Honduran Lempira

The lempira (sign: L, ISO 4217 code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The lempira was named after the 16th-century cacique Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the (ultimately unsuccessful) local native resistance against the Spanish conquistador forces. He is a national hero, and is honoured on both the 1 lempira note and the 20 and 50 centavos coins.

Front and back of L1

Honduras through the colors of Pedro Triminio

Mountain Village Scene, Honduras

6 May 2015 | From Wilmer of Honduras

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Honduras is a republic in Central America.  It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, prior to being conquered by Spain in the sixteenth century. The Spanish introduced Roman Catholicism and the now predominant Spanish language, along with numerous customs that have blended with the indigenous culture. 

Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea on the north coast and the Pacific Ocean on the south through the Gulf of Fonseca. Honduras consists mainly of mountains, with narrow plains along the coasts, a large undeveloped lowland jungle La Mosquitia region in the northeast, and the heavily populated lowland Sula valley in the northwest. In La Mosquitia lies the UNESCO world-heritage site Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, with the Coco River which divides Honduras from Nicaragua.

Pedro Triminio is a Honduran National Artist.

Cusuco National Park, Cofradia, Cortes

Fog-covered path and a frog

6 May 2015 | From Wilmer of Honduras

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Cusuco National Park is in Cortes of Honduras. It was established on 1 January 1959 and covers an area of 234.4 square kilometres (90.5 sq mi). Popular destination for backpackers, travelers, hikers and expeditionaries following the Cusuco Mountain Backpacking Route. This park is barely known by locals and mostly visited by people looking for non tourist destinations. The difficult access roads have preserved this area.

Cusuco National Park boasts several endemic species, most of them being reptiles and insects. There are at least four endemic frog species, and two salamander species that have been identified within its territory. In addition, there is an abundance of gem beetles; truly unique, colourful creatures that have given the park a name worldwide by appearing on the cover of National Geographic magazine in February 2001!  Over 260 species of birds have been identified in the park.

Orchids, fog-covered paths, inspiring waterfalls, Cusuco National Park is a place full of miracles. If you set your eyes on the ground or gaze to the sky, you will surely find something amazing, from impressive ferns to tiny life forms which will wrap you anywhere you go.

The frog sitting on the branch is a Plectrohyla exquisita -  endemic to the Sierra de Omoa in the Cortés Department of northwestern Honduras.

My first postcard from Honduras

The Copan Ruins, Honduras

6 May 2015 | From Wilmer of Honduras

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Discovered in 1570 by Diego García de Palacio, the ruins of Copán, one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization, were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.

Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road.

The city has a historical record that spans the greater part of the Classic period and has been reconstructed in detail by archaeologists and epigraphers. Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers

Source: UNESCO