Guanaja
Columbus came ashore here in 1502. Today most islanders live on a small cay beside the main island and go almost everywhere by boat.
- Arrival
- Guanaja Airport · GJA
- To the island
- About 70 km off the Honduran coast
- Private jets
- Customs at Roatán, then a light aircraft
- Best time
- April to May
The city
An island run by boat.
On his fourth voyage, in 1502, Columbus landed on the north side of Guanaja and called it the Isle of Pines; it was here that he first came across cacao. The island covers 50 square kilometres. Hurricane Mitch flattened most of its buildings in 1998 and stripped the pine and mangrove forests, which are still growing back.
Most of the 5,500 islanders live off the main island, packed onto Bonacca, a cay known locally as The Cay. Guanaja has one road, about three kilometres long, and some forty cars were counted in 2011. Boats do the rest, cutting through a channel called The Canal to get from the south shore to the north.
- Bonacca The crowded cay where most islanders live, a short boat ride from the main island.
- Soldado Beach The north-shore beach where Columbus is said to have landed in 1502.
- The waterfalls The island still has its own fresh water, and several waterfalls.
Arriving
Fly to Roatán, hop east.
Guanaja Airport has a single runway on the main island. Roatán, about 67 kilometres west, is the nearest airport with customs and flights from the United States.
- Panama City 1 h 45
- Miami 1 h 55
- Bogotá 2 h 45
- Toronto 4 h 20
- Lisbon 10 h 15 long-range jet
When to go
April to May.
Figures for Roatán, the nearest island with long-term records, some 67 km to the west. Highs run from 28 to 32 °C. Only April and May stay under 85 mm of rain; by October the monthly total passes 400 mm and stays there until the new year.
- 28° J 277 27°
- 28° F 182 26°
- 30° M 115 27°
- 30° A 76 27°
- 31° M 81 28°
- 31° J 139 28°
- 31° J 202 28°
- 32° A 168 29°
- 32° S 192 29°
- 30° O 444 29°
- 29° N 448 28°
- 28° D 399 27°
Elsewhere in Honduras
More reasons to come.
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