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TRUJILLO |
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 Perched above the sparkling waters of the palm-fringed Bahía de
Trujillo, with the green backdrop of Cordillera Nombre de Dios rearing
up behind, TRUJILLO immediately seduces the small number of tourists who
make the 90km trip here from La Ceiba. Though you'd never guess it from
the town's sleepy demeanour, this is an important city, capital of the
department of Colón. All the elements for a relaxing stay are in place -
warm, sheltered waters, clean beaches, and a good range of hotels and
restaurants - and having endured the three- to four-hour journey from La
Ceiba, few are in a hurry to leave.
The area around Trujillo was settled by a mixture of Pech and Tolupan
groups when Columbus first disembarked on the American mainland here, on
August 14, 1502. Trujillo itself was founded by Cortés's lieutenant,
Juan de Medina, in May 1525, though it was regularly abandoned due to
attacks by European pirates. Not until the late eighteenth century did
repopulation begin in earnest, aided by the arrival, via Roatán, of
several hundred Garífuna from the island of St Vincent. In 1860, a new
threat appeared in the shape of the US filibuster William Walker, who in
June of that year briefly took control of the town; executed in
September 1860 by the Honduran authorities, he is buried in Trujillo's
cemetery. The twentieth century has been distinctly less eventful,
except for a severe battering at the hands of Hurricane Mitch, though
few buildings in town were destroyed. There's often far more activity
these days at Puerto Castilla , at the eastern end of the bay, the busy
port through which passes the produce of the region's plantations.
The Town
The town proper stretches back five or so blocks south of the Parque
Central , which is just fifty metres from the sea cliffs. On the
northeast edge of the Parque is the sixteenth-century Fortaleza de Santa
Bárbara (daily 8am-noon...
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