Copán

There was some confusion with the cab driver that we arranged through our hotel in West End to pick us up at 6:15 am (in time for the 7 am ferry departure). It all worked out fine, though, and we made it to the ferry in plenty of time. The ferry from Roatan to La Ceiba took about an hour and a half. After a somewhat hectic process of claiming our checked bags, we took a cab from the ferry terminal to the Hedman Alas bus station in La Ceiba. We had asked around the island and did some internet research about the best bus company to use to travel across Honduras. Hedman Alas was recommended every time. They were safe and professional. It was about a six hour ride from La Ceiba to Copán Ruinas, but the bus left a little late and there was a layover in San Pedro Sula. We arrived in Copán Ruinas around 6:30pm after a 12 hour travel day. Honduras is breathtakingly beautiful which actually made the long day pretty enjoyable. It was great to see some of the country even if it was out of a bus window.

The hostel/hotel where we stayed was clean but very noisy. Our room was pretty much in the lobby and right below a deck near the shared rooms. So the earplugs we used were no match for the late-night partying happening above us. We were then awakened at 6am to loud, live music on the street. At first I thought that we must have slept late to be waking up to street music, but no, it was 6am. We later learned there was a grocery store opening across the street. We also enjoyed a huge fireworks show as part of the same celebration later that night. It was a festive way to start our day in Copán.

We had a great breakfast here the first morning in Copán.

Walking toward town square before heading out to the ruins

The town square in Copán was a great place to spend some time relaxing.

 The Mayan Ruins of Copán are a 10 minute walk from the center of town. We have never been to any Mayan ruins, so the whole experience was really wonderful. The backdrop to these ruins is the gorgeous countryside of the Copán Valley. Although we have no other ruins to compare them to, we found the afternoon fascinating. We wandered around for about two hours before heading back to town. We also enjoyed watching the Scarlet Macaws fly around the entrance to the ruins, which are also used as a release aviary.

Copán ruins: Hieroglyphic Stairway

Copán ruins

Copán ruins

The beautiful Scarlet Macaws

Copán ruins

We had some really great food from the street carts near the town square. Copán is a great town, and it’s easy to enjoy a couple of laid back days here. We wandered around a lot and spent a fair amount of time hanging out in the town square. Before dinner, after our first full day, we walked up to a museum that sits on a hill overlooking the town. We didn’t go inside the museum, but we did watch the sunset over the valley from its steps. It was a perfect day.