Friday, Feb. 13th posting from Copan Ruinas

Hey, all,

We have had a couple of very busy days that I will try to catch you up on. Yesterday we left Teguz before dawn to catch a 5:30 a.m. bus to the town of Copan Ruinas which is near the Guatemalan border. The bus was plenty modern and comfortable and airconditioned but we just collapsed and slept for most of the first couple of hours )after eating the cookies and juice that they passed out to the passengers!) Luckily, the bus had curtains so we were able to avoid the blazing rising sun until we were ready. Then we could enjoy the magnificent scenery passing by, beautiful mountains, grazing cattle, small villages and normally the route was along one of the river valleys cutting through the variouys mountain ranges. There were several areas of road construction and one way traffic due to washouts that had occurred last fall during some very heavy rains.

We arrived in San Pedro Sula mid morning and waited half an hour to catch the bus to Copan Ruinas, exactly enough time for Maria and Britta to track down a couple of cafes con leche. Pam had made sandwiches for lunch so we were totally fortified for the next round of cookies and juice on the next bus. The next leg of the journey was also wonderfully scenic with one beautiful mountain vista or river valley after another. We arrived in Copan Ruinas by 2:00 and found a friendly cab driver who threw all our luggage in the back of his pick up and we bounced into town and to our lovely accommodations at the Casa de Cafe. After a few minutes of throwing cold water on our faces and reviving ourselves after several hours on the bus, we headed into the main plaza of Copan to enjoy the fresh air and sights. More coffee on the Plaza and some window shopping and stretching our legs was great.

We then returned to the hotel for some relaxation, showers and wine on the terrace and enjoyed the dramatic sunset as it dipped below the multiple layers of mountains in front of our rooms. We had dinner at the Lamma del Bosque, and ordered typical Honduran food which consisted of a number of dishes including tortilla chips and refried beans, avocado and salsa, rice, Honduran cheese (kind of like feta) and then a selection of grilled beef, chicken and chorizo. All delicious but so much food!

The evening stroll back to the hotel was delightfully breezy and mild. The nighttime noises of tropical birds, roosters, and dogs were noticed by Judy and Maria but Pam and Britta missed the entire nighttime symphony.

Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the terrace of fresh squeezed OJ, strong Honduran coffee, eggs, toast and gorgeous fruits. Then Maria and Judy headed out on foot and sent a taxi to collect Pam and Britta and we met up at the site of the ruins. Totally amazing. Our tour guide, Modesto, did an excellent job giving us lots of information and history about the Mayan civilization that occupied the site for several hundred years. Incredible arqueologic structures and art and statues. The size and scope of the area was tremendous and only represents about 75% of the total zone. Since the structures are all better preserved remaining unexcavated, there is no big impetus to uncover everything and they are doing so via underground tunnels rather than from the top down.

We also spent time at a really good museum that holds many pieces of the excavated treasures. By mid-day the sun was fierce so our friendly taxi driver, Daniel, took Brittta and Pam back to the hotel and then tood Judy and Maria to the Bird Park for a quiet, shady afternoon. We all agreed that Britta deserves 3 margaritas tonight for her efforts and stamina climbing the Mayan pyramids and walking through the massive open areas of the ruins.

Judy and Maria spent the afternoon in the cool shade and breezes of the bird park where they had hundreds of incredibly colored macaws, toucans and beautiful natural plantings and flowers all along a lovely river (creek) bed. When our tour guide, Kelvin; brought us to the hands-on area and deposited several very large and surprisingly heavy toucans and macaws on our arms and shoulders, the one named Mitzy promptly began to bite several holes in Maria´s shirt. Thank god it was one of the clearance T-shirts I had brought along!! But lots of fun and it makes for a good story afterwards even though I was fairly alarmed at the time and could do nothing to stop it as my shoulders and arms were covered with these huge birds. I will post photos as I am able.

Enough for now! Back to vacation and fun. Love to all my loved ones.... Maria