Blogs from Western, Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 29

Not bad for a first day. Actually, the good fortune began before we even got to Guate. Marla and got our seats upgrated to first class. Flight was bumpy as hell though. We got to Guate at about 5am but the rental car place did not open till 6, so we had to sit around and wait for an hour. We finally got our car and the adventure began. Those of you who have travelled anywhere with me know that i have the worst sense of direction in the entire world. I get turned around in my own neighborhood! The trick was getting out of the city, from there it was to be smooth sailing. It took us about 2 hours to actually find the internatial road to Honduras. It happened to us twice today that ... read more

This morning we went to the Mayan ruins of Copan. It was neat. It made me sad to see all of the Idols and the false god worship that had shaped this society. I guess society is similar even today, but our idols look different. After we finished our tour we went for lunch in town (yeah we finally got to pick our own meals. Most of us picked hamburgers or something else American!) Then we spent a little time shopping and began the journey back to San Pedro. There we got the opportunity to look at the land for Louisa. It was less desirable to us that we had hoped. The land is very steep and hard to get to even in a truck. Louisa is going blind, so this may not be the best ... read more

In January I wouldn´t have imagined going in the Copàn River...just didn´t seem like the healthiest thing in the world to do. But on a HOT Honduran afternoon anything related to water sounds good! We were up-stream from the green water coming in from town (I didn´t even need to ask what that was), and we were down-stream from the cow crossing... but I haven´t grown a third arm or eye or anything like that, so I deam the rivers SAFE! The current was pretty strong, so we made our way to a deeper part and let the current carry us down. Fun and thrilling (but I´m easily entertained!). On this first trip I wore my swimsuit, but I´ve found that most people either bath with all their clothes on or naked (though that´s mostly the ... read more

In a few weeks I'll be celebrating my "Six-month Marker" here in Honduras. It seems crazy that I've already spent that much time here! A lot of things are a bit easier for me now than back in January. The language has improved a lot; I know where things are in town; and I feel like I have a home here. BUT - there are some things that are just beginning to become a problem. I would do anything for homemade blueberry pancakes and sausage! Or just one farm-hearty, meat and potatoes meal! Or a Sherman's ice-cream cone! I've never cared so much about food in my life! But, looking back (and forward), it's all worth it. My host family has been tons of fun and I'm getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be here. Some ... read more

Manoli decided she wanted to try the Copan Canopy Tour (zip lines), so before we left for the ruins, we paid our $35.00 fees. Lisa arranged for a guide to the Copan ruins. We all left the hotel and walked to the ruins, about 15 mins away. Copan ruins were very impressive, especially the stellae or statue columns and the hieroglyphic (sp) stairway. We spent about 3 hours wandering thru the various parts. The buildings are not nearly as impressive as I think the others we'll see later, but the details on the stellae and the extra information provided by our ruins guide made it very worthwhile. When we first entered, we were surprised by several macaws flying around and a couple of rodent-like creatures called agupes I think, just wandering around. At the ticket ... read more