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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS
Downtown Tegucigalpa is centered around Parque Central. The central park is very busy and a good place to people watch. Just beware of the pickpockets and the hundreds of pigeons in the trees above. A peatonal (pedestrian street) starts west of the park and is lined with shops, restaurants, and the post office at the end. Bordering one side of the park is the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel dedicated to the patron saint of Tegucigalpa, Michael Archangel. It was built between 1765 and 1782 and has a vaulted ceiling and domed altar. The gold and silver altar piece was sculpted by Guatemalan artist Vicente Galvez. A few blocks from Central Park is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. It was built in 1732 and is located at the end of a large square lined with vendors. In Tegucigalpa, we stayed at the Hotel Honduras Maya. It's a luxury hotel with Mayan architecture, a pool, craft shops, and a good bar and restaurant. The rooms had nice views of the Tegucigalpa hillside and had cable TV, coffee makers, and minibars. There are a number of other luxury hotels and shops in the immediate area and it's just up the hill (10 minute walk) from Central Park. My favorite restaurant in Tegucigalpa was El Patio. It was a very festive restaurant with Christmas tree lights strung up, bananas and masks hanging from the ceiling, and a loud Mariachi band circling. Their specialty was various types of Pinchos (shish-ka-bobs). My favorite site in Tegucigalpa was the massive statue of Christ overlooking the city. Built in 1997, it's known as the Christ of the Picacho, because of the mountain where it is located. Our driver, Nestor, took us by the park on the way back from La Tigra. The Picacho Park has a series of other monuments, a small zoo and an impressive view of the city are all available. It's a nice walk past beautiful gardens to the statue and the city view. There is a small entrace fee to get into the park (about 10 Lempiras or less than $1 each). |
On October 29, 1998, ten-metre-high floods caused by Hurricane Mitch ripped through Honduras. About a thousand people were killed. You still see mud deposits and vultures circle overhead. When we went, all but one of the bridges are rebuilt and most of the roads. Weather forecast for Tegucigalpa There are tons of shanty villages in the hills of Tegucigalpa. Newly arrived residents go to the outskirts of the city and build shelter out of cardboard or tin. Then, if they start to make money, they will upgrade to wood or cement blocks. Each neighborhood or barrio has its own patron saint and committee (called Patronatos). These committees were originally formed by the residents to help organize and pay for the fiesta on their patron saint's day. Now, the Patronatos (dominated by women) organize to get social services from the government. Once a group of 75 women tore down a fence around the land they wanted to use to build a health center - and then went downtown to confront the bureaucrat who put up the fence. International and domestic flights arrive at Toncontín International Airport south of the city. You can catch a taxi outside the terminal but you can also save a couple of dollars by walking down to the highway and hailing one there. Taxis to the city center should cost around US$4.
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