Stuff you need backpacking around Honduras

Spanish is the primary language spoken. English is hardly spoken outside of the biggest towns or Bay Islands. In some areas such as Utila, Spanish and English have hybridized in the context of low educational attainment to produce a pidgin tongue that can at times be indecipherable even to native speakers of both languages. Native languages (Lenca, Miskitu, Garifuna, among others) are spoken in various parts of the country, but a Spanish speaker should never be hard to find. Keep an tourist's eye out for "missionary speakers," that is, English or Spanish speaking Hondurans who retain the strong linguistic accents of the nations of their childhood teachers despite no personal links to such countries themselves (e.g. Irish-English overtones are prominent in Utila). Exhibit caution about commenting on linguistic skills to locals even positively, as those who do not speak mainstream Spanish suffer certain social stigmas (e.g. not “real” Hondurans, lower class, etcetera).

The Honduran "Plato tipico" is the most famous lunch. It consists of rice, beef, fried beans (frijolitos), and fried bananas (tajaditas). If you are lucky, it will also come with chimol, a fresh, non-spicy salsa made of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, cilantro and lime juice. Baleadas are a Honduran original. A baleada sencilla (simple) consists of a thick flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese (queso), and a type of cream similar to sour cream but not sour (crema or mantequilla). A baleada especial usually also comes with eggs in it and you can sometimes get avacado or even meat. Other choices are tacos and enchiladas, though don't expect them to be like those in Mexico. The tacos are meat rolled in a corn tortilla and deep fried. The enchiladas are a flat fried corn tortilla topped with ground beef, cheese and a red sauce. In the big cities, there are also plenty of chains from the U.S. like Pizza Hut, Applebees, TGI Fridays, and all the burger and fried chicken joints you can think of.

National beers: Salvavida, Port Royal, Imperial and the newest Barena. To add, Barena is to be said: The Miller Lite of Central America. Coffee is great, and the brands from Copan are usually the best. Welches is considered to be the best by many locals. Taste Central American rum Flor de Caña (from Nicaragua) Great "licuados" -fruit juices and milk shakes- (mango, piña, watermelon, banana, etc.)

Handicrafts - Honduras is famous for its Lenca ceramics and cotton sock manufacturing. If visiting San Pedro Sula, be sure to visit El Mercado Guamilito. You will find many wonderful and cheap handicrafts like hand carved wooden boxes, Lencan pottery, hammocks, paintings, leather products from Nicaragua, and beautiful hand-woven fabrics from Guatemala. Leather Items - Honduran leather items are of fine quality at only a fraction of the price they would be overseas, making your visit to Honduras a great time to purchase these. Bags, attaché cases, belts, wallets and even garments are a bargain. One of the producers in San Pedro Sula whose quality is up to par with international standards is Danilo's Pura Piel. Honduras has a long history as a silver mining country. Excellent artisans work the silver and produce very artistic and high quality silver products and jewelery. There are several different jewelers in town. Another popular item are paintings by Honduran artists. These usually depict colonial towns and mountain landscapes that are typical of Honduras. The best selection of these can be found at the Maymo art Gallery. Danilo's Pura Piel (Danilo's Leather), Col. Trejo, 18 AVE S.O., 8 y 9 Calle, San Pedro Sula, ☎ (504)504-552-0656, [2].