Hondura's loss, your gain

November 9, 12:54 PMCentral American Travel ExaminerMichael Sherer

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This is the best of all times to visit Honduras. Why? Tourism is down by 50-70% because of all the publicity around the 'mexican-standoff' between the two presidents and the subsequent 'bad news' headlines. There aren't any riots, except for a few skirmishes in Tegucigalpa and no one in their right mind would visit Teguci anyway. Take the 'Golden Triangle Tour' of  Roatan, Copan and Antigua, where prices are low and the hotels are begging for business. If you don't like crowds in world-famous places, book it now. The weather is perfect and the holiday crowds, if there are any this year, aren't there.

Set in a lush river valley, the enchanting and ancient city of Copan Ruinas is only twenty minutes from the Guatemalan border.  Here is a colonial era city of charm and spanish style architecture, set on a hillside with gentle elevations. With a population of 5000 or so, and at 1500 ft, it was founded by the Spanish conquistadores in the early 1500’s. The town was a site of an earlier Mayan village, associated with the nearby ruins(which are spectacular). In Copan, known as the Athens of the north, there's even a street called Acropolis, just as if you were in Greece. The village itself has a very distinct feel of Greek mountain towns, particularly those around Delphi. The ruins are among the finest in carvings and the quality of the stelae. By all means see the museum in the park. Tikal is good, but Copan Ruinas is better.

Restaurants? Twisted Tanya’s is the main attraction for ambience, serving up a mixture of ex-pats, tourists and delicious meals. Tanya serves up a bacon-wrapped filet mignon and an authentic chicken curry with fresh home-made chutney…everything else is likewise hand-crafted. 

Don’t expect to see any shoe-shine urchins begging for your attention: there aren’t any…this may be the only place in Central America without them. Don Udo, president of the local Rotary Club and with a nearby hotel, attempted to launch this trade as a means of creating more local jobs.   They bought three new shoe-shine kits, complete with Shinola and new brushes. No one stepped up...oh, and the hot springs? twenty minutes out of town, set in a beautiful valley and deserted: another secret paradise.