Utila is a different world to mainland Honduras because of the 300 year British influence on the Bay Islands. The island is mostly uninhabited except for the small fishing village of East Harbour with a population of 6000. The main language on the island is English whereas mainland Honduras speaks Spanish. Historically Utila was largely a fishing and agrarian community. Its claim to fame is that Henry Morgan's treasure is buried somewhere on the Island.

The beaches are found west of town toward Blue Bayou. At Blue Bayou you can swing in a hammock, relax and enjoy the beach with a good book or snorkel on the reef just offshore. The Utila Cayes are just short boat trip away where you will find 11 palm studded islands surrounded by white sandy beaches.

Utila has only one main road lined with gingerbread houses in lively colored pastels. The village looks like it came from 1950. The locals are friendly and happy and love to welcome new visitors to their island.

There are a number of services available including a telephone/fax office at Hondutel. Email and internet access services found at the Mango Tree Internet Cafe or Howell's Internet Cafe. Banking can be done at one of the two banks on the island, where cash advances, money exchange, and exchange of travel cheques can be processed.

There is an official business lunch break (siesta) from 11:30am-1:30pm. Electrical power is provided by a new independent company called 'UPCO' that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a great improvement since 2003 where previously town power was unreliable and operated only from 6am to 12am.

There is a municipal government building found next to the ferry dock that can administer all visa and passport documents. A large well equipped clinic is located on the island as well as a dive injury trauma and recompression chamber facility.

To learn more about Utila and for a great online informational resource visit AboutUtila.com - Official site of Utila, The Bay Islands, Honduras.

Honduras

At the start of the 20th century, following the founding of a company in 1899 by the Vaccaro brothers of New Orleans, Honduras earned it's nickname as the Banana Republic. This company later became The Standard Fruit Company and made bananas the major export crop of Honduras. The United Fruit Company of Boston who controlled the largest fruit interest in Honduras was also founded in 1899.

The population of Honduras in 2000 was 6.5 million. The country covers an area of 112,000 square kilometers. Forested land amounts to 53.6% of the total area, which means that there is a significant amount of natural resources remaining.

Rain is most frequent in the Caribbean during the months of September through to January. The driest months in the Bay Islands are April and May and are very hot with temperatures exceeding 90 F/32 C.

Honduras has 70 natural reserves which it hopes will be developed as national parks. The park system has been in existence legally since 1987. Natural reserves continue to be established on the Caribbean coast and all support and interest is most welcome. Parks in existence include La Tigra, outside Tegucigalpa, the Biosphere of the Rio Platano River, Punta Sal and Pico Bonito outside La Ceiba. These parks have visitors centres,hiking trails and camping.

Over half of the population lives by the land; coffee, bananas and shrimp are the main export crops and Honduras is the world's forth largest exporter of bananas. Cotton, once important is now far less so. Tobacco, corn, beans, rice and sugar are grown mostly for domestic use but some small quantities are sometimes exported. Timber is a major export, controversy over the development of forestry reserves has laid the future expansion of the industry open to doubt.

Honduras' Caribbean coast has a mixture of banana-exporting ports, historic towns (in particular Trujillo) beach resorts and Garifuna villages. There is Pico Bonito National Park, other wildlife refuges and the overland 'Jungle Trail' to Guatemala.