JoAnna Takes a Press Trip

Is it the sign I was waiting for to prove to myself that I am, in fact, a travel writer? Early in November I played the quick turn game - one day I'm not going anywhere, the next day I'm getting plane reservations to fly to Honduras and less than a week later I'm in a largely underrated Central American country.

And this is why I keep my passport handy and up-to-date.

The whole purpose of the press trip was to show journalists that, despite the travel advisory warnings on Honduras by many of the Western nations, it is actually a very safe place to travel. There has been some unrest in the capital city, but there wasn't a military coup as the Western media says. Also, anything that is going on in the country is happening in Tegucigalpa, and though that is very little, it certainly has no effect on tourists to the country. Most of the country has carried on with their every day lives. As we traveled around the country, I was shocked by how few people there were ... the restaurants were empty, the hotels were unoccupied, the beaches were bare.

In my own humble opinion, it's when tourists stop visiting a country that places have to lay people off. And when people are laid off, that's when they resort to violence and crime in order to feed their families. Honduran businesses are doing everything they can to draw people to their doorstep - 2 for 1 discounts, low season rates during high season, etc. So, for what it's worth, if you're looking for a great vacation destination for a low cost, I recommend Honduras. It's safe and interesting ... and I'm hoping to take Cory back with me soon.

Enough of that ... now on to my trip.

So a press trip is a lot of work. We went from dawn to dusk and beyond, and then, of course, I had to login to the WiFi and get some other work done. We met with representatives of the tourism sector in the country and had to take tours of some things the average tourists wouldn't visit (the new cruise port on Roatan, for example), but I also got to do a ton of really cool things that I might not have done on my own.

(Side note: I had a bit of a camera snafu on my first day, so a lot of the pictures I'm going to post were actually taken by a fellow travel writer, Katie.)

La Ceiba:

Billed as an eco-tourism destination. We stayed at a fancy-schmancy eco-resort that was located on the edge of Pico Bonito National Park, which has miles of hiking trails. We had crappy weather in La Ceiba, and I didn't have much time to hike, but we did get to go whitewater rafting, which was fun and redeeming since my last rafting experience was on the Nile River and left me a bit turned upside down to the notion of rafting. The water wasn't all that cold since we were being rained on. The rapids were class II to IV, so nothing too rough, and parts of the river were actually quite shallow. Here are some photos from La Ceiba:

The inside of a cocao plant.

Roatan:

Roatan is a part of the Bay Islands, located in the Caribbean. In fact, some people on Roatan believe it should be its own nation. A lot of cruise ships dock here, though I fear a lot of them barely get far from the dock. In fact, the person from the PR firm who was leading our group said that many of the people who dock don't even realize they're in Honduras.

We had some afterthought rain showers as a result of Hurricane Ida that came through a couple days before, so we never got to take the sunset sail that was on the schedule, but we did get to snorkel with dolphins and go zip lining, which were my personal favorites on the island. I wasn't such a big fan of the macaw and monkey experiences, as I'm just generally not a fan of zoos of sorts. A lot of the monkeys were free to roam the treetops, but not all of them. Nonetheless, I got a few shots of me with some of the free roamers.

The resort we stayed in was a 5-star beauty, and the rooms would more accurately be described as a condo. It had a bedroom, kitchen, living room and balcony. My favorite part of the resort was the infinity pool.

All photos are by Katie (except for the dolphin ... that came from Anthony's Key Resort):


Copan:

Copan is a quaint, quiet town seven miles from the Guatemala border. It is very different than either La Ceiba or Roatan. The streets are cobblestone and narrow. Cowboys lounge on the street corners. Women chill with their goods laid out on the blankets on the sidewalk. It's a very chill and laidback place.

Copan is best known for its Mayan ruins, which are some of the most intricate and finest examples of Mayan ruins in the whole world. When we went, there were hardly any people there. We had a guide, and anyone who visits the grounds would be wise to hire a guide as well. It provides a lot more context for the ruins. One of the coolest parts of the ruins is that it is home to the longest inscription of hieroglyphics in the world. That's what makes it an UNESCO Heritage Site.

We visited a macaw sanctuary as well, which I liked a lot better than the one on Roatan, because here the birds were actually free to fly away if they wanted to.

The other really fantastic thing we did while we were in Copan was go to a ranch ... my introduction to agritourism, which was fantastic. The farmer, Carlos, grows over 90% of the family's food on the farm. We got a quick introduction to some of the produce grown on the grounds in the morning, and nearly our whole lunch came from the grounds ~ produce, meat, butter, etc. He showed us all the workings of his on-site coffee plantation, and the "highlight" of our farm visit was the horseback riding. So it turns out that I'm not such a big fan of horseback riding ... My horse, Sol, was definitely gentle enough, but I guess I'm just not a big horse person. The countryside was beautiful, though. To top off our stay in Copan, we went to the hot springs (definitely needed after the jarring horseback ride), which were isolated and totally engulfed in the rainforest. Overall, Copan was a very relaxing place to end our stay.

(Look ... I got a loner camera!):