From Guatemala to Honduras
In one day we made the 400 Km. trip from Quetzeltenango, Guatemala to Antigua and then on to Copan, Honduras by way of a shuttle bus. The ride was boring – sometimes the roads were good. That means not bumpy or full of pot holes and not riding on steep winding roads. I guess the roads were bumpy enough, as my bag and one other continued to fall off the roof of the minivan. Finally one of the other travelers offered up a piece of rope so the driver had enough to adequately secure all of the bags.
One of our general rules is to not get into a town after dark but on this trip we weren´t able to accomplish this as we thought/were told the second leg of the trip was 4 or 5 hours and it was 7+. The good news is that the trip through the border couldn´t have been easier.
Upon arrival in Copan or Copan Ruinas, a town of about 6,000, the bus driver kindly dropped us off in front of a hotel (likely a friend or connection?) which just happened to have rooms and they had a restaurant of sorts. As soon as our minibus slowed down, about 5 members of the hotel family were offering us a room and boasting the wonderful accomodations, hot showers, hammocks, etc. Tired from a day of travel and not being familiar with the town, we were pleased for the offer, and at a price of $15.00. That is until Kevin was sound asleep and I couldn´t sleep because it sounded like street traffic was coming right through our room. Exhausted from not sleeping, by morning I couldn´t wait to hop into the shower. It was warm for about 5 seconds and then turned ice-cold. We found a new hotel.
Copan Ruins
Not having heard much from fellow travelers about these Mayan Ruins, we weren´t expecting to be awed. Most of this Mayan city has not been excavated but what is there is spectacular. The beautiful hieroglyphics and estrellas are amazing. Here are a few photos to whet your appetite for this ancient site.
The rest of our short visit to Honduras was quite an adventure and is worthy of a separate post. Stay tuned.