Ceiba

The following guest blog article is from Ed, a retired banker and motorcycle service technician (interesting combination!). Ed is happy in retirement now as a competitive rifle shooter attending shooting matches, and also serves as a board member of a local medical clinic in West Virginia.Ed lived in La Ceiba, Honduras, for three years starting when he was 14 years of age. He and his sister have c

View from Colonia El Toronjal, La Ceiba, HondurasNadine left a comment about her upcoming July trip to La Ceiba:I found this blog very useful and quite funny..i'm planning to visit la ceiba for 2 weeks in july but from what i've just read in the weather section it seems that it's not a very good time of year for visiting. should i be cancelling? any suggestions?thanksI had to go back and review my

The Silk Floss tree (Ceiba speciosa or Chorisia speciosa) is very unique tree species from the subtropical regions of South America. The flowers of this tree range in color from creamy white to dark pink and white. It is sometimes confused with the "White Silk Floss tree".It has taken me a full year of watching this tree species as it passed through the seasons to get this series of pictures. Ye

Colorful El FogoncitoAnother new restaurant has come to La Ceiba. El Fogoncito, a Mexican chain restaurant, opened recently. We tried it out − and will wonders never cease? − we'll be going back. That alone is high praise from La Gringa for Ceibeño restaurants. :-)I love the way the restaurant looks from the outside (photo at top). It's huge and it's colorful. So many of buildings in La Cei

Update to my 2008 Carnival article, April 17, 2008: Okay! I give up. I guess the La Ceiba tourism powers-that-be think that enough people come to the Carnaval as it is and don't want anyone else to know about it. Reader Quitos informed me that the "official" carnaval website, linked in the above article, has lost their domain as of April 12. "Typical," he says.It was a pathetic website, not finished last year until May 20, although the 2-week carnival started on May 12, 2007. Some of the events were long over with before they were posted on the website. The site was only available in Spanish, even though articles in the newspaper report that English-speaking tourists spend more than 4 times the amount that Central American tourists do during their stays in Honduras.The schedules of events

Photos from the 2006 CarnivalI've been getting questions by email about the dates of the La Ceiba Carnaval so I thought I would mention it. The official dates of the two week event are May 10 through May 24th. These dates are according to a recent article in La Prensa. However, one year the people in charge changed the date just a few weeks before the event. There were so many complaints that I just can't imagine that they would ever do such a stupid thing again, but I'd hate for anyone to book reservations on the wrong week because they read it here!The full name of the carnaval is la Gran Feria Isidra y Carnaval de la Amistad (amistad meaning friendship in Spanish). Parade floats and entertainers are scheduled to come from New Orleans, the Cayman Islands, and many other places.It is sa

In the restaurant business, you gotta have something: Good food, good service, nice atmosphere − preferably two out of three. Annoying service really ruins a restaurant experience for me. We don't expect fast service, even if we are the only customers in the restaurant. We don't even expect particularly friendly service anymore. What I really dislike is when we are treated as if our being there is just a nuisance.One of my favorite stories is the time that we spent almost two hours in Applebee's (where the waiters are trained to be friendly) and never heard the sound of our waitress's voice. She walked up to our table with a glum look on her face, pencil in hand, and dejectedly stood there waiting for us to say what we wanted. She brought the drinks and later barely slowed down to plop t

Fashion Gringa's footwearIt is sock weather! Socks and flip-flops. That says something about my fashion sense, doesn't it? (Don't worry, Fashion Fabi, I don't wear them out of the house.) One day, I even wore my sweat pants.For the past two weeks, we've been in a frente frio (cold front), with lots of rain and chilly weather. 'Chilly' is relative, but when you are used to 86°F (30°C) and sunny skies, this weather seems downright cold to me. We love it at night and have been sleeping better and longer under the soft down comforter (no gecko eggs this time) and with no bright sun shining in the windows to wake us up in the morning.My thermometer is showing temperatures in the 75°F (24°C) range with 97-99% humidity inside the house most days and low 70's (21ish) at night. The sun peeks out occasionally but it has been interspersed with rain most days. We alternate between opening the windows for fresh air and rushing around to close them from the rain, sometimes three or four

Photos: La Prensa, El Heraldo, HondurasNewspaper reports on Friday stated that a total of 15 raids were effected in different parts of the city beginning in the early hours of the morning Thursday. Approximately 300 anti-drug agents, fiscales, judges, and military personnel participated in the operatives. In addition to La Gringa's neighborhood, blogger Katrina's apartment building, restaurants, the harbor, and other "tourist places" were also the subject of raids. Apparently only six people were taken into custody which sounds like a disappointing result to me.The name of the 30-year-old man who was killed was released: Franklin Cunningham James (sounds like a gringo name to me), who said he was captain of a fishing boat. He was from Nicaragua where he is had a criminal record for narcotrafficking and was operating out of the La Mosquitia area. He died after being taken to the public hospital with two bullets in his body. Another man was injured (or depending upon the newspaper r

1915 steam engine Here is a slide show of the old Standard Fruit train cars in Parque Swinford in La Ceiba, Honduras. At one time trains were used to transport the bananas to the ports. The railroad is basically defunct now but the old tracks are still around.Photos of the park can be seen in the previous article. Blog contents copyright © 2006-2007 La Gringa. All rights reserved.

Mural at the new Espresso Americano, La Ceiba, HondurasEspresso Americano is Honduras' answer to Starbucks. They sell a variety of hot and cold coffees as well as some juices, teas, and other drinks. They also sell cookies, pastries, and cakes.Espresso Americano has kiosks in all the malls, usually one on each floor, as well as free standing stores. Here in La Ceiba, we have a small shop in El Centro, but it doesn't have the space or ambience for sitting around enjoying your coffee.Just recently, two new mallitos (strip shopping centers) opened and one of them includes this nice big two-story Expresso Americano. Besides a large air conditioned seating area upstairs, it has a terraza outdoors where you can sit outside while you chat and enjoy your coffee.Their prices are much less than Starbucks, but the prices have increased tremendously since we first came here in 2001. A granita de cafe (frozen coffee drink) cost L.10 (US$0.75) back then and costs L.20 now (US$1.06) − double in l

Rain coming over the mountainNow the video below shows some tropical rain, not that wimpy rain La Ceiba had during Hurricane Felix.The rain in the first clips from July came with a cold wind. Within a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped from 86°F (30°C) to a bone-chilling 78°F (26°C). ;-)The September rain was a little scarier. Watch those tall trees in the background sway. We've lost several trees over the past years that have just fallen down so I always worry because they usually do a lot of damage when they fall. Blog contents copyright © 2006-2007 La Gringa. All rights reserved.

Quiznos, La Ceiba, HondurasNo, not the hurricane.Quiznos opened!Having never been to Quiznos in my life, I was pretty excited about the new grand opening. We didn't make it there until a week later, but we've had Quiznos three times since.I was even more excited to see Chop Salads − I like to live dangerously. And then they have bread bowls and soups and desserts and everything! Does Quiznos in the U.S. have Tres Leches for dessert? This place evens lets me have mustard on my sandwich unlike the hamburger joints who insist that all hamburgers must come with mayonnaise and charge me extra to leave off the ketchup, mayo, and onions.The restaurant was still crowded even though it must have been near 2:00 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon. The regulation lunch hour in La Ceiba is 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. There is even a loud Dole horn which you can hear all over town that announces lunch and then announces when it is over. It sounds a little like an air raid warning, lunchtime is that important. I

Residencial San Gabriel, La Ceiba, HondurasSomeone on our Honduras Living group was asking about a new housing development she had seen on a trip to La Ceiba. She said it was next to the Aguazul water plant. I couldn't find anyone who knew where a Aguazul water plant was, but someone mentioned the place on the highway where they bottle Pepsi, Aguazul, and other drinks. And there happens to be a new development next door.Well, it turns out this is not the place she was interested in, but since I went to the trouble to take a bunch of photos and ask around about prices, etc., I thought I would show it to you.It is called Residencial San Gabriel. "Residencial" used to mean a more upscale development than a colonia, usually with larger lots and custom homes. As you can see from the small cookie cutter houses, the word is being used a little more loosely now.The first thing that I noticed about this development was the bright colors and the attractive entrance and muro (fence). I really li

Casa Toni, on the main street, but almost hidden by the street vendorsThe first time I went to Casa Toni, I thought that the store must have just recently changed locations. The second time I thought that they must periodically receive very large shipments and have no place to store them. Now, having more experience, I know that the store always looks like this. This photo shows what you see as you come in the side door. The front door seems to be impassable now.Recently one of our Honduras Living discussion group members was looking for yarn and I suggested that she try Casa Toni.It turns out that my recommendation was wrong. They sell crochet thread but not yarn. Looking at these pictures, I hope Sharon forgives me for the bad information. Those skeins at the top of the shelves look like yarn, don't they? Who on earth knows what they sell here?!After her trip, Sharon wrote to say that Casa Toni was "complete chaos!" I chuckled to myself, having forgotten what the store looked like.

A float from the 2006 La Ceiba CarnavalI mentioned in the previous La Ceiba Carnaval article that I was surprised that there wasn't more information about it available on the internet, since it is one of Honduras' major mainland tourist attractions and it is supposedly the biggest carnaval (carnival) in Central America.Google apparently agreed with me because now a search for 'La Ceiba Carnaval' lists my flimsy article as the 4th and 5th entries out of 60,000 entries. If you use the English spelling, 'La Ceiba Carnival,' my article shows up 8th and 9th out 21,700. I'm not trying to brag, really I'm not. I'm just trying to show that the marketing of this event is not going so well if my blogicito ranks so high.The official Carnaval website (in Spanish) is now functional, for the most part. The information about hotels and restaurants is slim, so if you are coming to La Ceiba for carnival, a better site to check out is Honduras Tips, although some of that information is outdated

Easier to park? Horse and cart in La Ceiba, HondurasWe were watching the local La Ceiba news at lunch today. We have several local TV stations, believe it or not. They talk too fast for me to catch everything, but there were a couple of interesting things. One program interviewed Henry Stanley, Commandante de los Bomberos (Fire Chief) of La Ceiba. I was interested in this after reading the "smoke" weather forecast the other day. He said that in the past few weeks, they have had to attend to a minimum of three fires per day and sometimes as many as eight to nine per day.He chastised people for being careless with fires, saying they need to think about the damage they might do to other people. He also spoke about the damage that people are doing to the environment and the countless animals that are killed when these fires get out of control. I've seen him interviewed before and have read several newspaper articles in which he was quoted. I'm very impressed with him. Another station h

La Ceiba Carnaval 2006;photos: El JefeThe annual La Ceiba Carnaval is coming up soon. Officially it kicks off on Saturday, May 12 and continues to May 26. Saturday, May 26 is really the big day. That's when the parade occurs and there is lots of partying on the streets at night. I tried to do some research so I could give you accurate information but I found surprisingly little information on the internet, at least in English. I was hard pressed to find any sites that devoted more than one or two sentences to the carnaval.Here are some excerpts. Click the links if you would like to read more.From laceiba.com:La Ceiba is known throughout Central America for "Feria Isidra", which takes place at the end of May. It culminates with a big carnival called "Gran Carnaval de la Amistad", when first avenue turns into a huge dance, with local musical bands and colorful floats. The remainder of the year, the party environment continues in the "Zona Viva" (Lively Zone) - an area known for its club

Paiz grocery, photo courtesy of WalmartIt was good while it lasted, but it didn't last long. I practically raved about the new (WalMart-owned) Paiz grocery store back in December .... but now Paiz stinks. Literally, it stinks. In some parts of the store, I had to walk around with my hand over my nose and mouth, the smell was that bad.I wanted to talk to the manager to tell him that the last time I was there, I spent L.4,000 and this time I spent less than L.1,000 because I couldn't bear to spend that much time in the stinkin' store. I didn't, though, because I know they won't care and will just consider me another "demanding gringa." Besides, the manager has a nose, too.I ended up regretting that I even bought as much as I did, because the bad odor had permeated the vegetables as well. I made a pasta salad and most of the veggies, even though they looked very fresh, had picked up an "off" flavor from the smell of the store.This is unbelievable, but even the Kleenex has the odor. I

Laundry dayThis is just a few ordinary scenes from around La Ceiba, Atlantida, Honduras.A boy carrying laundry from the river walks alongside his little sister. She appears to be about 4 years old and is carrying a gallon of water from the river.Horses are often tied up along roads to graze. I often see riders using some sort of wooden saddle. It looks like it would be very uncomfortable for the horse. This horse has some sores along its shoulders that may be from that type of saddle.I tried to give a horse a carrot once. The owner acted like he thought I was crazy and I guess I was because the horse wouldn't eat it. I thought horses like carrots?Some of the gas stations are always busy with a lot of people hanging out there. It is against the law to carry people in the back of pickups. Useless law − everyone does it.The gas stations here still have attendants who pump the gas and take your money. If you are going to use a debit card, you always first have to ask if "¿hay sistema?"

Typical Honduran house, La CeibaThese are some photos of houses here in La Ceiba, Atlantida, Honduras. The above house is very typical of most homes on the north coast of Honduras. All except the poorest of homes have a concrete or concrete and iron muro (fence). Middle class homes usually have a largish front porch or a carport used as a front porch. Windows are almost always covered with iron security bars, often decorative. Roofs are usually made of corrugated tin or zinc sheets. Pale tropical colors such as this green, sky blue, yellow, or peach are popular. The deep tropical colors used in Mexico are rarely seen here.I was taking a closer look at their flower beds in front and I noticed that they are filled with trash that people walking by have dropped there. Jeesh!This mansion has been under construction for more than a year. It has some nice details. I'm guessing that this house will be painted cream or beige with darker beige details. We'll see! It seems to be a trend that n

Beaches, Alcohol, Drugs, Violence. Can we call this Holy Week? La Prensa, HondurasSemana Borracha (Drunken Week) is over, leaving a Honduran death toll of 106. La Prensa reported that there were 29 deaths from auto accidents, 14 drowned, and 63 dead in violent acts. During the last seven days of the holiday, 27 million beers and 1 million liters of guaro (liquor) were consumed according to La Prensa. While there were many religious processions and church services in other parts of the country during Semana Santa (Holy Week), what was most noticeable in La Ceiba were the giant signs for L.12 or L. 13 beer (U.S. 65-69 cents).Driving through the Zona Viva (nightclub area) on Saturday night, we noticed that most of the permanent open air establishments were almost empty, while hundreds people walked the streets after consuming their L.65 buckets of beer (U.S. $3.40) in the Salva Vida area of the beach set up for the holiday. Salva Vida is a Honduran brand of beer.The permanent establishm

Pretty pool area, La Quinta Real Hotel, La Ceiba, HondurasLa Gringa isn't here to advise tourists about what to see and do or where to stay in La Ceiba. A lot of tourist information is already available on the internet. But since lately I have been handing out some advice that isn't so easy to know about, I thought I would turn it into a blog article. Taxis Taking a taxi from the airport is very expensive (L.200-300) by La Ceiba standards. If you don't have too much luggage, you can walk down the drive to the main highway (a long block) and catch a taxi for much less (maybe L.40-60). Taxis are abundant − you never have to wait long. Another thing you should know is that during the daytime the standard taxi fare is 15 lempiras per person to go anywhere inside the central part of La Ceiba, not the 30, 40, 60, or 100 that the taxi drivers may tell you. As the price of gas has risen, what is considered the 'central part' of La Ceiba has shrunken and that is understandable. At n

Houses in Residencíal Las Colinas - expensiveI'm probably not going to live up to that title. For those who are interested, I thought I would just give you some idea of what it costs to live here in La Ceiba.Just keep in mind that your absolute needs are probably different from mine. If I asked one person how much it costs to live in Dallas, Texas, he might tell me $2,000 per month. If I ask another, he might tell me $20,000 per month.Clay house on the highway - inexpensiveAll prices are translated from lempiras to U.S. dollars, except internet and cell phone which are billed in U.S. dollars.UtilitiesElectric - Our electric bill runs about $95 per month and we rarely use the air conditioning. We do have an electric stove and electric dryer because those rusty propane tanks scare the dickens out of me.Gas - Piped in natural gas service is not available. We haven't refilled our propane tank lately, but it probably costs somewhere around $11-13.Water - This depends on which colonia (ne