Copan - Part II

To continue. We arrived at the hotel (Don Udo's) where we were greeted by a lovely young lady who was most helpful in arranging for our various activities. We had activities in mind and the staff at the hotel made everything run smoothly. The room was a good sized one with one large bed and a bunk-bed, an ample armoire, a large bathroom with a tub/shower, A/C and outside the door, a comfortable looking hammock.

After settling in at the hotel, we wandered to the center of town, grabbed a tuk tuk (a small three-wheeled covered vehicle) which is the main mode of transportation for tourists. They are efficient, a little cramped, and provide for an exciting ride on the streets of Copan. The village of Copan is built on hill country, therefore, some of the streets are extremely steep and, since they are all cobble stone, it makes for a bumpy, hang on to your seat kind of ride!

Rates are reasonable - Lps. 20 per person ($1.05) and you can travel to most areas around and in town for that price. Of course, as in any tourist town in Honduras they will try and charge you a higher price, but if you put your foot down and know the going rate, it is easy to get them to back down. We had one driver come to the hotel when we were ready to check out to go to the Hedman bus station. I asked him how much the ride was as the bus terminal was not far. I misunderstood and thought he said Lps. 10 a piece. I thought this was rather cheap but since it was not far, I agreed. We piled into the tuk tuk with our 2 pieces of luggage and went the short distance. Imagine my surprise when he demanded Lps. 100! I said no, he said Lps. 10 a piece and I knew that the going rate was Lps. 20. He finally said, no, it was Lps. 20 each. I said then it would be Lps. 40. He said no, he had to charge for each piece of luggage! I said then it would be Lps. 80 not Lps. 100. He finally conceded and I paid him. I must point out that I do not try and gyp the drivers, I just do not appreciate being overcharged and drivers in Honduras have a tendency to do just that when they see a person they perceive to be a tourist.
Anyway, we told the driver we wanted to go to Macaw Mountain. Macaw Mountain Bird Park & Nature Reserve is an innovative tropical bird reserve in western Honduras that cares for rescued and endangered birds of the American tropics. The park offers a first class experience in an unspoiled part of the world. Here you learn about and interact with the intelligent, colorful birds of Central America. The birds in Macaw Mountain are either rescued or donated by people wanting better lives for these beautiful creatures. Once recovered, the birds are carefully maintained and are free to fly in the aviaries. According to the Macaw Mountain staff, they "house, care for and feed [the] birds at a very high standard."

One finds toucans, macaws, hawks, owls, aracaris in the park. There is a great deal of history between these birds and the Ancient Mayans, who lived between 600 BC and AD 1500. Birds such as quetzals, herons, eagles, and of course macaws are ever-present in Ancient Mayan art. The ruins of Copan, as well, show extensive bird images, and in fact, K’inich Yax K’uk Mo’, the name of the founder and first ruler of the Pre-Columbian Mayan Civilization means Resplendent Sun Lord Quetzal Macaw.

Part of the Copan property had been used as a coffee plantation prior to its purchase. The owners of Macaw Mountain decided to maintain many of the coffee plants. They can be seen along the shady forest trails, bearing red berries when ripe. Macaw Mountain also owns a high-altitude coffee farm called Finca Miramundo. The park is well thought out and being a wife of an engineer I must admit it is one of the best constructed places I've seen in Honduras. The lay of the land was relatively undisturbed. There is a lovely little stream running through the property which provides the area with the tranquil sound of running water, singing birds and a break from the heat of the mid-day sun.

The aviaries that house the birds are roomy providing sufficient area for the birds to fly around. There are native plants in each cage and one cage was set aside for breeding pairs of macaws. We were lucky enough to view some hatchlings which were about ready to appear in the world, fully feathered, for the first time. Special hatching boxes are built into the cage where the chicks are born and raised. It takes about 90 days for them to become fully feathered and ready to make their appearance.

As I stated, this park is a refuge for injured and/or abandoned birds. It is illegal in Honduras to capture these birds as many are endangered. Of course, the people here, desperate for money, capture and sell them along side the roads throughout the country not even realizing how stressful this is for the birds. They have absolutely no knowledge regarding the care and upbringing of birds and many are put in cages which are too small, fed tortilla dough and sunflowers and the caged bird is lucky if their Honduran owners give them fresh water and fresh food daily. Immature keeled billed toucans found being sold along side the road between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa were rescued and brought to the sanctuary. The transport of these birds took several days and the younger, weaker birds died on the way. Baby toucans must be hand fed 6-8 times a day until they are 8-9 weeks old and will not eat alone or on their own during that time. Once the birds are on a diet of soft fruits and are properly rehydrated, they begin to regain their strength. They can then move on to feeding themselves and learning to fly.

In one cage were several magnificent hawks all of which were found injured and brought here to live out their lives. They tend to stay high in the roost and photographing them was difficult but I managed to snap a fairly good photo of one.

There was also a cage of new macaws that had arrived in the park but were very stressed and had resorted to picking themselves. Birds, when they become agitated or nervous tend to pick their feathers. Some will settle down and overcome this nervousness while others never recover and can pick all the feathers off their body and remain "naked" all their lives. As you can see from this photo, this particular macaw has picked his chest feathers but is gradually recovering as new down is growing in and he is leaving it alone.

There is a special area set aside where birds are brought out in the open to be fed, observed and, if the individual wishes, the staff will place several birds on your shoulders and outstretched arms for a photo session. For the most part these birds are accustomed to people and are not aggressive. Having raised parrots, however, I know that birds are unpredictable and people can still be bitten very easily by a parrot who perceives a different view of the situation. The staff is very knowledgeable and by working with the birds they can, for the most part, control the birds so there is little aggression.

One can wander all day, back and forth between the cages enjoying the birds, the tranquility of the area and, if the need warrants, there are a couple of areas set aside for sitting and relaxing with a cup of coffee or juice and simply enjoying the natural surroundings.

I highly recommend anyone visiting Copan to take in Macaw Mountain Bird Park....it is something you will always remember and give you a deeper appreciation of the lovely birds of Central America.

Part I - My Trip to Copán

Wahoo - I hope that is not a phrase that is copyrighted! My son took his R&R from his job in Iraq (he works for a private contractor there) and came to visit his Mom! He deserved a vacation. After working 4 months at 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, his R&R was much needed.

Second, Wahoo - he and I took a few days before coming to the island to take a short vacation in Copán. Copán is my favorite vacation spot. I love that town. The ambiance, the beautiful valleys and mountains, the lovely village of Copán and the Ruinas! My husband and I had been to Copán about 4 years ago and we both fell in love with the place, thus, I wanted my son to experience the wonder that is Copán.

He arrived in San Pedro Sula on a Saturday and we spent the weekend shopping, eating at wonderful restaurants there and relaxing in the hotel pool. On Monday our hired driver, Oscar, picked us up at 8:30 a.m. for the trip to Copán.

I felt it would be far better to take a van going up to Copán so that we could see all the sites unemcumbered, take photos and stop when we wanted. Our return trip was on a Hedman Alas bus - but that is another part of the story. The trip to Copán from San Pedro Sula is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Copán Ruinas is located on the western side of Honduras, very near the border with Guatemala. It is only 12 km from the border crossing point of El Florido, and about 240 km from Guatemala City and 160 km from San Pedro Sula, which is the main Honduran gateway into Copán. Santa Rosa de Copán is the capital of the department (local equivalent to a state) of Copán. Copán ranks among the most important of Maya sites for many reasons, but foremost among these is its vast number of hieroglyphic texts. It is the site of a major Maya kingdom of the Classic era (5th through 9th Centuries). For its relative small size (many other sites in the Maya lowlands are physically larger), the amount of inscribed materials at Copán are truly astounding, suggesting that in some way the elite culture of this ancient kingdom was particularly interested in literate culture and whatever that entailed. It comes as little surprise, therefore, that Copán has long been a focus of intensive epigraphic investigation.

The highway to Copán is a two lane road and, for the most part, a nice road with relatively little traffic. Of course we were traveling during the "off season" so traffic was even less than what my husband and I had encountered on our previous trip.

We settled in and watched the wonderful scenery unfold. Within an hour and a half we were higher up in the mountains and viewed beautiful valleys. My son was enthralled. All he has seen for 4 months was sand, sand and more sand with an occasional sand storm tossed in for good measure. The green was overwhelming for him - he said he never realized how beautiful green was (I think there is a song about green and frogs, but I just can't remember the title). We passed a raging river that would have been really gorgeous except for the fact that all the silt from the topsoil had rendered it brown and unappealing.

The road from San Pedro Sula to Copán takes you through a large commercial town called La Entrada de Copán, (The Entrance to Copán) which is still 64 km. from Copán Ruinas. On both sides of the streets are various vendors, vegetable stands and people wandering from one booth to another looking for bargains. I managed to snap some photos but the one I like the most was this one. For the life of me I cannot figure out what in the world was to have been built on top of the building pictured. Rebar is sticking up all over the top of the edifice leaving one to wonder if they were anticipating expansion or simply put in rebar that was not the right length and no one bothered to cut it off!

As we continued down the highway which, up to this point had been in pristine condition, traffic suddenly slowed to a crawl. When we reached the front of the line we were met with what appeared to have been a mudslide. The rains had taken their toll and tons of dirt were covering the highway. Apparently crews had been working many hours to remove the earth from the road but the process was slow. You can't really see it from this photo, but on the other side of the pile of dirt on the right was a large dip in the road and I would hate to think what damage a truck or bus could incur when passing through this portion of road.

Further on down the road we again came to a crawl. This time it was not a mudslide but cows being herded down the highway! I had to chuckle thinking of what people in the states would do if their one and only main road was being used to herd cows! Of course, Oscar, our driver, took it in stride and didn't seem to be surprised at all by the presence of the herd.

We finally reached Copán and were intent upon finding our hotel. I had booked rooms at the Hacienda San Lucas but our driver was not familiar with the establishment and had to stop and ask no less than 5 different people, getting 5 different directions. We finally were pointed in the right direction and, after a 20 minute trip up a dirt road running along side the river, we arrived. Nestled in the hills above the tranquil Copán Valley, Hacienda San Lucas is a 100-year old family-owned retreat uniquely situated directly above the world-renowned Maya ruins of Copán. Hacienda San Lucas was recently restored by Flavia Cueva, the owner/manager and is a solar-powered adobe hacienda. The place was charming and tranquil. However, due to the fact that we only had 2 nights in Copán I decided that the distance to travel (which would have been much better had the road not incurred damage from the rain) to the town would interfere with our schedule. Flavia assured us that she understood our predicament and offered to find us a hotel in town. I thanked her but told her that my alternative choice for now was Hotel Don Udos. Had we more time, the Hacienda would have been a lovely place to stay with much to offer. However, since time was of the essence, I thanked our host and we climbed back into our van and proceeded to Don Udos.

Hotel Don Udo has 16 comfortable rooms each decorated in a different style offering private bathrooms with hot and cold water, ceiling fan, purified drinking water, and automatic international calls. Most rooms have A/C and cable TV. There was a full service restaurant and from reputation we understood that the cuisine was excellent. The hotel had a cozy bar, Copán's only sauna & Jacuzzi, swaying hammocks, and the fabulous views from the sun deck. Fortunately it was the "off season" and rooms were available. We checked in, unpacked and prepared for our first excursion.

Wahoo!

Peace and Quiet?

As I am sure I've mentioned before, we live in an area rather remote area on the island.  We have, for the most part, no neighbors, therefore little noise, no external lights; peace and quiet.

Well, that's not always true.  We have 4 dogs (mentioned before in other blogs), two of which are fairly new additions.  The two older dogs, Cocoa and Nod, are fairly quiet at night.  However, the new comers are hell bent to alert us to anything and everything - that is, if they feel like it.  

Lucy and Desi (brother and sister) like to announce when a coconut or mango drops, a tree branch breaks, a boat has/is/will be going by (no matter how far away).  They announce the presence of wandering crabs, cows and or horses which occasionally wander onto our property - especially at night.   The cows and horses are their favorite "playmates."

When cows or horses enter the dog's domain, they are instantly on alert and begin actively chasing and barking no matter what the hour of day or night. Generally they chase the intruders in the wrong direction - up the hill and to the back of the property where they have no exit due to the barbed wire fence surrounding our lot.  The only escape route is back to the beach from wench they came, out into the sea to swim around the fence on either side of our property line and back to their own pastures.

Of course, the invaders usually come at night and the dogs go wild.  All this barking, mooing and snickering and neighing wakes us up and disturbs our tranquility!  Now, once the dogs have chased the offending animals all around our property, they return to the porch to rest.  The horses and/or cows return and graze all around the house while the dogs snooze!  It would not be so bad except they graze on my ornamental plants, deposit fertilizer in pathways and run over newly planted plants.  

As you see in this photo, there are horses under my clothes line (thankfully there were no clothes hanging up) but not one dog in sight.  Yes, while the dogs have disturbed our evening sleep pattern with their carrying on, they are now resting up on the porch.  If I get up and run out and start to chase the horses, the dogs immediately react, decide they are no longer tired and give chase!

I wish we could convince the neighbor's workers to keep their fences repaired and gates closed so these animals do not wander over to our yard.  But in all the years we've been here - that ain't gonna happen.  I love horses, don't get me wrong.  Just don't want them in my yard trampling my hard work with landscaping nor stepping in their "deposits", plus I really like to sleep straight through the night.  Now, in Paradise, is that too much to ask?