoking in your own home. In addition, smokers must always stand 2 meters away from non-smokers. (Take note US)
The national motto is “Libre, Soberana e Independiente” which means – “Free, Sovereign and Independent.”
On July 14, 1969, El Salvador and Honduras went to war for 100 hours. During this war, 6000 lives were lost and more than 12,000 were wounded. Additionally, approximately 50,000 individuals rendered homeless after this war. Furthermore, this war is commonly named ”The Football War” or ”The Soccer War,” but the actual real cause for the hostility between these countries ran far deeper.
Local buses are called Chicken buses. They’re brightly painted and look like a party on wheels. You’re unlikely to see chickens on these buses. (I know that I will most likely be riding these quite a bit during my month there)
So yeah that’s some interesting facts about Honduras, the 2nd of the 11 countries that I will be serving in during the World Race.
Up next: El Salvador
Your sister in Christ,
Bonne
Psalms 18:2
