COPAN RUINS, HONDURAS

I visted Copan Ruins for the weekend. It is quite a challenge going just for the weekend, especially when your transport breaks down and it takes hours to get there. But as they say "eso es la vida" or that's life. Two hours away from Copan our mini-bus needed repairs. Somehow we transferred to a large tour bus (standing room only) which took us to the large town of Chiquimula (the closest big town to Copan). We then transferred to a mini-van which stopped every where on the way to the border picking up and dropping off people and their possessions, including a "cheeping" box (chickens no doubt). Most of the men were wearing sombreros and jeans. La frontera/border was a relaxed affair. There were a few small offices opening onto a verandah. At the Guatemalan window, you paid 25 or however many Quetzals and if you are returning within 72 hours you get a piece of paper (?visa) for that period. At the Honduras window you pay U.S 3 dollars. Then we got onot a local mini bus and headed into town. I just had enough time to eat a quick lunch before the tuk-tuk arrived at the hotel to take me and others to Las Ruinas/The Ruins. A tuk-tuk is a 3-wheeled vehicle with a canopy and an engine like a sewing machine (or moped); the driver sits in front and it can take 3 passengers. Lisa, Mary and I were transported to the ruins quite comfortably. Here we met our guide Saul who was entertaining and informative. he shared his love of Mayan history and of Copan especially, with us. I think it was really helpful having a guide as it brought the place to life. Copan was tranquil (afternoon) with not many visitors and thankfully vendors do not come inside. We visited the Acropolis which is overlooked by a wind god resembling neptune. Above him were sculptures of conches. Allegedly the Maya flooded the plaza in summer and it resembled a lake with the surrounding buildings resembling a mountain and volcano. We looked at the view of the Royal residences which have been excavated recently. There are large areas of the site still waiting to be excavated. Some of the mounds of earth and trees in and between the buildings remain, giving it that feeling to the traveller of having stumbled upon a lost city. We entered the court of the Jaguars. It is overlooked by a pair of dancing jaguars and legend has it that real jaguars protected the city. Walking on, and from a height, we looked down at the main plaza which contained the hieroglyphic staircase. This is a magnificent staircase of a temple and it contains (I think) a record of the rulers of Copan. Also in the main plaza were some exquisitely carved stelae showing past rulers. Some of these are original, others are replicas of those in museums.
At 5 p.m the area was bathed in gentle sunlight. as we left the ruins we admired the several scarlet macaws that have taken up residence there (normally live in the jungles of the Mosquito coast, Honduras and elsewhere in central and south america).