Honduran Holiday

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In Honduras they celebrate the discovery of America October 8th, when Christopher Columbus arrived in Central America. 

The national holiday doesn't celebrate the explorer but recognizes the changes in the western hemisphere after Europeans arrived.

During my time as a reporter in South Dakota, I covered a Governor's delegation to Panama and Honduras where we visited United States military bases to check on the work being done by members of the South Dakota National Guard.

As I recall, we spent two nights in Panama and another couple in Honduras. I was a one-man band, shooting video and serving as the reporter, so the job was to come back with several stories that would air after returning to the Pierre bureau.

My first impression of Honduras came when our C-130 (fitted with airline seats, thankfully) landed in Tegucigalpa. As we deplaned, I noticed young men standing by every plane on the tarmac, each holding what I thought were M-16 rifles.

The hotel where we stayed was very nice, with a high-end restaurant and a casino. Through my hotel window I saw the huge gap between people with money and those who didn't. Across the valley was an encampment of shacks covered with corrugated metal roofs. When we drove around the city, we saw cows grazing in several places, they were so thin you could count their ribs. For a kid from Wisconsin, it was a real eye-opener. 

It's interesting that a Central American country is celebrating the European Discovery of America, but it put me in mind of a trip many years ago, thanks for the memories.