Two Beers and a Pretzel

I left Roatan on Saturday – just after copleting the written PADI exam.  I didn’t get to say adios to my buds Lee and Dermot (who sounds just like Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) since they were diving and I had to catch the 2:00 ferry.  It was freaking seeing a shipwreck at the ferry port.

I split a cab with a nice British girl, Vicky.  We chatted on the ferry, both ended up staying at the Grand Hotel Cieba, and found a honduran-italian cafe for dinner.  On Sunday we caught a bus to San Pedro (3 hrs) and I jumped (almost literally) another bus to Copan (4 hrs).  The regular buses are a riot.  They pack people on.  At every stop new vendors crowd on to sell trinkets and food, then quickly get off before the bus leaves again.

Anyway…  I found a nice place with hot water and clean rooms in Copan – Posada se Bellise.  Copan is a very pretty town.  Probably the main area is 1km square at best  and very hilly.  Rickshaws with aggressive cabbies are everywhere.

Monday…  Happy Birthday to ME!

I explored the Mayan Ruins today.  It was $15 to see the ruins and $7 for the attached museum.  Many of the significant sculptures at the ruins are replicas with the real ones safely in the museum.  There were about 10 tourists there – I barely saw anyone.  It was like stumbling on the riuns by yourself.  Very cool.  They even had 10 scarlet Macaws flying around the entrance (enticed with free food).  I imagine Tikal and Chichen Itza are much more crowded.  The thing that makes Copan different from those others is the artistry.  Everything has petroglyphs and hieroglyphs.  Many were plastered, and some still have the original paint.  This site is also famous for the hieroglyph stairs.  64 steps on a pyramid covered with carvings and stories detailing the history of the ancient city.  It’s supposedly the longest of it’s kind at any Mayan site.