US State Department Issues Honduras Travel Advisory & Reality

[CajunDiva]

I'm "registered" with all my loved ones, my maker (sorry Doc - you can still be the minor god!) and all you scubaboard buddies, so I feel pretty well covered.

But serioiusly, I am not concerned in the least except for the fact that the forecast calls for windy conditions and rocking boats are not my friend!!! That's OK...I'm armed with Scopace, which is the bomb for motion sickness.

I'll "REPORT LIVE" from Roatan...

 

[cfelliot]

The only thing that will stop me is if Delta won't let me on the plane in August!

 

[Doc]

....I'm "registered" with all my loved ones...

"Registering" with the State Department on your Bay Islands trip almost kinda' maybe sounds like it is of some value.

It is not.

Take that advice in light of from whence it came.

I've been off-line here on SB for a while, actually doing some work!

I just got a call early this morning from a couple of parents all frantic over the health and well being of their daughter. She is on a church mission in mainland Honduras and believed that she was not allowed to leave her hotel room and was locked down. They were in a panic. They asked me to go get her. (I mean that quite literally)

I checked into it and within thirty minutes, I received a cell phone call from a friend who was standing there, in-country, looking at her. It turns out, their teacher/leader told them not to leave the residences after dark. Good advice to any teenager, unescorted, in a foreign country.

Sometimes information gets distorted through furtive e-mails. Luckily, my guy there did it as a freebie- he was five minutes away. Otherwise, that quick call alone could have cost them $500, just to start.

Fear sells. I'm not in that business.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

As i am in Roatan til saturday i experienced:

- no problems wit officials
- no military
- everything calm and easy
- from yesterday there was a curfew from 9 p.m. (as we where informed by the diveshop)
- for how many days the curfew wil remain is unclear
- I have no idea/news how the curfew influenced the nightlife in west end

Diving ist still great here, even if there are political differences!

Chris Karrer

 

[ncchuck]

No one is trying to indicate that anything is effecting Roatan or Utila at this point. The point is this is a serious situation and should be taken seriously. NO ONE, certainly not the resort owners or the Roatan fanatics knows what is going to happen. Regardless of whom is at fault, the situation is serious. This isn't a joke or something to be ignored. It's not like only the US thinks what happened is wrong. The entire Organization of American States including some pretty radical countries think this is wrong. Who knows what might happen as the world tries to help resolve this situation.
Frankly, my biggest concern is the thought processes the local police and military might be having in Roatan and Utila right now. If they feel the military has been involved, legally or not, they may feel empowered to get some of the reforms they feel are needed. From my experience, there is absolutely no love between the local police and the "rich" tourist visiting their islands. I love Utila and Roatan as much as anyone on this board but I do feel all warnings should be considered and then a decision can be made. Opinions should be considered from other visitors, locals and officials but the motives and expertise of those opinions should be considered
I don't think it's a joke when someone registers with the state department for any travel and especially to a country that the entire world is watching. I registered when I lived in Roatan and Utila and certainly when I traveled to Indonesia against state department advice.

 

[Doc]

Registering yourself with the Embassy (or State Dept Website) https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ is mainly good for one thing....

If you should wake-up dead, after a night of debauchery, the local arm of Uncle Sam will have a head-start on identifying you, even without the passport. Additional, by updating your contact information, they will know who to contact so that the fees will be paid to transport your body.

Trust me on this one, through personal experience I know- they aren't going to send Clint Eastwood and the Marines to get your sorry ass from anything less than Medical School in Grenada (and that was if they were already in the neighborhood).

if it makes you feel that you've dotted all of the i's, by all means, do it.

As far as the Policia running rampant on this Islands, I have trod upon soil of the Bay Islands for well over a year in-total, and not once did I ever have a bad interaction with the Popo. They are not likely to do much to help, but it is considered extremely unwise to mess with a tourist who didn't already need some messing with.

We are predisposed to view Central American (and foreign Law Enforcement) with a slanted view. Quite often, they are not constrained by laws in dealing with us as they might be in the US. This is because, indeed they do have different rules, and, surprise! You are not a citizen. They are dressed more militaristically (it's cheaper), and on that point alone, a lot of NorteAmericanos get the willies.

A lot depends upon your attitude, any predisposition to interact poorly with uniformed authority, your blood alcohol level, or whether you were driving. Be nice, smile, and move along.

In the US, the cops just don't want the paperwork. In Central America, the cops just don't want to be bothered. Move along.

The tourist to the Bay Islands interacting with the Police? Unless you go out of your way to invite that, you have 10,000x greater chances of seeing a Whale Shark.

 

[Scott L]

Chicken Little??

Our administration is not going to make life easy on Honduras for tossing out the Chaves wanna be...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Good grief ... this reminds me of my trip to Indonesia in October 2001. I got one of those State Dept. travel warnings in the mail, advising me not to go. I went anyway.

We got there, checked into our hotel with another couple from Dallas. The next morning they were checking out ... heading home ... it seems that during the previous 12 hours or so, the USA had checked into Afghanistan.

We decided to stick around ... had a few days of diving planned on Bali, then a wedding to go to in central Java. There was never any issue. In fact, during the latter part of our stay, the news reports of anthrax letters showing up in NYC and elsewhere in the USA made the Indonesian news. All the locals we had met were very concerned ... advising us to stay in Indonesia, where it was safe, until the crisis in America died down.

Moral of the story ... governments and media tend to blow things way out of proportion. In the long run ... people are pretty much the same the world over. Treat them with a little respect, and you get the same in return. Most places I've traveled in my lifetime give their government policies about as much attention as we in America give ours.

I sure wouldn't let it stop me from going diving ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ncchuck]

It looks like different people that have lived on Roatan have had different experiences with the police. I can definately say incidents do happen. Guests at resorts sometimes get stopped and questioned and detained for absolutely no reason. I've seen children come back crying from family outings. YES this is rare but don't pretend like it never happens just because it didnt' happen to you. I know of at least one case where an employee of a well respected resort on Roatan left the country for fear of of his life and constant police harrasment. This gentlemen was English by the way.
The police in Roatan are paid very poorly and always looking for ways to suppliment their income. Now that the US is actually considering reducing aid to this country, things could easily slide downhill.
I totally disagree with the comments that the state department does nothing for stranded tourists. There are dozens of documented cases in very recent history where they have helped charter planes to rescue storm stranded travelers. I wouldn't expect them to send "John Wayne" but I am confident they would attempt to keep track of me and keep my family informed. I guess I have a lot more faith in my government than some people on this board.

Like another poster, I also visited Indonesia against state department recommendations. It's a personal choice made after weighing all the circumstances. I loved my Indonesia trip so much and felt so welcome and safe that I returned again. I've been to Roatan many times and will likely return but I will be looking at the current situation with Honduras in every case. Regardless of what people are trying to indicate, Roatan is part of Honduras and has the potential to be effected by its troubles at any time.

 

[NTSilver]

Well, I don't know if I missed something here, I read all the posts. Yes, Utila and Roatan are not near mainland Honduras, but doesn't everyone still have to fly THROUGH Honduras to get to Roatan and Utila? Personally if the State Department issues a warning I am going to think twice about completing my trip.