Bienvenido a Copan Ruinas....

Welcome to Copan Ruinas…..That was the first sign I saw as we entered the limits of the town. That was about three hours ago. It’s now 8:30pm (its one hour behind here) and I’m in bed in what is to be home for the next three weeks. It was a long day getting here. Here is a picture I took out of the aircraft window…my first visual of Honduras.

It is such a green country made so obvious by the bird’s eye view as we flew over. The mountains are spectacular and palm trees abound. I got to see some of the villages as our aircraft got low and I could already see the poverty experienced by so many here. Our flight was a little late landing. Sleeping Beauty hadn't bothered to fill in his landing and immigration card so started to try to do it as I was waiting to get out of the from the window seat. I think he took the hint when I stood up with bags in hand.

Marel was there to meet me as promised along with his lovely wife and their two adorable kids. It was a fun ride back..if fun is the correct word. Basically think of every rule of the road as we know it and then throw each one completely out of the window. Quite simply there are no rules here when it comes to driving. Combine this with the fact that everyone who gets behind the wheel loses all patience well then maybe you get the picture.

It’s about a three and a half hour ride but the traffic was horrific getting out of the city so that slowed us down a little. We stopped part way for a snack and I tried something that Marel likened to banana bread. It was much moister and needed to be eaten with a spoon. Wow it was good….sign me up for more of those.  As we zipped up the mountains getting closer to Copan and careened around hairpin bends I could hear my dad telling me to make sure I insisted that he (Marel) drove carefully. Well we made it here in one piece is all I can say!

We arrived in Copan at dusk so I didn’t get to see much. From what I did see I knew I was going to like it. Cobbled streets, steep hills and men wearing sombrero’s clip clopping on horses along the street on horseback. Arriving at the home of my host family, Sara and Ernesto Vega, I was also met by Ellen Finn of Project School Supplies. It was so nice to finally meet her after months of emails. I was shown to my room which was clean and comfortable. I have my own bathroom off my room. It’s hard to describe the setup of the house. The student rooms (they can accommodate several students) are located off of an open breeze way. There is also a nice veranda on the second level which will be nice as a place to sit and study. We sat around the dinner table with another student from Quebec City, Julian. He speaks little English and as my French is virtually non-existent Spanish is the language of choice. Julian is in his mid 50’s and is on his travels for two months. He leaves tomorrow for Santa Rosa, a nearby town then is working his way through Central America to Costa Rica where he flies home in March. I settled down to my first dinner of tortillas, scrambled egg with red onion, fried plantains and black beans. All delicious and I was hungrier that I thought.  Sara and Ernesto speak virtually no English and all of the conversation was in Spanish. As tired as I was, Sara corrected me a few times. I don’t think she will let me get away with any poor grammar which is why I am here.

It was a fairly early night for me as I was exhausted. I unpacked then went straight to bed with only a little time to start this blog. Some pictures of my room.....

Day 2….Climb every mountain…..

I slept like a log and awoke at 5am to the sound of the cockerels. I snoozed again and was up at 7am. After a quick shower and breakfast (toast, bananas and oranges), Julian took me over to Ellen’s which is just a few minutes away. I was tagging along with Ellen for a trip up the mountain to visit the Ramirez children, Maria, Isaiah and Alex. Ellen has somewhat adopted them. They are three children that were orphaned about 4 years ago when their grandmother died. They have struggled to get by but with a little help from Ellen’s fundraising efforts, she was able to build them a new house about two years ago. We took a tuk tuk (taxi) up the side of a mountain to reach their house which is on the edge of a small village. 

View part way up the mountain (excuse the quality)..

Ellen and Isaiah told me the name but I forget it now. We went with another lady Anna and a student Reign also from Canada. Ellen had baked a chocolate cake for Isaiah as it is his 19^th birthday today. The dirt road to their village is, they tell me, in good repair, but I thought it was rough. Many rocks and gulley’s where the water has eroded the road. The views though are magnificent. We were given a warm welcome and I can see why these now young adults have stolen Ellen’s heart. I played football with Isaiah (he lives for his football) and then we all went for a walk through the village. Isaiah proudly showed us his coffee plants which he is growing on the hillside above his house. After it was time for cake. I had brought them all a few gifts. Thanks so much to Sandy and her sister (you know who you are). They had put together some toiletry bags for men and women and filled them with soap, face cloths, hair stuff, toothbrushes etc. They were all excited but Maria especially was overwhelmed. When she saw the colourful hair things included her excitement was catching. It is also the first facecloth they have ever had.  I had also bought them some maple fudge and for the boys work gloves and Maria kitchen mitts so she wouldn’t burn her hands. She cooks over an open flame in one corner of the kitchen which is the second room of her two room house.

View from the Ramirez children's house....

The studio where Maria makes pottery and sells to tourists for $1.

                                                      

 Their house;

We returned to Copan by about 11:30am and after grabbing a few things I headed in to the centre of Copan to find Café San Rafael…which is where I am presently downing my second “Imperial” beer. The café is gorgeous and I'm sitting in the shade on the patio out of the sun (weather is stunning). It also has free Wi-Fi and I wanted to send a few emails to let everyone know I got here and to update the blog. I will leave here to take a stroll around Copan then head back to the house. There is a super bowl party tonight so I will make an appearance at “Jims Pizza”….not very Honduran sounding is it?

Cafe San Rafael;

Main street leading to the Square in Copan:

Anyway…that’s it for today.  My first impressions of Copan are very positive. Everyone has told me that that town is exceptionally safe even at night. The people here recognise the value that tourists have and work hard to maintain their traditions and the integrity and safety of their town. Once I am a little more familiar I will post some photos of the town.

Hasta manana….