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Trip Info:
Dates: August 5th to August 15th (with possible Copan extension
to 18th) 2006 and December 31st 2006 to January 7th 2007
Leaders: Jesse Fagan and Mark Bonta
What to Expect:
A great trip through an under-birded area. We hope to maximize your
experience by finding quality birds in a unique atmosphere.
We will be doing a fair bit of walking and general, good physical
health is a must. Please bring only what you will need and leave
unnecessary items at home. On this trip it will be especially important
to minimize as much as possible. A scope will be provided by the
trip leader and bringing your own is optional. A water bottle, insect
repellent, hat, alarm clock, and snacks may also be useful.
This is a non-smoking tour.
Tour Leaders:
Mark Bonta, a conservationist and geographer at Delta State University
in Mississippi, has birded in Honduras since 1991, and has published
two books on birds. Birding Honduras: A Checklist and Guide (2003),
with David L. Anderson, is the first birding guide for the country;
Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conservation Geography in Honduras
(2003), was favorably reviewed in the April 2004 issue of Birding
magazine.
Jesse Fagan is a math lecturer at the College of Charleston located
in downtown Charleston, SC. He received his M.S. in Mathematics
from Texas Tech University in 2000 and lived in Texas for seven
years. He has made several birding trips to Mexico, El Salvador,
Honduras, and Panama, as well as several countries outside of Latin
America including Sweden, Spain, and New Zealand. His focus continues
to be the avifauna of Mexico and Middle America.
What the Trip Price Includes:
The price for the tour includes all travel as noted in the itinerary,
lodging, all meals (except on the departure day), tour materials,
and the services of the leaders. Tipping (restaurants, porters,
drivers, local guides) is included in the cost. Extra tips are not
expected and are entirely optional.
Birding Honduras: A Checklist and Guide, will come in handy, and
can be ordered ahead of time from Bonta for $20.00, or bought at
the beginning of the tour, for $16.95.
The trip price does not include: exit tax, passports, visas*, immunizations
and malaria prophylactics, excess baggage charges, telephone calls,
alcoholic beverages, laundry, room service, snacks, and anything
of a purely personal nature. If you have questions about the inclusion
of any cost item, please contact us.
*30-day visas for US citizens are granted automatically at Honduran
Immigration upon arrival in San Pedro Sula. There is no cost. Rules
for other countries may vary. Check your country’s embassy/consular
info for Honduras. There is an approximate $30 exit tax that is
paid at the airport prior to departure. This is not covered in the
trip cost.
Reservations and Cancellations:
Interested persons should contact Jesse Fagan by email at FaganCj@aol.com
to receive a reservation form.
Reservations can be made by sending $300 per person along with
your completed reservation form to the address below. Payments should
be made by check or money order. If cancellation is made before
October 30th, 2005, the deposit less $100 per person is refundable.
If the cancellation is made between November 1st and December 5th,
2005, then the deposit is not refundable, but any payments made
covering the balance of the tour will be refunded. If cancellation
occurs after December 5th, 2005, then the deposit is not refunded
and we will only refund separable costs such as room charges, insofar
as monies are returned to us by the providers of these services.
A waitlist will be created if at any time the trip should become
full. If you are still interested, ask that your name be added to
the waitlist. No deposit is necessary. If a participant cancels,
you will be contacted and offered the option to join the tour. You
are under no obligation to accept the space.
If major changes in the itinerary are necessary before the start
of the tour, participants will be informed and may withdraw without
penalty if they so choose. Should a change of itinerary or mode
of operation be forced upon us while the tour is in progress as,
for example, by an airline strike, weather delay, or political crisis,
the additional costs, if any, are the responsibility of the participant.
We reserve the right to cancel the tour at any time. In case of
cancellation, all deposits and other payments for the tour will
be refunded.
Travel Insurance:
We strongly recommend that you consider purchasing travel insurance.
Travel insurance may cover illness abroad, loss of baggage, and/or
trip cancellation. Check with your insurance agent to determine
what coverage you currently have, and, if necessary, contact your
travel agent about travel insurance.
Health and Safety Concerns:
We strongly recommend that you make yourself aware of any health
or safety concerns while traveling in Honduras. Much of this information
can be obtained from the Consular Information Sheet at the U.S.
Department of State Website. In addition, information on health
concerns, vaccinations, etc. can be obtained from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international
travelers at 1-877-394-8747 or www.cdc.gov/travel
Responsibility:
The trip leaders act only as agents for the passenger in regard
to travel, whether by railroad, motorcar, motorcoach, boat, or airplane
and assume no liability for injury, damage, loss, accident, delay,
or irregularity which may be occasioned either by reason of defect
in any vehicle or for any reason whatsoever, or through the acts
or default of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger
or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour. The trip leaders
can accept no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due
to delay or changes in air or other services, sickness, weather,
strike, war, quarantine, or other causes. All such losses or expenses
will have to be borne by the passenger, as tour rates provide for
arrangements only for the time stated. The right is reserved to
substitute hotels of similar category for those indicated and to
make any changes in the itinerary where deemed necessary or caused
by changes in air schedules. The right is reserved to cancel any
tour prior to departure, in which case a full refund will constitute
full settlement to the passenger. No refund will be made for any
unused portion of the tour. The prices of the tour are based on
tariffs and exchange rates in effect at the time of itinerary publication,
and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change therein.
We reserve the right to decline acceptance of, or to retain, any
person as a member of any tour. Baggage is at owner’s risk
entirely. We will not be responsible for any loss of, or damage
to, baggage or any article belonging to the passenger. Airlines
concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, or omission
or event during the time passengers are not on board their planes
or conveyances.
For further information:
Jesse Fagan
1561 Ocean Neighbors Blvd.
Charleston, SC 29412
Home #: (843) 406-0229
Email: FaganCj@aol.com
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