Mayan ruins and more....

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Here we are... loving Honduras. Ok.... that 5 hour transfer shuttle from Antigua turned out to be 7 hours!! Actually, I can´t even remember where the figure of 5 hours came from... maybe I just came up with that number. Anyway... we made it. A full shuttle with 13 people... and a beautiful drive east. I think that I am the only one who was awake the entire trip!! Sun was coming up by 0600, and the views were great. Once past the outskirts of Guatemala City it was stunning greenery all the way. The road was packed with a constant stream of traffic. After a couple of mandatory pitstops and the border crossing.... we were checking into the Hotel Marina Copan in time for lunch. Kids were gagging for the pool... so lunch was a very quick event. Can´t blame them though... as it sure is bloody hot midday. We loved this place immediately.

Hotel is lovely... central.... and does come with the great pool. One needs that here to escape the midday burn. Both yesterday and today have provided us with afternoon thundershowers (typical this time of year)... which therefore result in Tordes grabbing the kids from the pool at the first sign of lightning.... even if it is about 50km away over the mountains. She now has Luca freaked that lightning is bad... and he gets spooked at the slightest flash in the distance. I love the town... so small.... pedestrian friendly... local men wandering about with their cowboy hats... little shops that look like ration stores... plenty of places to eat... and all surrounded by a lush, green and mountainous landscape. I would have been mad if we had only 1 or 2 nights here as some had suggested to me. Well, I must admit... having a suite in the hotel helps. We have our own room!!! Yes... no sharing a room... or a bed... with the kids for three nights. Of course they are delighted too... but for entirely different reasons. Hell, it is Tordes´s birthday afterall. Plasma tv´s, a big comfy bed... and a/c. Normally it is lights out for all at around 8 or 9.... but now our nights can last a little longer. At least our hostel days are just memories.

Got up early today to visit the Mayan ruins with a local guide. Can´t imagine have wandered around on our own with a guidebook. Forget it. Spent about 2 hours exploring the amazing ruins. So massive... so lush. I have had little exposure to Mayan sites... thought Tordes has visited several in Mexico. It was better than I had hoped. Kids entertained themselves for a good hour with ´inchy´ the inchworm that Luca and I found when he stopped to pee behind part of the ruins. Hell, they loved the critters more than anything else. Not as though they care about who built what and when... and who was the king who did this and built that. They loved the macaws, centipedes, frogs, spiders, and ´inchy´. Man, there were dozens of these caterpillars by the museum about 6 inches long!! Anyway... great day. Back for lunch and a swim... followed by failed attempts to use the internet.... a stroll to the market in the afternoon rain... another dip in the pool.... pizza for Tordes´s 40th... and then bed! Well, except for me of course. Tomorrow we are going to a butterfly place and the Macaw bird sanctuary for rescued and retrieved tropical birds. Oh yeah... don´t read this part mom.... but we are then taking the kids on a canopy tour. Yes... a zip-line over the forest. Well, we have not done this yet... so I will update you on the success rate later.

The kids love it here... they handle the heat well... are liking the food (though it helps that one can always find burgers / pizza / chicken / and American style Mexican food. Food is cheap... and you don´t need any transport here in Copan as you can walk everywhere. Tordes is beating us all hands down in the bug bite competition. I have a couple... as does Luca. Riel, well she has quite a few. But as usual, Tordes seems to provide a buffet for the entire insect population of wherever we visit. My few bites came while brushing through grass to get photos of the massive insects (the things we do for kids... damn those ants). Tordes.. she just has to step out of the hotel and then she starts counting them as they attack. As we walked around Copan all I could hear was ´damn, there´s another´. Then she would start counting the new bites... to hell with the ones from yesterday. I stopped listening at about 21. Aaah, the joys of travel.

I must go... as it is the final few hours of the birthday girls big day. She already gets upset when i escape for this ´quiet time´ as she calls it. I will add photos later... as the connection is terrible here. One constantly loses everything they type. After tomorrow we head up to the north coast... onto the beach at Tela.

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Comments

[Diana]

What did he tell me not to read??
Errr - zip line - solo or tandem? This is not an episode from the Amazing Race you know - remember you are travelling around with my two grandchildren - hope you took a movie. Don't get cheeky sonny - just remember who gave you the 'travelbug' genes in the beginning!