Coping with Copan
Trip Start
Oct 23, 2006
1
206
228
Trip End
Apr 15, 2009
Copan,
Honduras
Monday, September 15, 2008
Our last trip through here left us with some idea of the roadways which makes it easier this time. We are in and out and on our way to a small town with a large park, Parque Angeles, in an evergreen forest where camping is allowed. We like it here. The park has a pool, restaurant and picnic area so is used during the day but at night we are left alone with the horses and cows. This time we experience the end of their ten day long Patriot celebrations as the park fills up by 8 am. and the day passes with games, futbol, horseback riding, swimming, eating, singing and the grand finale- the beating of the Pinata. This is the first place where we actually have days of sun so we use our time well and drag everything out for airing and cleaning.
We fumble through another bout of Tegucigalpa on our way north. Much of the scenery is mountainous with ponderosa forests and farmland in the valleys and hillsides. Hondurenos busy themselves with farming and gathering. So much life happens on the roadsides as they walk from village to village or from crop to crop. Men with machetes in hand or swinging on their hips are a common site. Machetes do everything; cut fruit, mow grass,reap crops, chop wood and more. We see crops of bananas, sugar cane, coffee, fruit and corn.
Central Americans are religious with most sects represented as is evidenced by little churches everywhere. Our sunday drive through the country side tells us a story of their devotion where churches overflow with people and sermons and singing are amplified so all can hear. Everyone is smartly dressed, no signs of dirty faced barefooted children and so what if there was, children play and get dirty. Here they play outside in water and dirt and probably run around bear foot but on a school they all look clean and smart in their school uniforms. Plenty of food and cookers are are being prepared for a day of feasting and visiting.
The little town of Gracias provides a place for the night. At Las Marias balneario termales (hot pools) outside of town, a special place for locals and it is here we find a small place to tuck into. With permission and assurance of a tranquil night we popped our lid, had a meal and relaxed. It was a peaceful night, our spot was away from the main parking area and we heard nothing but the pitter patter of rain. We appreciate the scenic vista and birds over coffee in the morning.
The Copan Ruin near the Guatamalan border is our destination today. The drive is easy and the scenery lovely. Life looks easy and simple here and it should be - mild climate and fruit trees everywhere. Homes are simple - stick huts, mud huts and basic brick houses all with gardens. Vegetation is dense with natural food at your fingertips. Fruit trees grow easily and we see fruit hanging; banana, mango, oranges, guava and many more that we don't know the names of. All the homes even the most meagre have chickens, goats, sheep, a cow, a horse. We should stop right now and set up a farm. Tempting but who would visit us here. We would just drop out of north american society, never to be seen again. Maybe our children would come to find us.
The town of Copan is cute and caters to the bus loads of tourists that arrive to visit the ruin site. This time we want only to see the museum which we overlooked last time. The Esso station next door to the ruin and museum allows overnight parking so we pay a small security fee and park on the grassy patch behind the station and enjoy the afternoon visiting the museum.
We enjoyed our short meandering tour through Honduras. We had no expectations or guides, just relaxed and let it happen.
