Today we visited the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copan - in Honduras but very close to the border with Guatemala. The site is well known for the awesome stelae depicting the history of the empire and the huge hieroglyphic staircase decorated with the longest single glyph in the Mayan world. We had waited an extra day to explore the ruins because yesterday was a bit overcast and we wanted to wait until the weather was perfect. Today the sun shone brightly so we took our time and had a leisurely breakfast before wandering the one kilometer down the road to the ruins. The wait was well worth it.
Sara & I at the uncrowded and hugely impressive Copan Ruins
One of the many stelae at Copan
Me at Copan
One of the many glyphs
The staircase with the longest single glyph in the Mayan world
SNAKE
For Sara today though will be better remembered as the day we saw a snake. The only other snake except for the one I ate in China. Sara has an unusual fear of snakes. The kind of fear that causes one to completely lose control of ones bodily functions and go completely hysterical. If Sara were to tell the story she would probably say that a six foot snake leapt from a tree branch above us to the ground before our feet, raised its head and struck with potent force, fangs reared, at our ankles. In reality though the poor little thing happened to be on the path in front of us as we left the ruins and it quickly scurried out of our way into the forest. The screaming and wailing would have people believe otherwise. Needless to say we are both alive and well and have stocked up on anti-venom.
Today's run in reminded me of a couple of other times that Sara has been carried away with what she saw. On the train through Siberia she claimed to have seen an emu in a field full of cows. She watched the emu for ages, transfixed, as it stood still in the field. It wasn't until I took a good look that we discovered it was just a man standing behind a cow. Last week at the restaurant at the Tikal ruins Sara asked one of the tour guides the name of the blue bird that was standing outside by the gutter. The tour guide furrowed his brow and ignored her at the time. It was so tall and graceful and was the most beautiful blue you have ever seen, with shock white legs and a long slender beak like a crane. After breakfast when we left the restaurant Sara was devastated to discover it was just a piece of blue rope hanging from a wire.
This afternoon we relaxed with a few bottles of the local brew - Salva Vida (Lifesaver) - and read our respective books in the hammocks at Hotel California - a steal for only US$6 a night. We had dinner at a place called Tunkul and the total bill for an amazing meal, including drinks, was less than US$10 for both of us. Tomorrow we leave Copan Ruinas with the aim of getting a few towns closer to the capital city without spending too much time on the bus.
Sara @Hotel California
Sara at the Guatemala/Honduras border
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