One Evening in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, My Flight Home on Tropic Air and Buying Alcohol at Belize International Airport

Sheesh…I have been very long winded about my trip to Honduras!  But two weeks can not be so quickly and easily compacted.  Here is my last post.

San Pedro Sula is a great kick-off spot for pretty much all of Honduras.  When I first planned my trip, I couldn’t decide.  Hit the ruins in Copan?  Visit a micro-brewery on Lake Yojoa?  But then my planning was made easier, my friends Danni and Cesar (who are driving the PanAmerican Highway) would be in Honduras at the exact time I was.  A ride and fun people to travel with!

And did I mention that you can fly directly to San Pedro Sula from Belize City on Tropic Air?  Look at these super cute employees in the SPS airport.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…  I had taken the ferry from Roatan to La Ceiba.  From there, my friends drove me to San Pedro Sula (about 2.5 hours).  My flight back to Belize City left the next morning.  If you are taking the bus, you can check out www.hedmanalas.com…they are the “first class” bus service between the two cities. 

San Pedro Sula is a seriously industrial city surrounded by mountains.  It is smoggy and filled with all sorts of industrial parks…most seem to be agricultural products and fertilizer producers.  It is the business capital of Honduras.

I had one night to spend there and I really just wanted to relax.  A friend had recommended a reasonable B&B in a safe part of town.  La Posada Bed and Breakfast.  For $35 USD, you get a cool, clean room, a RIDICULOUSLY friendly, English speaking host, cold beers on demand, a cute courtyard pool…

 and a “typical” Honduras breakfast.  Sounds good to me…

The B&B is in the university area of town.  It definitely is an upscale area…but all of the houses are behind huge walls. razor and electrified wire.  It seems to be the case in all of San Pedro Sula.

I have a full afternoon to explore…why not take in some local culture…a bit of the flavor of Honduras?  I headed a few blocks away to a proper “American style” mall with a movie theater (most movies are English with Spanish subtitles), an arcade, a food court, a giant Pizza Hut…sigh.  Maybe next trip.

And I had a quick lunch at the local sushi place (still keeping it totally Honduran, of course).  The sushi was…ahhhh…kind of what you’d think it would be like.

But it was really nice being in the mall.  Except for this.  One.  Pet stores in malls just seem like really bad ideas.  Where do you walk the dogs?  I’m guessing they don’t.  Two.  This is just wrong.

I woke up early the next day for my flight.  Breakfast was very tasty.  The breakfast typico (served everywhere in Honduras) is scrambled eggs with onion and peppers, sausage (that tastes like hot dog), white toast, smooth black beans and a slice of local cheese.

The taxi trip to the airport costs $15usd.  I checked in with the super helpful Tropic attendants (above) and went to pay my airport fee from the country.  It’s not cheap (for citizens or visitors).  Payable in US dollars or local lempiras or a combo of the two.  No credit cards.

And we took off right on time.  Here is my aerial view of the city.

But as you get to the cayes of Belize…the view is gorgeous.

Home sweet home.  Well almost.  Here is Belize International Airport.

A local reggae band is playing for you as you pick up your luggage.

Also available while you are picking up your luggage:  the buy on arrival duty free shopping.  Don’t just pass this by if you are planning to buy liquor in Belize.  The only spirit that is “cheap” in Belize is the local rum…one liter of rum (Caribbean Dark, White or One Barrel) costs $16-22bzd (or $8 to 11 USD).   Everything else (wine, tequila, vodka, gin), all things imported, are heavily taxed and EXPENSIVE.   For example, a bottle 1 liter bottle of Absolut Vodka is about $35-45 USD.

The prices in this shop are duty free and much cheaper.  And the selection is good.

There were at least 20 kinds of wine…I bought 2 bottles for $15 USD – it would have cost me double that on the island.  (Note:  They ONLY take US dollars, no Belizean currency accepted.)

My trip to Honduras was amazing.  What a beautiful country.  Caribbean islands, mountains and jungle, great food and LOW prices.   For information on how to fly Tropic Air from Belize City to San Pedro Sula, click here:  http://www.tropicair.com/.  A GORGEOUS flight, just 50 minutes and a great city to kick off your Honduran adventure.