San Lorenzo Architecture

San Lorenzo has many sculture from the different animals that live in the town. Theres also sculture from San Lorenzo and Fisherman.

A Furious Cocodrile

Seagull

San Lorenzo,  He Welcome all the visitors

It have been there since 1980.

Sea Horse, San Lorenzo Park

San Lorenzo's Famous Food

San Lorenzo is known for their visitors as a city where you can enjoy all tipe of sea food, it is the capital of Shrimp and for the fish.
There are many Restaurants where you can enjoy your favorite meal and also enjoy the Hot Weather charateristic from this part of the Country.
Sometimes the Mayor organize a Shrimp Fair and a Curil Fair when they make the biggest Cup with Curil, some people think the Curil are horrible, but I recomend that you have to taste it before you made a desition.

San Lorenzo's Patronal Fair

In August San Lorenzo has his Patronal Fair, it is very famous because people from all around the country goes to the city to enjoy their Carnaval, their music, their floats and of course their food.
The only thing is that on this month, always rains, its something curious because it is a very hot place and this time is really nice the weather.

The Garifuna community

Garifunas

In the year 1763 two Spanish ships laden with slaves shipwrecked near St. Vincent and the slaves on board escaped and took refuge with the Caribbean Indians and they welcomed them and protected them with their culture and traditions.

Of this mixture resulted in a new hybrid breed of African and island Caribs, with African features and the Caribbean that became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs, most African customs and traditions were kept and mixed with the Caribbean.

They are also known as Black Caribs or Garinagu being this last the better term accepted by them as the term Garifuna refers only to the person and their language, while Garinagu is an African word that refers to the group of people in general.

Geographic Location

The Garifuna people, is one of the largest ethnic groups inhabiting the coast of Honduras with an approximate population of 300,000.

They are distributed in 47 communities located along the North Coast of Honduras, specifically in the departments of Cortes, Atlantida, Colon, Gracias a Dios and Islas de La Bahia. Garifuna are also present in the sister Republics of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize.

Garifuna culture

 

The Garifuna people have a very ancient history and culture, same, even though the events experienced has not changed much in the last years. They still keep alive their language, customs and traditions such as: music, dance, religion, ceremonies, food, beverages, etc.

Religion

Religion professed by the Garifuna People is the Dugú, which is a mixture between Catholicism and some African, European and Amerindian beliefs. Although today many Garifuna have been converted to the Catholic religion.

Garifuna Language

Their language is the "Garifuna" a language belonging to the Arawak linguistic family to survive many years of persecution and domination of indigenous languages​​.

The Garifuna language is spoken by most of Garinagu in Honduras and also speak Spanish. Following its origin and permanence for centuries on the island of San Vicente Garifuna language is a mixed language that undergone many significant changes in morphological structure.

Garifuna music

The music, singing and dancing of  Garifuna people mix many African and Amerindian elements, which are a traditional artistic expression of his people. The dances usually perform in a circle to the sound of drums, maracas and snails.

Its representative dance is "Punta". The song lyrics and melodies of Garifuna tells their story and their knowledge of farming, fishing, canoe making and building their typical houses.

The songs are sung to the rhythm of the drums while the persons dance by turns.

Garifuna Gastronomy

The Garifuna food is based on coconut, yuca, banana and seafood. Dishes reflect their rich Caribbean flavors learned from their ancestors. Among their most representative foods are coconut bread, cazabe, rice and beans, tapado and machuca.

Also typical of their culture have drinks, the most popular is the “guifiti”, Garifuna language that means "bitter". It`s a drink made of various herbs and rum.

San Lorenzo, Valle

Is a municipality located in Valle, a south department of Honduras. It was founded on January First, 1912.
It is the most popular city in South Honduras. National and International Tourist love their food, their culture, their beach, their night live and most of all the people love his landscape.
San Lorenzo is known for their port, The Henecan Port. Many ships, from all the world came there to drop their products al also take products from here.

Henecan's Port

Talgua caves

The caves of talgua are an amazing place to visit, located in Olancho Valley in the municipality of Catacamas in northeastern of Honduras, this place was discovered in 1994 and it has free acces to public.

Inside of the cave.

Copán's Ruins

Copán's Ruins

Copán Ruins are an archeological site of an old civilization called Maya. This ruins are in the occidental part of the Country, in the department also called Copán. The word "Copan" comes from the word nahuatl "Copantl", whose meaning is "ponton" or "bridge"; This word was registred in the 16th century. From the 5th to 9th century this city was the most important capital in the clasical period. Probably the city was called by the Mayas OWITIK.

In 1980 Copan was declared word heritage by UNESCO!

Location
the archeological site is located in Honduras, nearby the border with Guatemala, in the municipality of Copan Ruinas in the department also called Copan. is ubicated bitween 2 hill in the fertile valley of 700 masl.

History

Copán became one of the more powerful Maya city states and was a regional power in the southern Maya region. It suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of its former vassal state Quirigua in 738; when the long-ruling king Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was captured and beheaded by Quirigua's ruler K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat (Cauac Sky). Although this was a major setback, Copán's rulers began to build monumental structures again within a few decades

 Site Descripcion

The site of Copán is composed of several architectural ensembles. The main set and the set of the cemetery are at the core of the site and are connected with the whole of the graves by a sacbe. Northeast Center of Copán had a density of 1449 structures per square kilometer. To include the area around the Center, with an area of 24.6 km², this density dropped to 143 structures/km².

Copan is known for a series of stele with portraits, most of which were placed along processional ways in the city's central square and the Acropolis, a large complex with pyramids, plazas, and palaces. The site also boasts a long field for the mesoamericanball game .

 

The Park has six basic areas of primary interest:

The Ball Game: considered the social Center of the city. This ball game is without a doubt the most beautiful and artistic in Mesoamerica. Singular attractions are markers, shaped head of Macaw located on the inclined walls. The last modification and construction that occurred in this set was in the days of King 18 rabbits.

The Great Square: Famous for steles and altars that are decorating it. Most of the wakes in this square were consecrated during the reign of the tenth third King of Copán 18 rabbits between the years 711 and 736. Many of the altars are Zoomorphic shape.

The Hieroglyphic Stairway: This great temple contains the longest text that gave us the great Maya civilization. The time was erected during the reign No. 15, known as "Smoke spiral", and it is believed is a kind of family tree of the copan dynasty, founded by Yax-Kuk-Mo. The five statues located on the steps represent five Kings before smoke jaguar. Unfortunately it has not been possible to read the glyphs, since much of the bleachers had collapsed and to rebuild the temple, they were outside their original place creating a great "glyphs soup". This temple has a tent to protect their delicate glyphs of further erosion of the environment that has already damaged large part of them.

The Acropolis: divided in two large squareS, the East and the West. The East plaza contains the 11 Temple, built by the last King of Copán Yax-Pac, as his masterpiece. It is also in this square, the 16 Temple, with the famous altar "Q" in front of him.

The Altar "Q": it has been completely decoded, and today we know that it represents the 16 members of the great copan dynasty from Yax-Kuk-Mo to Yax Pac. An aspect of great interest of this temple is that for some reason the previous Temple was not disabled to build on, rather, they had a great care not to damage the previous Temple. The result is a jewel archaeological and unique in the world.

The Rosalila Temple: also known as Temple of the Sun. This temple opens a window to the past and allows us to determine how looked Copan before its fall around the year 22 of our era.

 

 

 

 

 

 The Museum of Sculpture

This museum is, without a doubt, one of the most impressive attractions that travelers found in the archaeological site of Copán. The entrance is amazing; a true journey into the maya underworld. It was designed to accommodate over 3,000 pieces of sculpture in 59 displays; the interior displays a series of sculptures that have been rescued from the archaeological site. The enormous building comprises around 4,000 square meters of construction on two levels (most of them are underground).

Its exhibits include the impressive scale replica natural of the Rosalila Temple, also known as Temple of the Sun, discovered under the 16 structure in perfect condition. It also houses the original Altar Q and the stelae A, P and 2.

 

Caribbean Sea: biodiversity and beautiful beaches

The Caribbean Sea: general information

The Caribbean Sea is part of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Wester hemisphere. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays.

The name "Caribbean" is derived from the Caribs, one of the dominant Native American groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century.
The Caribbean Sea was unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492. At that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. After being discovered, it was colonised. Following the colonisation of the Caribbean islands, the Caribbean Sea became a busy area for trading and transport, and this commerce eventually attracted piracy.

Today the area is home to 22 island territories and borders 12 continental countries. Due to the abundance of sunshine, year-round tropical temperatures moderated by the almost constant trade winds, and the great variety of scenic destinations to visit, during the second half of the 20th century on into the 21st, the Caribbean Sea became a popular place for tourism.



The Caribbean Sea is largely situated on the Caribbean Plate. The Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs. This arc was formed by the collision of the South American Plate with the Caribbean Plate.

The Caribbean is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefs covering about 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2), most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast.
Great Mayan Reef also known as the MBRS and being over a thousand km in length is the world's second longest. It runs along the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.
The region has a high level of biodiversity and many species are endemic to the Caribbean.




Honduras's Caribbean beaches and sea




The northern coast of Honduras is a world away from the country's interior. Chaotic urban grids give way to mellow coastal towns. Steep green mountains slope sharply into verdant jungle canopies and salty turquoise waters. National parks and reserves ring vibrant beachfront promenades and port cities with sandy streets and brightly painted buildings. The residents are just as diverse, with cultures and languages. This area of river valleys and coastal plains, which most Honduras call "the north coast," or simply "the coast," has traditionally been Honduras's most exploited region.

This caribbean zone has a lot of contrast, including the most developed area of the country (Puerto Cortes and San Pedro Sula cities) and the least developed area (La Mosquitia region) with different languages (Garifuna, Misquito, Spanish) and the unique complete bilingual zone of the country (Bay Islands).





When we are talking about beautiful beaches, we cannot argue with the Bay Islands. The Bay Islands zone is sorrounded by white sand beaches, clear and warm water. But even there, if you have to pick just one beach, it’s hard to don’t think about West Bay, Roatán. A couple of kilometers of powdery sand fronted by turquoise waters, with a coral reef just a few meters offshore, West Bay is a tropical daydream. Usually people don't want to be just seeing the sunsets and probably, if you want to live some extraordinary experiences, like diving, you may be most drawn to the equally stunning reef and quirky scuba culture of Utila. Farther afield, the smallest Bay Island, Guanaja, continues to be the least-visited but offers equally extraordinary (or perhaps even better) sea life for divers and snorkelers.


The north coast beaches, especially Tela, La Ceiba and Trujillo beaches are the most visited by the local people, the prices near the area are lower than Bay Islands prices and is an easiest place to arrive to. Probably the nicest beaches on Honduras’s north coast are around the bay of Tela. A short boat ride takes visitors to the unspoiled beaches of the national park at Punta Sal, where a powdery beach with turquoise waters is backed with tropical jungle and mangrove wetlands.

A few kilometers east, La Ceiba, is a breezy stretch of sand, a good spot to spend a day or three. A couple of hours’ drive east along the coast takes you to the sleepy town of Trujillo, on a broad bay near the edge of the Mosquitia jungle.



Honduras's Caribbean biodiversity

One of the most botanically distinct coastal ecosystems are those of the islands semideciduous forest, which is found on all of Honduras main islands (Bay Islands, Swan Islands and Cayos Cochinos). This ecosystem represents a mix of both continental and Caribbean species, while on the Swan Islands it is more of an exclusively Caribbean in nature. All these islands contain endemic species of reptiles and as well as floristic elements found nowhere else in the country. The conservation status of much of this forest remains in doubt, as they are part of Marine Reserves, which are clearly much more focused on protecting the coral habitat. During the prioritisation process these islands received more points for their unique terrestrial ecosystems than they did for their aquatic ones. Many of the biodiversity is common to all the Caribbean zone, but a few (like the Utila Spiny-tailed Iguana) are endemic.