In the past couple of years a number of improvements have been made to the infrastructure here on the island. There is now a paved road that connects Savannah Bight, Mitch, Mangrove Bight and even North East Bight. It is roughly about 4 miles long but there are plans to carry it all the way to the airport. As it is now, there are taxi services that will take you to your destination in a matter of minutes.  With the improved road conditions we are seeing more and more cars, motorcycles and scooters arriving on the island. However for many the primary form of transportation on Guanaja is still one's own two feet. Most people, if not traveling over land, make use of the public ferry or water taxis to get around the island.

The local government has also recently made improvements on the water system in Savannah Bight and the sewer system both on the the Cay and Savannah Bight. With that and the four different cell phone services that we now have, Guanaja has taken a giant leap into the 21st century. It wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have any form of phone service here. Today many of the kids are even carrying cell phones much like in other parts of the world. However, Guanaja is still off the beaten path for the most part and you will not find any fast food chains here or any malls. It is still a small island free from most commercialism.

We have been told that 50% of the population of Guanaja is under the age of 15.  Most children attend the local government run school.  However, the way the system is set up, they only attend school five hours a day, with half attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Just recently the Honduran government has begun providing one meal a day for the school-age children to help ensure that bellies are being filled on a regular basis.

Though Spanish is the primary language of Honduras, Guanaja has an island culture all it's own. An English-speaking person can survive quite well without any knowledge of Spanish because more than half of the population speaks English, and though there are those who speak only Spanish many of them understand English. You will also discover that there is a Caribbean English spoken on the island, locally known as "Bonnacan". Though you may recognize words, the meaning can be lost in the culture of the island.

Guanaja is one of the three Bay Islands off the northern coast of Honduras.  It is approximately 11 miles long, and 4 miles wide. It is the most mountainous of the Bay Islands and is a tropical paradise with beautiful beaches and luscious waterfalls. 

Approximately 8,000 people live on Guanaja with about half of the island's residents living on a small cay just off the main island called Bonacca Town or the Cay. Everyone else is spread out between Savannah Bight, a community on the southeast side of the island; Mangrove Bight, a community on the north side of the island, Mitch, a community in between the two, Sandy Bay and Pelican Hill.

Where is Guanaja?