Hanukkah in Honduras is memorable holiday

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- Down to our last match, we lit ninecandles and unveiled the final batch of gifts and chocolate coins.The alarm already set for 5:30 a.m., we planned to watch theflickering menorah for a few moments before tucking in the kiddies.

Then the smoke alarm went off.

Hanukkah in Honduras. In a series of hotels, in a restaurant onthe beach. Next to a pool festooned with Christmas lights. Sometimesa challenge, always a nice way to end a day of vacation.

The eight days of Hanukkah conveniently coincided with Christmasvacation last year, so we were able to spend the entire holiday inHonduras. In addition to swimsuits and bug repellent, we loaded ourbags with presents and a box of candles.

Luckily, our daughters are young. Talia had just turned 6, andDaniela was 3. So they were happy with hair clips and crayons aspresents. The iPods and cell phone accessories can wait for later.

We usually search for holiday spots off the beaten path. Vacationpackages are not our style -- and neither are fancy hotels. We fellin love with the Honduran island of Roatan on the Internet and builtthe vacation around that.

Getting to Roatan took some work. There is nonstop service oncertain days from Miami, Atlanta, Houston and Newark, N.J., but thebest deal we found last year was taking TACA airlines to San PedroSula, with a long stopover in San Salvador. We left for San Salvadoron the morning after Christmas, spending our eight-hour layover atthe sparkling Atlantis water park just outside El Savador's capital.We arrived in San Pedro Sula at night.

Early the next morning, we took a pair of puddle jumpers (the on-board safety cards were in Russian) to La Ceiba and then Roatan. Ataxi took us to the western tip of the island, to the Luna BeachResort. The last part of the drive was on a pockmarked dirt roadthrough town, then onto the beach. The cab had to stop short of thehotel because high tide had swallowed up the beach path.

After an afternoon on the beach and in the shallow Caribbeanwater, we strolled about a half-mile into West End town forgroceries and had a picnic dinner on the deck at our hotel. Then wewent to our bungalow and lit the Hanukkah candles next to thebathroom sink. We sang a few songs, played with a dreidel and atesome cookies.

The next day we braved an onslaught of cruise ship day-trippersand took a tour in a glass-bottom boat. We bought groceries andbargained with a street vendor for some ripe melons, then torturedthe macaws and other caged birds at the Luna Beach Resort by havinga picnic of fresh tortillas, cheese, avocado and melon right undertheir beaks.

For dinner, we walked about 100 yards up the beach to the LobsterPot, which consists of plastic tables and chairs sitting in thesandy back yard of Maud and Lorna Watler. Maud does the cooking andher daughter is the waitress. The food is great -- we had chicken,kingfish, conch fritters and coconut shrimp. We ignored the crabcrawling past our table.

Make sure you bring a flashlight for the walk home, or you mightstroll into the Caribbean.

Our third day on Roatan was spent mostly at the just-openedGumbalimba state park, where monkeys and macaws sit on yourshoulder. There's also a pirate cave that featured doubloons. Inkeeping with the holiday spirit, Daniela asked innocently if thegold loot was Hanukkah gelt.

We had dinner by the pool at the Luna Beach Resort, lighting ourmenorah right next to a tree decorated with Christmas lights. Thebartender asked if we were celebrating a birthday.

Breakfast the following day included excellent banana pancakesand a mocha smoothie at Rudy's, which would fit well in Key West,Fla. Most people in Roatan speak English, so it's not quite asexotic as you'd expect from a sliver of land off the Honduran coast.The day was spent on the beach and we returned to The Lobster Pot atnight for chicken, tuna and a memorable slice of lemon pie. Webrought the menorah to dinner, but a strong wind prevented us fromlighting it.

On Dec. 31, we flew back to San Pedro Sula and hung out at astreet market watching row after row of vendors make tortillas. Weate meat pies and began a long van ride to Copan, where we got aguided tour of the fascinating Mayan ruins. After dinner, we walkedthrough crowds of firecracker-laden New Year's Eve revelers.

We lit the menorah in our comfy room at the Marina Hotel and putthe kiddies to sleep. My wife and I shared a wine spritzer anddanced in the hallway while a band played poolside. Those wild andcrazy American tourists!

The new year began with a visit to Macaw Mountain and itsdazzling array of tropical birds and butterflies. Then we hung outin the Copan town square, cooling off with homemade ice cream from astreet vendor, before being taken by van back to San Pedro Sula --where we set off the smoke alarm at the Microtel.

The last day of our trip we rented a car and headed toward thecoast. The day in the sun was great, but then it was back to reality-- a late-night direct flight to JFK that meant we didn't get intobed until 4 a.m. A few hours later, Talia was back in first gradeshowing off her tan.