Ruined in Honduras

May 14 - May 19, 2008

Honduras: Copan Ruins, Tegucigalpa

One of the major reasons I wanted to come down to Guatemala was to understand the Mayan calendar and to visit some of the ancient ruins to feel the history firsthand. The first ruins I visited were the Copan Ruins in Honduras, noted especially for the quality of Mayan Glyphs. After having purchased a book to help me understand the symbols, I sat among the beautiful ruins on a sweltering day and attempted to decipher some of the ancient dates encoded in the stone carvings... without much success, I might add.

As I initially rolled into Honduras, my first concern was money. I didn't have any local currency and the bank machines would not accept my card. Luckily I was able to exchange a few American dollars at a local bank, although I only had enough to last a couple of days. There was also a power outage and a transportation strike that was causing some turmoil in the vicinity, and the local coin-operated pay phone was broken so I had no easy way to get hold of a friend I had earlier met in Guatemala. Sometimes, everything gets better with a local beer followed by some sleep, which proved to be true in this case. The following day the bank machines mysteriously decided to work, the road strikes ceased, the power returned, and I was able to get hold of my friend Elly who convinced me to come to the capitol city for a few days!

The capitol, Tegucigulpa, was initially almost impossible for me to pronounce or spell. Gratefully, I was hosted by Elly's family and managed to see a fair bit of the city's day- and night-life with a bunch of her friends. After staying a couple of days I was off to take my diving certification on Utila, one of the Honduran Bay Islands famous for cheap underwater diving!

Copan Ruins, Honduras. View across one of the lower courtyards next to the ball court.

Copan Ruins, Honduras. View from top of the large wall and down onto the grounds below.

Copan Ruins, Honduras. Walking like a Mayan just doesn't have quite the same ring as walking like an egyptian. Ok, I'm semi-retarded. Notice the mayan glyphs behind me.

Copan Ruins, Honduras. Big head!