I took advantage of a 3 day weekend to make a trip across the country to Copan, near the Guatemalan border. Copan is a 'must see' in the tourist sights of Honduras. It has the only well-known, developed for tourism Mayan ruins in the country- the remainder are in Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico.
Highlights: cobblestoned streets in the town, coffee shops with locally grown and roasted coffee, watching the World Cup final with people who actually care about soccer, lush jungle that was a smidge colder than our coastal jungle, travel time to read (I finished The Idealist and The Hound of the Baskervilles), getting to see a huge swath of the country from the windows of the bus. I think I drank 3 or 4 cups of coffee every day, and indulged in some European styles cheese made locally at Cafe San Rafael.
The ruins themselves are famous for elaborate carved sculpture. Some of these were covered with shades to keep them from being ruined from exposure to the elements; others were stuck into random walls. It was like a treasure hunt to find carvings and sculptures in the nooks and crannies. We then played the 'original or replica' guessing game.
The scarlet macaw features prominently in many Copan sculptures and buildings. There is a macaw breeding program at the archaeological park so we saw live versions of the stone sculptures flying through the air, making a racket in the trees, and generally looking glamorous and beautiful.
