Sat 24-Sun 25 November - Day 29 to 30 - Copán Ruinas, Honduras

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Sat 24-Sun 25 November - Day 29 to 30 - Copán Ruinas, Honduras



It was time to leave Guatemala after 11 fascinating, fun days in the country. We embarked on a lengthy bus ride to Honduras into the charming town of Copán. Starting off at 8.00am we stopped several times and arrived in Copán Ruinas at around 3.00pm. We checked into Hotel Lauros, which was family owned and soon found the town was small, hilly and with many cobble-stone roads.



Alfredo had to take one of our NZ travel mates to see the doctor as she had bn very sick and ended up on a drip etc. The rest of us found ATMs to get some Lempira (17 Honduras Lempira to $1.00AUD). We then found the San Rafael wine & Cheese Restaurant and our Melbourne friends, Jim and Jenelle joined us to share a cheese platter with 6 different cheeses, nuts, fruit and olives. Very delightful.



That night we visited the Local Brewery that made 2 craft beers (one that Tom had wasn’t very good). Tom & I were the only one who ordered ood and we sared a plate with 2 tacos as we weren’t very hungry at all. Half of us ended up in one of the street bars for a chat and a few laughs.



The next morning and within walking distance of the village is one of the best-kept and most intriguing of all the ancient Maya sites, the Copán ruins. On our guided tour we saw the intricately carved statues known as stelaes depicting the 16 rulers of this once magnificent and influential city. We also discover the spectacular staircase, which is covered in around 2000 glyphs. Standing at almost 30 meters high, it is quite a sight to behold. We also saw the ball courts and enormous main plaza.



Our guide who was from Tena (where we were going next) had a very American accent and was very good.



The site is set in the lush green jungles on the river so it’s easy (and cool enough) to spend more than a couple of hours exploring here. It is one of the sites that is least overrun with other travellers. And it’s only a 10 minute walk from town.



On entering the site we heard lots of squawking. Those squawks belong to the Scarlet Macaws, the national bird of Honduras, who call Copán Ruins home. How they came to call this place home is an interesting story in itself.







Most of the macaws remaining in the small Central American country are actually kept in the Copan Archeological Park, located in the Copan Valley in the western part of Honduras, near Guatemala. The endangered birds are sent there after being confiscated from smugglers at the border.



Recently, Hagan Avicultural Research Institute donated food, supplements and funds to the Copan Maya Foundation of Honduras, which operates an outdoor aviary dedicated to harbouring and eventually releasing rescued birds back into their natural habitat.



Copan Ruins have been described as the most enchanting of the Mayan archaeological sites and one of the most artistic due to the many stone stelae. Stelae are a little like a stone banner, raised to honour the king and record his deeds. Both the intricacy and sheer size of these stelae impress. Each has a different portrait on one side and hieroglyphics on the other. There are approximately 80 at the site, some original and others replica, with the originals in museums.



The site also has many tunnels under the ancient city, built by the Mayans. However, only 100m are accessible as the other tunnels have collapsed.



Copan was the capital city of a major Classic Period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. Other facts about this advanced civilization include:
– The Mayans had figured out the concept of zero a thousand years before the Europeans.
– The Mayans were incredible astronomers, tracking the cycles of the sun and the moon with incredible accuracy. Their agricultural calendars were made with a 365-day year.
– Today Mayan ruins are found all over Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, with the most in Mexico and Guatemala. Although there is no “official” list, it is thought there are over 4400 Mayan sites.
– Approximately 80% of the Mayan ruins are yet to be excavated and remain underground or buried beneath thick jungle. They will remain this way until funding and resources are made available.
– Today the Indigenous population of Honduras has dwindled to only around 8%, although Guatemala’s remains at 48%.



After being satisfied we had seen all we wanted, and climbed up enough pyramids and temples, we all walked back into the town.



Tom & I found a lovely little café in the corner of the Central Square to have a cold drink then a wonderful cappuccino. Next, we walked to the Macaw Mountain Bird Park and Sanctuary. On the way a duel cab ute pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. He was a German working in Honduras for the past 3 years with a construction company. He was on their way to the hot springs. We accepted the offer and just as well as the park was further than we thought, and it was very hot and dusty.



This was where 3 different species of rescued macaws (green, blue and scarlet) were being nurtured to return them to the wild. Unfortunately, some of them had been pets and were never going to be rehabilitated. There were other parrots, thick knees and several other birds in the 10 acre park also. The walk through the park was beautiful thick tropical growth with paths often along a running creek.



We then decided to go to the Hucienda San Lucus for sunset. This is also a hotel, restaurant and a place for horse riding. We bought a drink and walked down the long green lawn to the spot where it was best for the sunset. They had deck chairs and log seat available. Tom had a beer and I had a fruit juice. It was a beautiful temperature, so the evening was very balmy.



After some wonderful shots of the sunset,we hopped back into the tuk-tuk who drove us back into town. We met up with 3 other travel mates and went to Via Via for dinner. Very pleasant.



A bit about Honduras: Honduras is the second biggest and second most populous country in Central America. It has colonial villages (Gracias, Comayagua), ancient Maya ruins (Copan), natural parks (Moskitia), and a Pacific and Caribbean coastline and the Bay Islands, with great beaches and coral reefs where snorkelling and diving are exceptional by any standard.



During the first millennium, Honduras was inhabited by the Maya civilization in the western part and other Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures in the rest. Columbus first explored the country in 1502, and Honduras became a Spanish colony. Honduras, with four other Central American nations, declared its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821 to form a federation of Central American states. In 1838, Honduras left the federation and became independent. Political unrest rocked Honduras in the early 1900s, resulting in an occupation by U.S. Marines. Dictator Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino established a strong government in 1932.



In 1969, El Salvador invaded Honduras after Honduran landowners deported several thousand Salvadorans. Five thousand people ultimately died in what is called “the football war” because it broke out during a soccer game between the two countries. By threatening economic sanctions and military intervention, the Organization of American States (OAS) induced El Salvador to withdraw.



After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras was a haven for the anti-Communist contras fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua and an ally to Salvadoran government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas.

The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage, affecting seriously the development of the country and its vital infrastructure.

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Photos

Macaw Mountain & Nature Park Copan Honduras
National bid of Honduras is the Scarlet Macaw