Copan, Honduras - The Mayan Ruins

On Friday, our day began at 1AM in preparation for our 5:45A.M. flight to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It was a long day, but full of adventure. After landing, our friend Juan(ito) picked us up from the airport and drove us to his family's house in Southwest San Pedro Sula, right next to the mountain range. We put our stuff in our room, greeted Juan's mother (Leticia or Leti) and Jackie (Juan's girlfriend), and then repacked a small bag to head to Copan, a city famous for its colonial style and the Mayan Ruins. It was a 3 hour drive on a bumpy, 2 lane road, through the mountains. The vie ws were amazing! We stayed in a very cute hotel in the center of the city, with a view of the mountains. We ate dinner at a local fundido (fondue) joint, which was fabulous :) We also made it in time for Happy Hour 2-8PM, drinks were 2 for 1, which made John and Juanito VERY happy :)

After dinner, we called it a night….. a side note: Most of the money in Honduras comes from the production of coffee, bananas, and corn, then there is tourism.

On Saturday we were joined by Pita and Carlos, good friends of Juan and Jackie. We headed to the Mayan Ruins via a 3-wheeler taxi....it's kind of hard to describe, but think of a 3-wheeler with a front bench for the driver, a back seat for 2-3 passengers, with a vinyl covered top. There will be a picture attached.... At the ruins we paid a little extra cash for a tour guide, since none of the 4 Latinos felt they could do a sufficient job of explaining the history of the ruins.

After the ruins we drove an hour outside of Copan into the rainforest where we enjoyed the hot springs. This trip will always be memorable because when we arrived a huge thunderstorm began. It was pouring rain, loud claps of thunder, and bright flashes of lightning. It didn’t seem to bother our friends so we pretended it didn’t bother us either :) We sat under the canopy of the rainforest, enjoying the hot springs, the thunderstorm, and of course, a cold beer :)

On Sunday we went to the bird sanctuary, which is also in the rainforest, and saw many types of exotic birds; toucans, macaws, parrots, parakeets, owls, hawks, etc. It was beautiful! The most amazing thing is that this sanctuary is only funded by donations and the coffee that it grows, processes, and sells on site. All of us bought coffee (and beer) to help do our part for such a wonderful cause. In our opinion, the coffee here tastes much better than any Starbucks drink. John and I bought extra beans to bring home :)

Monday-Wednesday we'll be at Juan's house so John can put in some time for work, and in the afternoons/evenings we'll be exploring San Pedro Sula. On Thursday we'll be driving to La Ceiba, where we will take a ferry to the Caribbean Island of Roatan...this is the trip I'm looking forward to the most!