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Spanish in Honduras is an excellent choice. Much less exploited for tourism than its neighboring countries,
Honduras possesses priceless natural beauties and a treasure trove of Mayan ruins. Primarily mountainous, the country neighbors Nicaragua and El Salvador to the south, and Guatemala to the west, and boasts 399 miles of Caribbean coastline and a 77-mile long stretch along the Pacific. Here along the ocean the air is copiously humid, while the primarily mountainous inland offers a more temperate setting. Along the fertile Northern valleys banana trees seem to sprout from every direction. To the South, past the lowlands, the Gulf of Fonseca encircles islands with looming volcanic peaks, while the Caribbean side is home to the numerous Bay Islands, among others, most of which hold whispers of their pasts with the country's various colonial
residents.
Abundant tropical cloud forest envelops the highest peaks of the
mountainous central highland. Because of the ceaseless drops of fog, these "weeping woods" as they are called are lush and dense, as elegant orchids, spiky bursts of bromeliads, and mosses of a broad palette of greens smatter every inch of tree. To the north and south, virgin mangrove swamps and coastal lagoons are brimming with animals like jaguars, armadillos, wild pigs, monkeys, toucans and alligators engaged in their timeless cycles of life.
The northeast corner houses the vast "Mosquito Coast," the largest intact section of rain forest north of South America. Nicknamed "Central America's Little Amazon," here indigenous tribes maintain the home they've subsisted in for centuries. Along the coasts, the flawless waters offer excellent excursions from the Spanish Language school - like snorkeling, diving and swimming. Among Honduras' varied landscapes, majestic waterfalls for viewing, vertical cliffs for mountain climbing, and national parks for hiking make this a wonder location to learn Spanish.
Explorations of Mayan ruins attract visitors as well. Honduras rested on the edge of the Mayan empire during its day, and well-preserved remains of large temples, haunting altars, elaborate stellae, and artifacts from daily life are now scattered around the country. The city of Copan, once a cultural capital, holds precious remnants of this enigmatic and advanced civilization.
Despite that it's Central America's second-largest country, Honduras' Mayan sites and tropical wonders have gone largely unnoticed by tourists, largely due to the country's troubled past. As the original Banana Republic, the country was home to corrupt Anglo-American powers that wholly controlled the railroad, mining and banana industries as well as the government, thus economically and socially imprisoning natives in poverty. As one would expect, the country has been riddled with crime up until recent decades, but hopeful Hondurans have established more economic independence as well as democracy, and now it is a safe and welcoming country.
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