Mas de las Ruinas Mayan

Trip Start Jan 01, 2007
1
45
141
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
shadow

Flag of Honduras  ,
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

We got off the ferry from Roatan and hopped right into a taxi with a local couple also headed to the bus station. Unfortunately the taxi we got in was being driven by a retired Formula-1 driver who has not realized he is retired! On the first straightaway our driver hit 70mph in a 25mph zone and decide to pass cars that were passing cars. That's right folks he is going three wide and headed for a turn! I'm in the front seat and holding on for dear life. We get to turn number 1 and the red light obviously only means slow down to 40 so you can take the turn while screeching the tires. On the next straightaway we are recreating the car chase scene from any number of movies except we are not stunt people. (Think Ronin, The Italian Job, The Bourne Identity or Death Race 2000 but in a beat-up old Nissan Sentra taxi) He is weaving in and out of the oncoming traffic, the shoulder and parts of the sidewalk. At one point he swerves to the right to pass on the shoulder and there is a parked truck in our way and he has to hit the brakes hard. In case I didnīt mention he swerves then looks instead of the other way around. Also stops signs are merely a suggestion. Around turn number 2, we are making a left, he moves to the inside of another person turning left and cuts him off so he can turn first. Then he moves into oncoming traffic to pass the car in front of us. Except a car is headed right for us. No problem he will just keep going left, meaning the oncoming shoulder, until something is clear. Eventually we get back into a real lane, albeit the wrong one, and continue to pass vehicles. Another closeup of a scary turtle
Another closeup of a scary turtle
 Finally, after 3 near death experiences Kay asks the guy to slow down because the way he is driving is dangerous. He replies by holding up his watch and saying he is trying to get us to the bus that is leaving momentarily. The locals that are with us do not seem to be bothered by this at all. He slows down by about 5mph and continues his erratic driving. After about 5 minutes and crossing the entire city we have arrived at the bus terminal. Thank God. We get out of the taxi and pay him less than he said because we knew what the price should be and walked away. As we entered the building we could hear his tires squeal as he exited the parking lot looking for his next fare. After all of the racing around, the bus we want doesn't leave for another 30 minutes.

We catch our bus and hit San Pedro with 45 minutes before it leaves for Copan. We decide to walk around for a few minutes and stretch our legs. When we get back at 1:10 the bus is gone! What the heck! We tell them our stuff is on the bus why did leave in a very panicky tone. They look at us like do not worry about it and we cannot understand why. Finally we realize they have just moved the bus around the corner and all is well. Silly gringos.

We arrived in Copan around 4:30 and were immediately surround by hotel pushers. These guys are worse than drug dealers. They at least understand the word NO. They are all over us and Kay politely tells them to go away, do not follow us and we will figure it out on our own. We walk up the hill one block and grab a double bed dorm spot at La Manzana Verde for $8 bucks. As promised Diaper Man
As promised Diaper Man
 This may be the quickest we have ever chosen a room in a new town.

In the square we see Emeil and Sanne (our Dutch friends from Roatan) who flew to San Pedro and then took the bus over. They beat us here by about 4 hours but somehow we are in the same place at the same time in the square. It is actually a very small town and it would have been hard to miss them. We all head over to ViaVia restaurant, where they are staying, for dinner and drinks and conversation. After a great evening together, we agree to meet at 7:30 the next morning to walk to the Copan Ruins. Our hostel is owned by the same owners as ViaVia and they gave us a free Cuba Libre coupon. Cool!

The walk to the ruins only takes about 15 minutes and is along a well marked path. The entrance fee is a bit steep, $15 US pp, and if you have seen Tikal and Palenque you might consider skipping it. They also have a museum for $15 and tunnels for $7 which we chose not to pay the additional fees for and therefore skipped. At the entrance were 6 large parrots that were very entertaining and full of energy. We took a bunch of photos and headed in. Inside the park you come to a large open field with a few incredible Stelae dated from AD 613 to 738 (large tall sculptures) with remarkable detail. We had the entire place to ourselves until multiple buses full of tourists started to show up. In the one group there was a crazy man that had taken off his shirt and shoes and rolled up his shorts in a way that looked like a diaper. We could not stop laughing at this sight and were truly fascinated that this did not phase anyone in his group. Closeup of the carvings
Closeup of the carvings
 So of course I had to take some photos for everyones viewing pleasure. We kept seeing diaper man around the ruins the rest of the day and it amused us every time. (Check back later for the entertaining photos!)

The main body of the ruins are all interconnected and some areas are overgrown with large La Ceiba trees. This creates an amazing effect when they are growing out of the staircases of some of the temples. We wandered through most of the ruins and around 11 am it started to rain on us so we headed back to the town. To be honest I was a little underwhelmed by Copan ruins. The Stella were magnificent but after Tikal the temples seem minute. I know this must sound jaded but it is just my opinion. Plus the $15 fee for International tourists is a bit steep (locals and Central Americans pay between $1.50 and $4 US) If you have not seen other sites it would probably leave a better impression.

After a quick lunch we had to say a final goodbye to Emeil and Sanne. They have to catch a shuttle to Antigua as they have to catch their flight home to Holland tomorrow. We had so much fun with them we will truly miss their company.(Thanks again for the shampoo and vitamins) This is the first time since Belize that we are not traveling with a couple of friends. It is amazing how many people you meet when backpacking.

After some internet updates and a laundry run we tried to figure out how to get to El Salvador. In only a few hours and after talking to a couple of people from the hostel and from a travel company we have figured out that we have no clue how to do it. So we are just going to get up in the morning and get on a bus and see how far we can go. Our main goal is to get to El Salvador without having to go back 3 hours to San Pedro Sula. We shall see what happens.

Cheers, Frank
Slideshow Print this entry Copan hotels