Garifuna

November 19 2015

Best of Atlantida, Best of La Ceiba, tourism in Honduras, Tours in La Ceiba, World Heritage sites in Honduras Cangrejal River Valley, Chachahuate Cay, Garifuna, Nombre de Dios National Park, Pico Bonito National Park

Community Tourism in La Ceiba, great alternatives at a magnificent value!

Few Central American destinations offer such a great variety of options for community tourism as does La Ceiba! You see, La Ceiba is right on the Caribbean Coast of Central America, and is the gateway to the Bay Islands of Honduras. La Ceiba is the capital of Atlantida, the new up and coming destination that offers the most extensive alternatives for Honduras Travel!

The Garifuna culture is one of the brightest highlights in Atlantida, and for that matter, all of Honduras. This unique, Afro Antillean culture has been given the status of Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO. There are several places within the destination where you can experience the Garifuna community tourism in La Ceiba: The Garifuna villages of Corozal, and Sambo Creek are located only a few miles east of La Ceiba. You can easily drive to these communities and experience first hand the highlights of Community tourism in La Ceiba. For a more complete experience, consider traveling to the Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve, a unique National Park that offers a pristine Caribbean setting with the added benefit of boasting the most authentic Garifuna community in the World: Chachahuate.

This small community lives on a tiny cay, with the same name: Cayo Chachahuate of Chachahuate Cay, a sand bar where you will find rustic cabins made of wood, thatched palms and a lively Garifuna community all set in a white sand beach completely surrounded by the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea!

For those looking for a full immersion in the Garifuna culture, you can even plan on staying on the very primitive and Spartan accommodations in Chachahuate, or you can also plan on staying at the Cabanas Laru Beja in East End, another small Garifuna community in the Cayos Cochinos, which offers much better facilities.

Cayos Cochinos is located a few miles off the coast of Sambo Creek, and can easily be seen from the mainland. Travel time to Cayos Cochinos is a mere 40 minutes is a motor boat, making a trip to the Hog Cays very easy!

Other options for community tourism in La Ceiba can be enjoyed in the Cangrejal River Valley, in the vicinity of the community of Las Mangas. Here you can visit a small rural community, sleep in their community owned cabins, and enjoy a series of hiking tours around Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks. Visit a grass roots community organization, Guaruma that offers computing and environmental education to local kids, who will personally give you a tour through some of the trails they maintain!

Community Tourism in La Ceiba truly offers many different alternatives! Come and stay with us at La Villa de Soledad B&B and have a memorable experience interacting with the local communities!

October 6 2015

Best of La Ceiba, National Parks, Tours in La Ceiba Cayos Cochinos, Garifuna, The Hog Cays

Searching for the perfect La Ceiba Tours?

One of the most attractive things about visiting Atlantida is the huge variety of tours and activities to choose from. For example, there are many different La Ceiba tours to choose from. One of the best alternatives to enjoy a large variety of tours is to stay within the Cangrejal River Valley. Award winning eco lodges, such as La Villa de Soledad are located within this area and offer many different nearby activities. For example, you can choose between awesome white water rafting, hiking through the jungle to breath taking waterfalls, experience a zip line canopy tour over the Cangrejal River and through the jungles of Pico Bonito National Park or take a horseback riding tour to the local communities and through jungle trails.

The Cangrejal River area is by nature the perfect spot to explore both Pico Bonito National Park and Nombre de Dios National Park. This is bird watching country at its best, and considered one of the hot spots for birding in Central America. With many different Trails in Pico Bonito National Park to choose from, you will have a great time using this area as a base for your hiking adventures.

Within a short drive from La Villa de Soledad you will find many additional La Ceiba tours to enjoy. There is no doubt that the most popular of all La Ceiba tours is a visit to the Cayos Cochinos, AKA the Hog Cays. This pristine archipelago of small islands and cays is absolutely beautiful, and will certainly fit into anyone’s dream description of paradise on earth! This popular La Ceiba tour departs from Sambo Creek, a charming Garifuna Village, where you can meet and interact with the local Garifuna community, and even enjoy a meal at one of the different restaurants within the village. Nearby, in the mountains, you will find a great set of natural hot springs that will be a unique treat to your body. This is the ideal setting to relax, soothe your muscles after a full day of activities enjoying the various options of the different La Ceiba tours and even get a massage!

If you like to paddle in tranquil waters, the nearby Cacao Lagoon offers a great setting. A small lagoon surrounded by mangrove forests offers mysterious canals to paddle into in your quest to find some of the local fauna. Howler and capuchin monkeys are usually quite easy to see. Alligators and a variety of different birds are another treat waiting for you in this natural setting.

The Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge is another alternative as an interesting alternative as far as La Ceiba Tours are concerned. The area is much larger that the Cacao Lagoon, and is usually visited in a motor boat. Here, one of the most interesting facets is the actual access to the refuge: An ancient, funky train that runs of railroad tracks that are 100 years old is the only way into the refuge, and offers an insight to what was once the original capital of the first authentic Banana Republic!

As you can see, there are many different La Ceiba tours to choose from. You will have to decide what your particular interests are to make the best of your time in La Ceiba, or better yet, plan your itinerary to make sure that you have plenty of time to discover the best of La Ceiba and its different tours available!

August 30 2015

Best of Atlantida, Best of La Ceiba, Best of the Bay Islands Caribbean, Cayos Cochinos, Garifuna, Honduras, La Ceiba, Roatan, Sambo Creek, The Hog Cays

Getting to Cayos Cochinos AKA the Hog Cays is easy!

Cayos Cochinos is one of the last pristine set of islands in the Caribbean Sea! Fortunately, they are not out in the middle of nowhere and impossible to get to. Getting to Cayos Cochinos is actually easier than you think!

Located about 14 miles off the Caribbean Coast of Honduras, Cayos Cochinos are an idyllic set of islands, consisting of 2 small islands and 13 tiny sandy cays. The area is under a protection status by the Honduran Government, as a National Marine Monument. This means that access to the islands is restricted and there are rules to comply with.

There are two major launching points that provide the proper best options for getting to Cayos Cochinos. One is from the Garifuna Village of Sambo Creek, very near the city of La Ceiba, the other is from the Island of Roatan. Most people take the first option, which is much more affordable, however the boats and service are also quite a bit more basic. From Sambo Creek, getting to Cayos Cochinos will take you about 45 minutes. Because the boats are relatively small, the tour always leaves early in the morning and returns early in the afternoon, to insure they are back on the mainland before the surf gets rough.

From Roatan, you will find several different options. By far the best is offered by Ruthless Roatan Charters, which operates once a week from Roatan to Cayos Cochinos. Enjoy the trip in a vintage 41 foot Hatteras that has been fully refitted, and offers the classiest option as far as getting to Cayos Cochinos is concerned. The trip departs from West End at 7:00 a.m. and returns around 4:00 p.m. This is one heck of a tour!

One of the highlights of Cayos Cochinos is the Garifuna community at Chachahuate, another are the extremely healthy reefs and beautiful white sand beaches.

Regardless of whether you are vacationing in Roatan or La Ceiba, a trip to Cayos Cochinos will certainly be one of the highlights of your trip. Many travelers like to experience both, La Ceiba and Roatan. If you are interested in visiting both, we, at La Villa de Soledad would be more than happy to help you arrange your trip to Cayos Cochinos departing from either location. Come and enjoy the magic of the tropical rain forests of Central America, and then take a short trip to Roatan to relax in some of the best beaches in the World, in a true Vintage Caribbean Style!

August 18 2015

Best of Central America, tourism in Honduras beats and rhytms of Central America, Garifuna, Punta dancing, Sopa de Caracol

Honduras Offers Unique Beats and Rhythm in Central America!

When you think of Latin America, the sounds, rhythms, and beats are usually those of mariachi songs, ranchero music, corridos and perhaps some boleros. This is generally the same for all of Mexico and Central America. However when you come to this little country in the middle of Central America, you will find that things are different. Yes, in Honduras, unique beats and rhythm in Central America offer you a different, happier perspective that will get your body up and dancing to the beating of drums.

You see, Honduras has the largest Caribbean cultural influence within Central America. The Garifuna people, who are originally a mixture of African blacks and Carib Indians from the island of St. Vincent, have been present in Honduras for over 200 years. They brought their own culture, their own music, their own style of getting a good party going. Moreover, they have the music within themselves. It is incredible to see young kids take over an empty can or bucket, turn it around and transform it into a drum with their incredibly prodigious hands! Truly, all they need is an old bucket to get a party going!

Honduras is famous for its “punta” rhythm, which is created with a lot of percussion from drums, and danced with a very erotic movement of the hips. The most famous Honduran song is probably “Sopa de Caracol” or translated, “Conch Soup”. The song, with its punta rhythm is a truly Honduran expression that will get any Honduran around the world up and dancing within seconds!

Truly, Honduras, offers unique beats and rhythm in Central America that makes it the liveliest party in the region! Nowhere else will you get experience this unique festive mode that in the Caribbean Coast of Honduras. The city of San Pedro Sula, as well as the port cities of Puerto Cortes, Tela, La Ceiba and Trujillo are all perfect scenarios to join the party and learn how to dance to the rhythm of Punta.

If you are on your way to the Bay Islands of Roatan or Utila, take a few days off to stay in La Ceiba, and visit one of the nearby Garifuna villages; both Corozal and Sambo Creek offer a friendly, safe environment to visit and learn more about this unique culture, which has been awarded the status of Intangible World Heritage by the UNESCO. Plan to stay a couple of nights at La Villa de Soledad B&B where we will be happy to help you arrange a day tour to the Garifuna Villages. The Tranquility at the Cangrejal River Valley is perfect to relax after a day of partying with the Garifuna people!

May 20 2015

Best of Atlantida, Best of Central America, Best of Honduras, Best of La Ceiba best reefs in Caribbean, Cangrejal River, diving, Garifuna, Nombre de Dios National Park

Are you looking for the ideal destination for active tourism in Central America?

There is a lovely, up and coming destination in Central America that offers many different options for the active tourist looking for unique experiences. A destination that offers a variety of adrenalin pumping experiences, such as white water rafting, canyoning and rappelling down tropical waterfalls hidden behind dense rainforests protected within national parks. Where hiking and horseback riding offer faraway places with picturesque small communities nestled in the mountains of Nombre de Dios Range. Tropical beaches inhabited by the Garifuna people, whose ancestral customs have been declared intangible cultural World heritage by UNESCO. A destination where you can snorkel and dive in the healthiest reefs in the Caribbean and relax in white sand beaches while you listen to the drums beating under the rhythmic hands of the Garifuna people…

This destination, which seems like a dream come true, actually exists: Atlantida, the heart of Central America’s Caribbean is located in Honduras, and is the gateway to the World famous Bay Islands of Honduras: Roatan, Utila and Guanaja.

Reizen Magazine from the Netherlands recently published an article titled “Coast to Coast” written by photographer Fritz Meyst. The article includes information on three Central American countries: Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. In it, Meyst refers to La Ceiba as the perfect destination for active tourism in Central America.

One of the highlights of La Ceiba in Atlantida is the Cangrejal River Valley, a unique location with incredible scenery, magnificent tropical rainforests and many small businesses that offer the best of Honduran hospitality to the adventure tourist looking for active tourism in Central America. Although only 8 km from downtown La Ceiba, and 12 km from the ferry terminal to the Bay Islands, the Cangrejal River Valley offers the perfect setting for a great active tourism in Central America vacation.

Come and visit the Cangrejal River Valley, and stay at the award winning La Villa de Soledad B&B. Book your room now and enjoy the best active tourism in Central America while staying with us!

March 13 2015

Best of La Ceiba, National Parks, Tours in La Ceiba Chachahuate Cay, Garifuna, Sambo Creek

Have you heard that there is an idyllic Caribbean Paradise off the coast of Honduras called Cayos Cochinos Islands?

Cayos Cochinos Islands, also known as the Hog Cays are a group of two small islands and 13 tiny white sand cays. The Cayos Cochinos Islands were declared a National Marine Monument, by the Congress of Honduras several years ago, and are part of the National Park system in Honduras. These lovely, paradisiacal islands are managed by and NGO called Fundacion Cayos Cochinos, who are responsible of the proper management and protection of this National Park of Honduras.

Cochino Menor, which is the smaller of the two larger islands that form part of Cayos Cohinos Islands, is the operation base and scientific center of the National Park. It is here were scientists who are studying the reef system and the unique eco system of the park are stationed, and this also where the park rangers are headquartered. There is no other community on Cochino Menor. This is where all the tours must first arrive to register and pay the entrance fee, which is $10 US dollars per person.

Cochino Mayor the larger of the Cayos Cochinos Islands, is nearby, and this island houses an small hotel called the Turtle Bay Eco Resort, an exclusive dive resort on the Cayos Cochinos Islands that offers quality service and great diving. Nearby is one of the two Garifuna communities that exist on the Cayos Cochinos Islands: East End. This small community has a couple of community owned and managed cabins, where you can stay at a fraction of the price you pay at dive resort. The cabins, called Cabanas Larubeya can be booked through Reservaciones Turisticas La Ceiba.

A third, less expensive, but extremely basic option is to stay in the huts at Chachahuate Cay, with the Garifuna community there. Bare in mind that there is no running water nor electricity in the community, so conditions are primitive, to say the least!

The easiest way to get to Cayos Cochinos Islands is to book a tour through the Turicentro Sambo Creek, located at the Garifuna Community of Sambo Creek. If you are staying at La Villa de Soledad, we can assist you in arranging for the transfers from our bed and breakfast to Sambo Creek and making the proper reservations for the regular tour that operates from the Turicentro Sambo Creek.

The lovely La Villa de Soledad Bed and Breakfast is only a 45 minute ride from Sambo Creek, and offers the perfect setting for a relaxing stay in the jungle and easy access to many different activities. Friendly staff and great food will make of your stay in the La Ceiba and Cangrejal River area an unforgettable experience you will cherish for a lifetime! Book now for some truly unique vacations!

December 29 2014

Best of La Ceiba, garifuna, National Parks, Tours in La Ceiba Garifuna, Guanaja

Presenting La Ceiba Honduras Eco Tours, the perfect Eco destination in Central America!

There are few places on earth where you can find a wider array of nature related activities than La Ceiba Honduras. La Ceiba Honduras Eco tours options include hiking in a tropical rain forest and snorkeling in some of the most pristine coral reefs in the World. You can also choose between World Class white water rafting or waterfall descents by use of rappelling techniques. Birders will be absolutely stunned at the huge number of tropical birds that can be easily seen in the area.

Canoeing or kayaking through lagoons with mysterious mangrove canals where both howler and white faced monkeys can be found and easily spotted is another option. La Ceiba Honduras Eco tours even includes the option for horseback riding through remote communities and jungle trails or some mountain biking through back roads and mountain trails.

With over 8 protected areas within the department of Atlantida, and four of them within a few minutes of La Ceiba, the options for eco tours in La Ceiba are practically endless. The key to enjoying the most from available La Ceiba Honduras eco tours is where you stay. Obviously, you will want an eco resort that is close to most of the options available. The best option is to decide on staying within the Cangrejal River Valley, a lovely area that is located just between two different National Parks, Pico Bonito National Park and Nombre de Dios National Park.

The area is so spectacular, that several bloggers have written wonders about it. Shivya Nath, the winner of the indiblogger awards in 2013 wrote about her brief visit to Honduras how she was impressed with the beauty and safety of the Cangrejal River Valley Area: http://the-shooting-star.com/2014/11/20/honduras-we-travel-to-realize-everyone-is-wrong-about-other-countries Shivya was in Honduras in November 2014, and spent time in both the Cangrejal River Valley and the unique island of Guanaja, truly a gem in the Caribbean.

And speaking of Guanaja, I just had breakfast with some folks that produced a local film titled “Una Loca Navidad Catracha” (A crazy Honduran Christmas) They are in the process of producing another film this time about Easter Week that will be filmed in La Ceiba and Guanaja. Looking forwards to seeing how they present the variety of La Ceiba Honduras Eco tours in their film!

November 11 2014

garifuna #garifunas, Garifuna, Garinagu, Roatan, Saint Vincent, Truinfo de La Cruz

Guifiti a traditional Garifuna beverage

Guifiti has come from an ancestral alcoholic beverage meant to be both a spiritual and an earthly cure to many maladies to a tourist attraction!

Guifiti is a bitter alcoholic beverage, which consists of over 20 different herbs and roots, each meant to have a specific effect on your body or spirit. The idea is that it will cure many maladies and illnesses in a natural way. It is without doubt the result of a huge cumulative knowledge that has been passed on by generations of Garifuna people. But the knowledge actually goes further back, before the Garifuna existed.

Guifiti is the result of ancestral knowledge shared between two very different and distant cultures. On one side we have the African people that were captured off the coast of Western Africa and brought to America as slaves. The boat they were on was shipwrecked in a storm off the coast of the island of Saint Vincent in the Grenadines, and many of the slaves survived, suddenly recovering their freedom in a far away land that was inhabited by a completely different culture: the Carib Indians. They became instant allies, to survive the aggressive imperialistic expansion of the Brits. The result was a new ethnic mix, the Garifuna or Garinagu people.

The Garifunas flourished in Saint Vincent, and eventually became a nuisance to the Brits, who rounded them up and shipped them off to a remote unpopulated island in the Western Caribbean, known as Roatan. This historical incident took place on the 12^th of April, 1797. The Garifunas were literally marooned on the island of Roatan by the English. Originally, the Garifunas settled in what today is the community of Punta Gorda, located on the north side of Roatan, about halfway between the East End and the West End of the island.

The Spaniards, who controlled the mainland of Central America, saw this action as a British effort to colonize the Bay Islands, which were under dispute between both European nations. As a result, they rounded most of the Garifunas in Roatan and brought them to mainland Honduras, where the first group of Garifuna established in what today is Triunfo de La Cruz, just east of the City of Tela. From this point they eventually spread throughout the whole Caribbean Coast of Honduras and even beyond, with some villages established as far as Belize and Nicaragua. The bulk of the Garifuna people however, remain in Honduras.

The knowledge of these two different cultures, created the bitter mix that today is considered part of the Garifuna heritage: Guifiti.

Guifiti is the result of herbs and roots which are put into a bottle and mixed with an alcoholic beverage. Originally it was locally produced rum, but today it can be any rum, so you can actually have a very good guifiti, which would have been mixed with a good quality rum or a cheap guifiti with some moonshine rum mix, known locally as “guaro” or “Aguardiente” which would translate into something like “burning water”. The effects can actually be very different, as cheap moonshine rum will undoubtedly produce a horrific headache the day after…

Today, more and more bars in Honduras, especially along the Caribbean Coast and the Bay Islands serve guifiti. Some of them even have what they call a guifiti challenge, which challenges you to have a certain number of guifiti shots in exchange for a “free t shirt” Evidently, the t shirt is not free, as you actually pay for a part of it with each guifiti shot you drink, however you will find that the hangover the next day comes at no extra charge!

For a genuine guifiti tasting experience, I recommend visiting a Garifuna community or an establishment owned and run by a native Garifuna. In La Ceiba, probably the best spot for an authentic guifiti tasting experience would be at “caseta Gorcha Collins” located about a block away from the Hotel Quinta Real, on one of the side streets in the Zona Viva de La Ceiba. Here “Gorcha” a famous soccer player who retired many years ago, will sell you a shot of guifiti and walk you through the experience.

Of course if you have enough guifiti you will probably meet the old Garifuna Gods soon after, but beware because you can also meet the Garifuna Devils the morning after. Guifiti is considered by many to have aphrodisiac properties and is drunk by those looking to enhance their sexual performance. Whatever the case, when in Atlantida or the Bay Islands, you should definitely taste a shot of guifiti!