| La Ceiba, Honduras
La Ceiba is famous for its Carnival (Mardi Gras) week during the Month of May. Carnival is without doubt the largest and most important celebration held regularly in Central America. During the week of Carnival, different sectors of town organize night long parties with live bands, plenty of food and drinks is available and there is a very festive atmosphere.  La Ceiba, while having an old world, carribean charm, is first world in shopping, restuarants, banking, and medical care. There's a Megamall, or Megaplaza, in the outskirts of the city that has all the banks, including Credomatic, a large department store, a supermarket, food court, internet cafes, and even an Applebee´s. For those needing a shot of hometown food, there are all the chain restuarants including Popeye´s, Burger King, Pizza Hut , Kentucky Fried Chicken, Domino´s Pizza, Wendy´s , Church´s and even Dunkin Donuts. The best known hospital is Hospital D´ Antoni which was founded by Dole and is open to the general public. Vicente D'Antoni Hospital  In spite of all this first world convenience, La Ceiba is the Ecotourism Capital of Central America. Its proximity to the Pico Bonito National Park, Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, Cayos Cochinos Marine Reserve are but a few of the many nature attractions available at just a short distance from the city. The new Pico Bonito Lodge is the first true Eco lodge in the country and offers an outstanding experience for the nature lover. La Ceiba is the third largest city in Honduras, and is probably the country's most vibrant. A relatively young city, it got its name from a huge Ceiba tree that was next to the beach and provided shade to the workers at the dock and locals during the afternoon. It is the capital of the department of Atlantida, one of the 18 departments of Honduras. La Ceiba has long been the operation hub of the Standard Fruit Company, producers of bananas, pineapples, grapefruits and many other agricultural goods that Honduras exports. Although La Ceiba is not their port for major shipping activities, it is their administrative hub. The main port for their exports is Puerto Castilla, opposite of Trujillo in the beautiful Bay of Trujillo, 100 miles east of La Ceiba. Getting around La Ceiba is easy. You can walk around town, and there are plenty of taxis that charge a very low fare, making it a preferred mode of transportation. There are two parallel main avenues that run perpendicular to the coast line: The Avenida San Isidro and the 14 de Julio. Most streets are numbered, with first street being the one running adjacent to the coast. The zona viva, where most of the restaurants and night life is to be found is on this street. The central park is a pleasant shaded area with many of the hotels and restaurants nearby, and is only a few blocks from 1a Calle on the beach. Most banks are located either on the main square or on the Avenida San Isidro. La Ceiba is perhaps the best communicated city in Honduras. The three domestic air carriers, Aerolineas Sosa and Atlantic Airlines Isleña Airlines have their operations hub here, and from here you can fly to Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Roatan, Utila, Guanaja, Trujillo, as well as the Miskito Coast.
Taking buses from La Ceiba is the much easier than San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa, as they have a central bus terminal from where most of the buses arrive and leave from. In addition, there is a new dock, located a few miles out of town towards the east, from where regular ferry service between La Ceiba and the Bay Islands of Utila and Roatan operates.
Just outside of La Ceiba, on the highway to Jutiapa and Trujillo, (25 km east of La Ceiba) lies the Usha and the Fig Tree medical center. Operated by the famous Dr. Sebi, this rehabilitation / rejuvenation center is becoming famous for its treatment of diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. Based on a complex vegetarian diet and medication, combined with the natural hot springs in the area, several different clients have reputedly been cured of these diseases. The Municipality of La Ceiba has a visitors information center in the heart of town, located on the first floor fo the Banco de Occidente building right on Central Park. They are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m and Saturday till noon.
pineapple fields cattle grazing, La Ceiba cristaline rivers
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