Útila

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Útila Island
Elevation: 74 m (243 ft)
Coordinates: 16.10° N 86.90° W
Location: Bay Islands, Honduras
Type: Pyroclastic cones
Last eruption: Unknown

Útila (Isla de Útila) is the third largest of Honduras' Bay Islands, after Roatán and Guanaja, in a region that marks the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest in the world. The eastern end of the island is capped by a thin veneer of basaltic volcanic rocks, erupted from several pyroclastic cones including 74 m (243 ft) Pumpkin Hill which forms the highest point on the island. It has been documented in history since Columbus' fourth voyage, and currently enjoys growing tourism with emphasis on recreational diving.

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[edit] History

Ruins on all three of the Bay Islands indicate that they were inhabited well before the Europeans arrived. Christopher Columbus, on his fourth voyage to the new world, landed on the island of Guanaja on July 30, 1502.[citation needed] He encountered a fairly large population of indigenous people whom he believed to be cannibals.[citation needed] The Spanish enslaved the islanders and sent them to work on the plantations of Cuba and gold and silver mines of Mexico.

They did not stay uninhabited for long, however. English, French and Dutch pirates established settlements on the islands and raided the Spanish cargo vessels laden with gold and other treasures from the New World. The English buccaneer Henry Morgan established his base at Port Royal on Roatán, about 30 kilometers from Útila, in the mid-17th century; at that time as many as 5,000 pirates were living on that island.[citation needed]

Colonization by the Spanish began in the early 1500s. Over the next century, the Spanish plundered the island for its slave trade and eliminated the island of its natives by the early 1600s. Britain, in its aggressive attempt to colonize the Caribbean from the Spanish, occupied the Bay Islands on and off between 1550 and 1700. During this time, the buccaneers found the vacated, mostly unprotected islands a haven for safe harbor and transport. Útila is rich in pirate lore that, and even presently, scuba divers look for sunken treasure from Captain Morgan's lost booty from his raid on Panama in 1671.

The British were forced to give back the Bay Islands to the Honduran government in the mid 1800s. It was at this time that the nearly uninhabited islands were being populated by its now Caymanian roots. They remain rich in Caymanian culture and dialect.

Útila has been a part of Honduras for approximately 150 years.[1][2] For nearly 200 years Spanish conquistadores and British pirates battled for control of these islands, ignoring the native people for the most part. During this period, the Islands were used for food and wood supplies, safe harbor, and slave trading. Remains of British forts and towns named after famous pirates remain as their legacy. One group of slaves was "parked" here during this time during the heat of a battle. When the winners came to collect them, the slaves refused to go.[citation needed] These are the Garifunas who still populate much of the Bay Islands, maintaining their own cultural identity and language. Punta Gorda on Roatán is one of many villages where they live.

[edit] Tourism

"Big Rock Beach"
"Big Rock Beach"

The Bay Islands have faced many major changes in recent years. Fishing has always been the mainstay of this former British Colony, but tourism is seen as the future. Environmental changes and an increased population on the islands has caused a decrease in fish stocks and now sustenance fishing is in conflict with the Bay Islands' number one tourist draw, diving.[citation needed] This has caused many problems between the fishermen and dive conservation and ecological groups, as areas that were once prime fishing grounds are now marine reserves.

Útila is now starting to undergo the same commercialization that neighbour island Roatán experienced in the mid to late 1990s.[citation needed] With favourable diving conditions, the island increasingly attracts general tourists, along with more traditional international backpacker visitors. More than sixty diving sites are located around the island among its extensive reefs teeming with marine life, including the elusive whale shark.

Unique local cuisine includes white bread made with coconut oil, mango jam, conch meat, and crab. Hunting of iguanas and sea turtles is illegal and should be reported to the Bay Area Conservation Association (BICA). Interestingly, grated coconut, such as is used to decorate pastries in many countries is considered not fit for human consumption and fed to chickens and hogs.[citation needed]

On the 29th of November, 2006 The National Congress signed The Law declaring the Bay Islands a Tax Free Zone.[citation needed] The spirit of this law is to promote the touristic development on the Bay Islands and to create an environmentally sustainable socioeconomic framework for the future.[citation needed] With the creation of the Tax Free Zone, Islanders will have a greater chance of making a successful transition to the Bay Islands Future by removing tax barriers and creating a business environment that will promote national and foreign tourism and investment. The Municipalities will benefit through the collection of entry fees. Each visitor to The Islands will now pay a fee to enter. Foreigners will pay a fee of US$6 if arriving by air, US$2 if arriving by sea, and Hondurans will pay US$1. These fees, combined with the 2% property certification fee already in effect, will provide the Municipality the finances needed to improve the quality of education and life of the Bay Islanders. The island also collects a $3 dive fee that goes to the municipality and BICA to aid in conservation programs and medical help for divers.

[edit] Image gallery

Hawksbill Turtle at the "Black Hills" divesite

A glass grotto at the Unique Jade Seahorse Restaurant

The ever calm waters at the "Public Beach"

The outhouse over the water is hard to miss!

Typical Road near the Munchies Restaurant, a historic building

Typical Traffic Jam, there are only a handful of old pickup trucks on the entire island

The main beach

[edit] References

  1. ^ 1859 Treaty between Great Britain and the Government of Honduras English Translation ceding the Bay Islands and the British territory of the Mosquitia to the Republic of Honduras
  2. ^ 1861 Honduras Decree English Translation in which the Bay-Islands and territory of the Mosquitia are declared to be under the Dominion and Sovereignty of the Republic of Honduras

[edit] External links