Copan & La Ceiba, Honduras

Copan & La Ceiba, Honduras

The bus ride from Antigua, Guatemala to Copan, Honduras was pretty rough. It wasn’t until after getting through the boarder into Honduras and cruising the 11 km to Copan that the ride actually smoothed out. If the first 11 km in Honduras were pretty smooth, I really hoped the rest of the country was the same.

We arrived in Copan around 2 or 3 PM. It gave Elisia and I enough time to check in to our hostel, get some lunch, and head to the Copan Ruins. Going to the ruins in the final hours of operation worked out pretty well. The temperature started cooling off, which also was assisted by the shade. Also, there were not many people walking around, which gave me the chance to have some decent pictures without tons of bodies in the way. Overall, it was a pleasant visit and I even got to see some Scarlet Macaws.

The original plan was to try and leave the next day to La Ceiba, since the ruins and a walk around this tiny town was all we really came for. But, we found there to be no available vans heading that way until the next day and we didn’t feel like taking the long chicken bus. So, Elisia spent the next day getting some business work done while I headed off to a volcanic hot spring.

This was my first hot spring experience and I really enjoyed it. There were three others on this tour too, but I really connected with two older ladies who were really into the holistic living stuff. I’m also into this sort of thinking when it comes to body, mind, spirit related topics, so our conversations were superb. It’s really great hearing about the lives of others and taking in the advise of those who have already been where I’ve been. They gave a lot of insight for me to think about. It’s also interesting how certain people come into one’s life with a little insight just when you need it. This trip has left me with a lot of things to think about and many of the experiences I am having have presented themselves in a way to help with this process.

The bus to La Ceiba was a lit better, but Honduras sure has a lot of potholes and speed bumps everywhere. Seems to be a thing in Central America. After I arrived at my hostel, I said my goodbyes to Elisia. She headed to the islands for some sun and beach time while I stayed back to do some whitewater rafting the next day.

There were four of us on the rafting trip, which worked out great because the rafts were only big enough for two, plus the guide. We started out with swimming up the river and practicing some safety things before going down the river. The actual rafting was only about an hour, but I still enjoyed my time. At the end we got to do some jumping off a rock into the water. With the weather being as hot as it was, it was a nice ending of play time in the river.

That night I found out the van I booked was NOT booked. The girl that was helping me the day before was not very organized and my requests were lost in translation with the lack of English she spoke. I found out I could get back to Copan a day earlier than planned, so I jumped on it. This trip was only partially by bus. Three of us transferred to a car for the remainder of the journey. This guy drove like a madman and with the car riding as low as it did, the speed bumps along the whole journey scrapped the hell out of the bottom of his car. At one point in the journey, there was a semi-truck full of Pepsi rolled over in the ditch. Lets just say the driver would have been lucky to survive. I couldn’t help but wonder how an ambulance would actually arrive in the middle of nowhere. I think if something happened to you outside a major city, you are probably screwed. I talked to a girl later that day that saw the same accident and she said there were tons of people looting the Pepsi that was dumped from the truck.

After I got to the hostel I found out I could not head to El Salvador the next day because no vans were going out. So, I decided to do nothing and try and get back on budget a little by avoiding spending any money. Plus, I am trying to avoid taking out any new Honduran money from the ATM before crossing the boarder. Ramen and Mac & Cheese saved the day!

Next stop, Santa Ana, El Salvador where I plan to climb a volcano!