Copan Ruinas

We crossed into Honduras at the eerily quiet border-crossing of El Poy. After paying 40 usd to bring the car in and showing our passports to the El Salvador officials who told us that the Honduras immigration guys were at lunch but to go on through, we were into Honduras.

We drove through the mountains and ranches to Gracias, Copan. Exhausted we enjoyed a business-traveler’s hotel and slept for a long time. In the morning we headed towards Copan Ruinas, with a stop at the hot springs near Gracias. They were warm springs and it was Sunday. This meant it was rather busy. In particular it was patronized by two little kids who loved to cannon-ball people. They got us, then set their sights on a group of three grandmother-aged women. We left quickly and headed to Copan Ruinas.

We stayed at Brisas de Copan the first night. A great little bargain of a hotel, one block from the square, with a little parking area, hot water showers, nice staff, and spotlessly clean. For 20 usd it was unbeatable, especially compared to the other 5 rooms we looked at around town.

The next morning we walked to the ruins. They are not large like other well known Mayan sites, but they are peaceful and picturesque, especially since we had them nearly to ourselves to explore.

Dave imitates Mayan sculpture surprisingly well.

That afternoon we got intouch with Dona Flavia. In addition to being the proprietress of the enchanted Hacienda San Lucas on hill above the valley, she is also the future-mother-in-law of the dear Sara Maunder, a friend from GGU. Sara put us in touch with Flavia. I can’t think of a better in-law pair; both are generous-of-spirit, vivacious, and simply lovely individuals. Flavia was the most gracious of hostesses and treated us like family.

Flavia invited us to dinner and to experience an evening up at the hacienda. It is a unique jewel of a place. On the land is Los Sapos, a small site that is part of the larger system of ruins throughout the valley. We enjoyed a late-afternoon, bird-song filled, walk to Los Sapos, and spotted a few birds along the way.

The evening at the Hacienda was illuminated with candle-light, further adding to the beauty and peacefulness. We had a macadamia-corn soup that was the most delicious dish we’ve eaten on the trip. It was creamy in consistency, but light on the palate, with finely ground macadamia nuts waiting on the bottom. The entire meal was delicious. For dinner we sat with a family from San Francisco. By total coincidence the dad works with Paul, Flavia’s son/ Sara’s fiancé, in San Francisco. The mom and dad were visiting Raphael, their son, who has been working in Trujillo for nearly two years as a Peace Corp volunteer. Their company was equal in quality with the meal.

Morning at Hacienda San Lucas


The next morning we enjoyed breakfast before walking back into town for the car. From there we were back on the road to San Pedro Sula to pick up Mom from the airport. It was an uneventful drive, except for the cattle drive in the road. Our original plan was to just wait for it to pass us, but a minibus came along and showed us how to handle it Honduras-style.