Honduras Day 2 through Day 5

We got up bright and early on Friday morning to visit the ruins in Copan.  The site is not as large as Tikal and does not have huge pyramids. It is famous for having giant, intricately-carved statues called stelae, and is known as the cultural center of the Mayan civilization. The ruins are a very beautiful 1.5 km walk from town, which is really nice... no need to wait for buses and you can come and go as you please.

We spent the entire day at the site and I played the impromptu tour guide using our Lonely Planet guide book. Not as good as an actual guide, but way cheaper!

Rather than try to give my own description of Copan, check out this link for more details... http://www.copanruins.com/

It was Good Friday, which is the most important day during Semana Santa. We especially wanted to see the Easter carpets. The carpets are made from colored sawdust and flowers and illustrate images related to Easter.  Very cool.

We waited for a big procession or other event to happen in the square, but people mostly just wandered around looking at the carpet and eating street food. We people watched and had some more street food and then hit the sack. Wait... I almost forgot PONCHE. YUM. Before we went to bed, we bought two cups of stuff served from a bubbling pot that an old woman was stirring with a giant woodden spoon. We had no idea what we were getting, but we were sold after the first sip... delicious creamy cinnamony eggy goodness... like liquid flan.  Okay so back to the next day...On Saturday we were heading to some hot springs. We did not really know what to expect with the springs other than they were hot and near a big river.

On Saturday morning we walked around town asking where we could catch a bus to the springs. We got several different answers... there was no bus. The bus only came at 9:30 and the only way we could get there was in a cab for $30! Yeah right! The 10th person we asked finally gave us a straight answer and pointed us to the correct bus. The hour and a half ride up in to the mountains above Copan was incredible.... so green and lush. We had no idea we were heading that far into the hills.

The bus pulled up to the entrance of the springs and it looked like a public park on July 4th weekend in the states. Hundreds of people were bbq'ing and picnicking. There was a scum-filled pool teaming with little kids, and people were bobbing all over the place in the river below. Yikes. Not what we signed up for... the girl told us if we paid an extra $6 we could go to the spa. Spa!? Where do I sign up for that! We gladly paid the $6 and girl lead us through a manmade cave passage way that lead to more than 20 hot spring pools surrounded by tropical gardens, statues and waterfalls. Paradise... except it was Semana Santa and the place was packed... but still beautiful!

We found an empty spring and dipped our toes in... holy crap... hotness! We managed to sit in the boiling pool for a few minutes but decided to check out the river to cool off. Chris led me down a steep, slippery path to the river where I had to walk through some mosquito filled stagnant water to get to the flowing cool water, which, to his defense was refreshing. However as we were enjoying our dip, Chris noticed tiny black and white worms crawling on him. Christ! We have learned that often times small critters are much much more dangerous than big ones. I imagined the squirming things making there way through my skin, causing me to contract some horrible tropical disease.  Well, we knew one way to kill the worms, burn them in hot water. We immediately headed back to the boiling cauldron!

After our worm trauma, the day was much more peaceful. The pools ranged in temperature from very hot to very cold. They had a hot waterfall for massaging shoulders and backs, a pool filled with river rocks to massage feet, and my favorite, the mud bath.

The place was so amazing! I would love to come back for vacation when we're not on a budget. Apparently you can visit the springs at night and the place is lit up with candles. You can also get massages and facials at the spa. Ahhhhh.

Completely relaxed and worm free, we caught a bus back to town... this mini bus was so crammed full of people it was hilarious. I had a 13-year old kid basically sitting in my lap!  The ride was still beautiful.

Since we couldn't make it to El Salvador on this trip, we had to get our papusa fix in Honduras. There were actually two papusarias next door to one another in Copan, so we had options. We hoped we picked the right one. Fortunately we did.

Papusas are made with thick corn tortillas and filled with a variety of ingredients. The papusas we had were served with pickled beets, carrots and cabbage. I don't really like beets, but man, was that a winning combo!

We stuffed ourselves silly on the El Salvadorian hot pockets and took a spin around town. Copan is very charming... cobble stone streets, brightly colored buildings with red tiled roofs... we were happy to have spent Semana Santa in such a special place. Oh, yeah, we had more PONCHE!!!

Sunday was Easter. I planned on attending Easter Sunday mass that morning. Really I wanted to go. Chris and I got up super early had a pancake breakfast and then, dressed in my finest clothes, I headed to 10 a.m. mass but.... the church was closed! Yes, closed on Easter Sunday. People continued to gather outside the church. Chris waited with me until about 10:45 when I finally called it quits. Totally bizarre! So instead of going to church we decided to pay an 18-year old $20 to take us to a hidden waterfall up in the hills in a nearby village. Apparently you needed a local guide, as tourists who had ventured there in the past had been attacked... not mugged... attacked.  Yikes.

So our little buddy met us at our hotel and then the three of us took a bus to his village. He was wearing a polo shirt, nice jeans, and dress shoes... looked like he was going to a club... but he told us this is what he'd be hiking in!

We were looking forward to jumping off some cliffs, swimming under a waterfall and playing in the river. What we didn't take into consideration was the recent rain storms, which had turned the water in the river light brown. ewww.

There were about 20 young guys at the falls. I was the only female. I wasn't too comfortable parading around in my bathing suit or jumping off the 70 foot cliff into the churning brown pool of water below! I watched as Chris and the kids lept off the towering rocks.

After tempting fate for a couple hours, we hiked back down and caught a bus back to Copan. Chris had volunteered to try once again to go to Sunday mass with me. This time the church was actually open. The mass was obviously all in Spanish, which was good practice for us. Unfortunately, the homily went on for an hour! Old ladies were sound asleep, kids were playig bejeweled on cell phones. I wanted to weep from boredom. Catholic guilt generally prevents me from leaving mass early, but I couldn't take it. Chris and I finally got up and left.

As we were walking to a nearby restaurant after our escape from church, an American guy, who we recognized as a fellow sinner who had skirted out of church early, approached us. He couldn't believe how long the mass was either. He was a surgeon from Conneticut. He joined us for dinner, again, another reason I love traveling. How often in the States do you meet a stranger on the street and invite him to dinner? Fabulous. We said our goodbyes to our new friend and went to bed in preparation for our next adventure to a new country: Guatemala!