HondurasHave you ever wanted to travel to a beautiful country far from whereyour at now. To visit a land full of many different customs and where cultureis put into a whole new perspective. Well if this is what you have dreamed oftake your Spanish class and fly or drive down to a friendly neighbor Honduras!Now lets learn about our travel. “Size And Population”About 90% of the population is mestizo (people of Spanish and NativeAmerican ancestry); the remainder are Native Americans, blacks, and whites.
Thepopulation is about 60% rural. In 1995 the estimated population was 5,968,000. “Physical Landscape And Location”Except for two coastal strips, Honduras is a plateau, consisting ofbroad, fertile plains broken by deep valleys, and traversed by mountain rangesin a northwestern to southwestern direction. Most of the country’s rivers drainto the Atlantic Ocean. Forests cover about 31% of the land.
“Culture And Customs”The Native American and Spanish strains in Honduran cultural history isvisible in the awesome architecture. Fine Arts in Comayagua, the old capitalhas long been a custom to our southern neighbors. in northwestern Honduras is aceremonial center of the Old Empire of the Maya and one of the most importantarchaeological sites in the entire western hemisphere. “Type Of Government”The constitution of Honduras was formed in 1982. Under the Constitution,the people elect a president and the members of the legislature serve four-yearterms. Presidents can only serve one term.
The cabinet is appointed by thepresident. The military has allot of the influence in the government ofHonduras. Military leaders are completely responsible for its national securitypolicies and they can veto any of the presidents appointments to the cabinet. Military leaders have often taken complete control of the government in the past.
“Education”In this country education is free and compulsory for children betweenthe ages of 7 and 12. Although the literacy rate stands at 73% the governmentpledges to raise it. The Pan American Agricultural School, financed by theUnited Brands Company of the United States, is near the capital. “Language”Spanish is the official language and is spoken by nearly all theHonduran people. English is spoken by some people in the north, and the NativeAmericans have retained their languages. “Religion”About 85% of the people are Roman Catholic.
Protestants constitute asmall minority. “Type of Currency”The unit of currency in Honduras is the lempira, which is divided into100 centavos. 6. 91 lempiras equal $1.
00 to the US as of 1993. Governmentcontrolled municipal Bank and national Agricultural development Bank providecredit for developmental projects. “Agriculture”About 16% of the total land area of Honduras is arabel, most of it onthe coastal plains. The leading cash crop are coffee and bananas and plantains. Other important crops include sugarcane and palm oil.
The principle food cropsare corn, beans, and rice. Citrus fruit and pineapples also are grown. “Medical Information”In recent years public health services in Honduras have been made moreaccessible through an increase in modern health units. Also through thedevelopment of community participation in health programs.
These programs haveresulted in malaria control, improved sewage, and increased medical personnel. Unfortunately, malnutrition, inadequate housing, and infant diseases are still aproblem. “Climate”The climate of Honduras is Tropical but is tempered by the higherelevations of the interior. Coastal regions are warmer and the humidity canbecome high. This all added together gives the Honduras nation an average 80degrees F.
or 26. 7 degrees C. Well now that you have taken the time to learn a little bit of facts ofthe Great Latin country of Honduras, I hope you will take some time to visitthis rich cultured country. I am confident that you will enjoy this awesomeexperience!History
