Ruins

Thursday was Copán day. The ruins of Copán are part of the legacy left by the Mayans, along with other great sites like Chichen Itza in Mexico and smaller sites like Altun Ha in Belize. Because of the somewhat remote location in Western Honduras, just shy of the Guatemalan border, this site receives many fewer tourists than the others. Also, Honduras just gets fewer tourists across the board.

Sidebar: I fully acknowledge that Honduras has more than its fair share of murders and kidnappings. So does Chicago, New Orleans, and plenty of other cities. In my extremely limited experience here, I think it is truly manageable risk. Don’t go out alone or at night. Don’t go to areas you don’t know. Stay in reputable hotels and inns and follow the guidance of the locals. The vast majority of people here are friendly and welcoming. A few rotten ones ruin it for the rest. I’ve found Hondurans to be incredibly friendly and polite. They are welcoming and happy to share their country with us.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming. We had a 5:10 pick up scheduled, which means my sleep was very poor (I always worry I won’t wake up, so my body wakes me up in a panic every half hour). Karim, our driver/guide, was the only person I found who would do a day trip from San Pedro Sula to Copán, so my expectations were low. Our actual experience was fabulous.

We drove for 2.5 hours, then had breakfast. Baleadas are the traditional food, and I’m happy to oblige! It’s a large, fresh tortilla, filled with refried beans, scrambled egg, queso fresco, and some sour cream. Add a little hot sauce or avocado (aguacate) and it’s heavenly! Also, the coffee here is some of the best I’ve ever had. Rich without being bitter.

After paying our entrance fees and collecting our guide, we set off exploring the compound. Ancient Mayans lived all over the valley, so we concentrated our visit on the one small site in the middle of the map.

The first thing we noticed is that there’s nobody selling you anything, so it is more peaceful. There are also maybe 50 other people here in total, so you have much of the place to yourself. And, there are macaws everywhere!

Our guide was fabulous, so we were saddened to hear that she isn’t paid for her work. The national government supplies a very minuscule amount of funding for operating the site, but that’s it. Outside organizations have made deals with the national government for excavation and study, but the deal almost always include the right for the outside organization to pillage and remove artifacts from the site. One of the most important carvings from here is in the Peabody-Essex Museum in Mass thanks to Harvard.

We went underground into some excavation tunnels to see the layers buried beneath the current ground level. These sites were built in layers, with sometimes half of the monument below ground!

Like other Mayan sites, there is a ball court here. Captains of winning teams were beheaded as offerings to the gods.

Macaws are the national bird of Honduras, and there are many at the ruins because it is a protected site. They are stunning, striking birds.

We strolled into town after to look for souvenirs and get some lunch. Copán reminds me a lot of Salento in Colombia (but much smaller) or parts of Bogóta with a strong colonial vibe. It was very cute!

We took a tuktuk up to a chocolate and tea shop, then hit the road home.

Our drive back was also long (4.5 hours), so we were hungry but also too tired to go out to eat so we tried our hand at San Pedro Sula’s version of DoorDash, called PedidosYa. It was fast food, but I managed to order it all in Spanish and we got what we wanted, so that’s a win!

Driving hours across a country yields a very good look at local communities. There is certainly no question that this is a “third world” nation given the state of housing, cars, education, etc., yet it feels optimistic. Hondurans are proud people, and they want to strive for something better.