Money changers.

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Copan Las ruinas, 28 febrero.
This border crossing called Agua Caliente, might be in the middle of no-where but it's a busy place with Indio women carrying huge packs on their backs full with handicrafts they probably hope to sell at Copan. Their inevitable babies tied to the top of their loads, their menfolk most likely back at the home village getting themselves drunk in the village bars.
We're surrounded by money changers, all of them vying for our attention, their hands clasped around huge wads of currency, Quetzales, american Dollars and local honduran money called Lempira.
The banks only offer you 2 lempira for one dollar but they'll give us 4.50 lempira as they willingly tell us.
James is trying hard to get the unofficial black market exchange rate even higher but I can't be bothered and change 200 american green backs.
It's only 12 km. to Copan on a sandy unpaved track, still muddy from last night's rain. We've decided to walk and putting my backpack on my back, dragging a hard bargaining James along followed by several of the money changers who try hard to convince James 4.50 to the dollar really is a good bargain.
We're in the company of Peter, a tall skinny bloke from Canada, dressed in dirty blue jeans and sweaty T-shirt, long unkempt blond hair and a hook nose that gives his face the appaerance of the vultures that circle overhead.
His afro-american girlfrined is quite the opposite, dressed in a long white dress with a deep cleavage and beautiful long raven black hair.
We met them in a bar in Ocotepeque where we had to wait for our conexion to Agua Caliente.
I first thought Peter to be an alcoholic but when I listen to him talk, a heavy smell of stale beer on his breath, out here surrounded by Palo verde bushes, mesquite blowing across the dusty road and Ceiba trees lining the arroyo next to the road, about the Magic Mushrooms and Peyote buds he claims to carry in his bulky backpack I realise he's actually a complete dopehead.
James picked up the Magic Mushroom and Peyote part and hurries over giving up trying to charm Nora.
He's been trying to get his hands on Magic Mushrooms and Peyote ever since our little visit to that crazy trailer park back in Mexico, at Palenque.
I start to get a strong suspicion we're up to some heavy dope invested nights at Copan.

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