Copan, Honduras

Copan is wonderful. We love it here and is probably why we've stayed 5 days instead of the 2 we had planned. The town is actually called Copan Ruinas and the ruins are just called Copan, only a little confusing. Copan is in the mountains, with very steep cobbled stone streets, men in cowboy hats and a very relaxed vibe. It is exactly what we needed after Utila. It's been really cold though, having to wear pants and sweaters. The sun has finally come out today.

The night we arrived we went to a restaurant where the waitresses carried drinks and beer bottles on top of their heads. The next day we layed low, slept in, watched TV, emerged in time for lunch after long hot showers, went back to the hotel then emerged for dinner. The food is reasonably priced and very good. I think we've both put on a few pounds since we've been here. The next day we slept in again but took a tuk tuk to the butterfly farm. We got to see their life cycle, from egg to larva to pupa to butterfly. We spent time in the garden where they flew all around us. That night we went for dinner at Restaurant Elisa, how nice of them to name it after me. Most of the dishes here are served with a side of pickled vegetables, I think they just call is Chile. There's carrots, cauliflower, onions and jalapenos. It's so interesting to see what the regions unique food is. I'm still longing for the oranges from Guatemala, they would peel just the rind off, cut them in half and put salt and a spice called pepita on it. So good!

Tuesday we finally made it to the Ruins. They were beautiful. Only a fraction of the size of Tikal, it has some of the best preserve stelae and hieroglyphics in the Mayan realm. It was just amazing that the art survived over 1200 years. There was a stairway of something like 70 steps made up of over 2200 blocks and each of them had an inscription. It's the longest Mayan text ever found. After the ruins we went to the Macaw Bird Sanctuary, where they take in rescued and unwated parrots, birds, hawks and owls. We saw many different types of parrots, tucans, mot mots, hawks and a pigme owl. We even got our pictures taken holding the huge Scarlet Macaws. We had a wonderful lunch at their restaurant then took a tuk tuk home.

Wednesday we took a tour to Finca de Cisne, a coffee and cattle farm up in the mountains. Carlos came to pick us up in town, he and his family own the property, it was so big it had it's own little town. Carlos has just decided that he's going to plant Cacao and make fine chocolate. We got to help him plant some trees and vowed to come back one day to check on them. After a quick coffee up at the main house, we got on horses and had a couple of hours of riding through the fields, rivers and forests. We saw the construction on a turbine that Carlos and his family have invested in, coffee fields, a field full of pregnant mares, a brand new hour old baby cow, ate fresh star fruit off the tree and just had a great time. Unfortunately, my horse was rather bouncy and I have a sore rear end today. After horse riding we had an amazing lunch, with home grown watercress salad, tarot root, potatoes, beef and a bunch of other things. Then an amazing banana desert with fresh grown cardamon, surgar and cinnamon. Carlos grows cardamon too. We got to see his coffee refining process, from the soaking, peeling, drying and roasting stages. Carlos has some coffee fields even higher in the mountains and with all the rain, he hadn't been able to get his coffee out and it was piling up. He asked if we wanted to go along for a ride and we said of course. What a crazy trip. We were in a 4x4 pick up truck going up very steep muddy slippery skinny roads that had cliffs on one side. A truck ahead of us got stuck a few times and Carlos had to get out and help. It was good to see the boss wasn't afraid to get dirty. After about an hour of trucks getting stuck in the mud and fixing the trucks that broke down, we finally made it to the top. The little town was called Agua Buena Arriba. There the coffee was layed out on a concrete platform. Ian and I helped bag it and load it into the trucks. I am never going to look at coffee the same again. So much work goes into the process . After almost making mud donuts and sliding sideways on the way down, Carlos took us to the Hot Springs. By this time it was dark and to thank us for our help, he treated us to the private spa, which was a series of pools connected by little waterfalls, the top one being the hottest then cooling off on the way down. They brought us a candle and we had a private bathe in the natural hot water. Sooooo gooooooood after a loooooooong day.

Today we are just bumming around town. Ian's had a cold so we're taking it easy as he recovers. Although not too easy. Since it's been so cold we've indulging in red wine cause normally it's too hot to drink the stuff. Tonight we're getting some fresh baked bread we ordered yesterday, cheese, tomatoes and avocados and a couple bottles of wine to celebrate our last night in Copan. Tomorrow we head to San Pedro Sula then the long long bus ride to Tegucigalpa then into Nicaragua. That will probably be a few days travel. I'm really excited to get into Nicaragua, I've heard so many great things. Plus, that's where we start to surf!