Blogs from Copán Ruinas, Western, Honduras, Central America Caribbean

Dear Blog Readers, The alarm was set and we groggily made it to the Tica Bus terminal at 4am in Managua which was two minutes from the sketchy hostel that we stayed at in the even sketchier area that it resided. Tica Bus is probably the most famous long distance bus journey carrier in Central America and it gets you between large cities from different countries and the higher price is paid in comfort and convenience. Our 13 hour journey took us north through the highlands of Nicaragua and a stop at the border. The Lonely Planet tells you that the C4 agreement between Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador means that passing between these countries is free. Be warned, this is not always the case! The Nicaragua-Honduras border costs $6 to get through but the ... read more

Hola todo el mundo. We found ourselves in a quaint little city called Copan Ruinas. And guess what? There were Mayan ruins called Copan Ruinas in the vicinity. What makes Copan so special from the other ruins that we have seen so far is that many of the carving details have been well preserved. This means that the symbols on the stelae (standing stones) tell the full story of the past leaders or kings. Even some of the paint is still intact. There were some cool names like The Temple of the Underworld and The Cemetery. The Cemetery was not even a cemetery, the Spanish just called it that due to the fact that they found skeletons underneath the brick-walled homes. The Mayans actually buried their ancestors under their homes, you know, to keep them nice ... read more

Over winter break, I took a trip to Copán, Honduras, and Antigua, Guatemala. I was travelling with my friend, her two kids- one 2 years older than me and 1 in middle school, and her other friend. Copán is famous for its amazing Mayan ruins, or the Copán Ruinas. Antigua is known for being an amazing little town that’s surrounded by volcanoes. We did the whole trip using the Hedman Alas bus system, which meant that we took the route of La Ceiba-San Pedro Sula- Copán- Guatemala City- Antigua and then back again, stopping over in Copán. Note: the following blog comes from a day-by-day journal I kept during the trip, just to give you some perspective. Day 1: We left Roatan early in the morning on the ferry. It was a very calm ferry ride, ... read more

We expected to be picked up for the 45 minute drive from Copan Ruinas to Finca El Cisne, the coffee plantation we would be staying on for the next 2 days, in a pick up truck, which was a little concerning considering the light rain that was falling. So when a mini van arrived, we thought this is good, at least we will stay dry. That thought dissipated very quickly when we were sliding precariously along extremely muddy, steep roads not far from town. Alex was a very skilled driver but when your van with no seatbelts, full of 4 Australians, 3 Americans, 2 French Canadians and 2 Hondurans is sliding sideways, just inches from the edge of a very steep embankment, you start to get very nervous. There were several times where we called out ... read more