Not many people are aware that the Mayan civilization reached as far south as Honduras. It really is Honduras's fault, because they have these amazing ruins and they don't really do anything to let people know about them. Too bad for Honduran tourism, awesome for people like you and me who can go see these amazing places with no crowds.
Friday morning-ish we headed out from San Pedro Sula. I was driving on the awesome Honduran highway and decided it would be fun to play "The Pot Hole Game". The way you play is: run through pot holes at high speeds. It's a lot of fun. Mom really enjoyed playing. After a few hours we reached the town of La Entrada. As we pulled into town, I won the pot hole game! For those of you still unfamiliar with the rules, that means I got a flat tire. Bent the wheel up pretty good. We didn't have a spare, but I was smart enough to get the flat right down the street from a tire shop. They didn't have any wheels, but they had a sledge hammer, and they were able to pound the rim back into shape, no problem. And it only cost Lps. 25...a little over a dollar. Heck yeah.
We hit the road again and reached Copan Ruinas after a couple hours. The incredibly hilly, cobblestone street town of Copan Ruinas. We hit the slopes in the heavily loaded (4 adults plus luggage) Mitsubishi Lancer, and I think we actually made it up one hill. The rest of them were a little too much for the awesome quality vehicle we had. That one hill was enough to get us to our hotel, though. We stayed at the Casa de Cafe. It was a great place. If you ever find yourself in Copan Ruinas, I recommend this place.
Saturday we hit the town. First stop: The Butterfly Garden. We got there early enough to see some butterflies emerge from their cocoons. Amazing. Then we walked around an enclosed garden with...30 species of butterflies, I think. I don't remember. It was beautiful. In the first picture, there is a butterfly on my mom's knee.
Next stop was Macaw Mountain. Cheesy name, really cool concept. It is a rehabilitation center/bird sanctuary for tropical birds. I am not even going to pretend to know how many species they have, ranging from parrots and toucans to owls and eagles. But they have a lot, and it was absolutely beautiful as well. In addition to being a bird sanctuary, it is also a coffee plantation, so we got to have some delicious coffee right off the plantation. And we got to eat a coffee...fruit...I guess. Whatever the beans come from. The fruit is actually really yummy, too! In these picture, the person who isn't either of my parents is my neighbor/coworker/friend/travel buddy Gabrielle.
That afternoon Mom, Dad, and I headed out for a canopy tour. Yes folks, my mother actually strapped on a little belt, hooked it onto a steel cable, and slid down kilometers of cable thousands of feet about the forest floor. And I think she giggled a little. If I can snag the video from her at Christmas I will post it for you skeptics who think I am lying.
The next morning we hit up the ruins. This is actually a HUGE site, but because it is in Honduras...it doesn't get a lot of attention from tourists or scholars. There is a lot of stuff that they are wanting to do, but they don't have the funds, which is a shame. Some really interesting things about this particular site:
They have the largest hieroglyphic stairwell in Mayan civilization. It is beautiful. Archaeologists believe it was a timeline at one point, almost like a story. But an earthquake knocked the stones out of place about a century ago, and the people just kind of threw the stones back on in random order. Apparently Harvard is slowly working on attempting to order the steps. Considering the staircase contains over 2500 stones and spans 17 rulers...it is quite a daunting task.
The city is built in layers, as is the case with many archaeological sites. Underneath this temple, there are at least two other temples that have been discovered. The top one is called Rosa Lila because its paint has remained almost perfectly preserved. All of the stone ruins that we see now used to be covered in colorful plaster and paint.
The Mayans are pretty well known for the astronomy/astrology skillz and their ability to use those skills to predict the future. In fact, the movie 2012 that is coming out this week is based on the Mayan prediction that the end of the world is coming in 2012. I never believed any of that crazy mumbo jumbo until I saw this statue of my dad. The similarity was a little unnerving at first, but now that I am over the initial shock I am able to start preparing for the end of the world. Only a couple years left, people. As you can see, the Mayans knew what they were talking about.
Mayan kings had some very interesting names. Like King Smoke Snail. King Smoke Monkey. King Smoke Shell. And King 18 Rabbit. Who says Mayans weren't mighty? 18 Rabbit was one of the most influential rulers of Copan. Or, at least he was the last one. So his name is everywhere, and his image is on everything. Obviously, he couldn't have been that great because the civilization ended with him. But, bless his heart, I'm sure he did the best he could. In homage of his late royal highness, here is a photo of the royal pavilion in the square with my father and (if you look closely, you can make out) Queen 18 Rabbit-ears Wendy.
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