Our 4am shuttle arrived early, and we were scrambling to get ready in a daze. We bid farewell to our lovely house-mom, who was an awesome cook despite never really cooking enough, and took great care of us. We also felt sorta bad as we took over their master bedroom for the whole time we were here! They were sleeping in the maid’s room for some strange reason…
Anyways, off on the shuttle we were along with one of our house mates who was traveling with us. For the next 6hrs being cramped and uncomfortable we arrived at the Honduras border. A bit more ‘formal’ than the Guatemalan border we entered from last time, but there was no shortage of people with wads of cash asking if we wanted to exchange money. And also, the entrance ‘tax’ to enter into Honduras is listed in $USD. I really wonder how much $USD currency is circulating and used by other governments?
At the border, we were joined by two of our house mates’ friends who decided at midnight to tag along to the Bay Islands with her. They somehow managed to find a travel agent willing to work at midnight (this is Central America!), and sorted out everything for them to leave at another 4am shuttle. So now, we were traveling with our house-mate who is a retired Korean lady living in the US. Her two friends are mid 30s, from Turkey, one of which is a doctor while the other is an engineer, and are ‘partners’. It was a strange combo, but it was quite entertaining.
The Copan ruins is situated in the city with the same name, and its claim to fame are some intricate carvings, which was explained to us in great detail by our guide, who worked on-site with foreign archaeologists as they worked on the ruins back in the 60s-70s! A significant part of the ruins was actually destroyed by a river which swelled right down the side of the ruins, and as part of the excavation the archaeologists had to divert the flow of a river… And along with some interesting glyphs, and the lack of tourists, it really made the ruins quite an experience.
Back in town, despite its small size, Copan the city has a LOT of hotels, and some pretty interesting restaurants. We chanced upon a pretty awesome restaurant for lunch which fell into the ‘healthy, friendly, and fun’ theme. For dinner, nobody would have guessed but we found a German brewery/restaurant…. IN A SMALL TOWN IN HONDURAS?!?! The owner was German and imports everything from back home, but brews everything himself. And by the taste of it, he does a fine job indeed! His meals were pretty awesome too!! We had a few pints and a lot of laughs over dinner with our eclectic mix of travelers.
Talking with two LGBT Turkish guys, a retired American over pints of microbrewery in a town of Mayan ruins off the border of Honduras. In this age of globalization, things are rather interesting!
Join us as we set sail around South America 