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Published: December 24th 2007
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Another two buses and a minivan got us (me, Pieter and Peter) from Gracias to Copan. The first leg was by bus to Santa Rosa. There we were swamped by people trying to get us into minivans. They were fighting over our bags and Pieter had to take them back. They all said they were going direct to Copan Ruinas but really they were only going as far as La Entrada. We took a minivan which left with a bum in each seat but en route collected many more. We counted 21 adults, 4 kids and the driver. It was a new van but overloaded it was struggling up the hills. It wouldn't last long. On the last leg of the trip, on a bus again, we passed an articulated truck which had tipped over, container and all, going uphill on a corner. It had only just happened.
Arriving in Copan Ruinas we were approached by a father and son team seeing if we wanted to stay at their hostel but we found them too pushy. I waited with the bags while the guys found a place. They tried a few before settling on the Yurugua Hotel. Just off the
main square we had an upstairs corner room. It was a little small but it was airy and the courtyard of the hotel was a mass of pretty green healthy plants. Antiques and archaeological finds were scattered in the halls. We had an old Singer sewing machine outside our door.
We found the town to be very pleasant with cobbled streets, pretty buildings and a lovely main square. Lots of charm. While Pieter and Peter were exploring they saw an interesting tuk tuk. It was a genuine blue police vehicle with a siren on top. It would have made for an interesting high speed chase.
One problem with the town was a lack of good tour agents. There were lots of tour agents but none were very useful. One wanted payment for giving advice. Pieter finally arrange with one guy to guide us around the ruins but he was a no-show the next morning and the 3 of us went off on our own. It was probably for the best, the guide had laughed like Billy T James and might have got on our nerves eventually.
Visiting the ruins was very expensive. It is US$15 for the
site plus US$7 for the museum. And if you want to enter the tunnels it was US$12 or more extra. We didn't do the latter. The museum was very interesting, entering through a serpents mouth and down a tunnel to a hanger-like building with its walls lined with stone carvings and things from the site. In the center was a life-sized replica of the temple under temple 16. The tunnels would have allowed you see some of the actual temple. We were really pleased to see few other tourists as we reached the site itself but an overcast sky kept it muggy and full of mosquitoes. There were lots of workers around. About 10 were involved in mowing the extensive lawns. Some with push mowers, some raking up grass and one lucky guy on a ride-on mower. I provided a guide service courtesy of the Lonely Planet that had a good description of the structures and stelae. Through a back fence we could see another temple being excavated.
While climbing and exploring Miguel, the horse man, approached us for horse riding and we eventually agreed to meet him the next day for a couple of hours riding. Unlike the
Billy T James guide, Miguel actually turned up the next day and took us to meet the horses. The third was delivered at a gallop down the hill by a 6 year old. I got the best and prettiest horse this time. We headed off into the hills. It was a dirt road with little traffic and lots of butterflies and birds and fantastic views. At the top of the hill we visit La Pintada, a little village, where we were immediately swamped by kids selling souvenirs made of grass. Had to buy something, a little angel, that we would give to Marge in Belize. We walked to a great view of the valley including the town and ruins. We visited a women's weaving center before heading off again. We stopped at a bar on stilts owned by an American. His daughter was Latin American but had perfect English. We chatted about school. Going to the loo Peter couldn't use the mens because a huge black Labrador was sleeping in the cool outbuilding.
That was it for our Copan experience. Great wee town.
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