We decided to take our big trip at the beginning of the second week in hopes that we might be able to pick up our water filters along the way. We had contacted some organizations in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. So far, we had only heard back from Nicaragua, and they were quite a bit cheaper than Guatemala, but also fairly far away. Unfortunately, we didn’t hear back from Honduras or El Salvador, so we ended up having to get filters in Guatemala anyways. We did eventually hear back from Honduras, and their filters were about the same as Guatemala--so it wasn’t so bad that we didn’t hear back from them. Our trip was a lot of fun. We decided to go to Copán this year because there had been some problems up in the Tikal area with the drug traffickers from Mexico coming down into Guatemala. The first day, Saturday, we just drove across the country--literally. We left San Pedro at 6 in the morning and took a boat over to Pana. There, we met Samuel, our driver. We all loaded up in the car and hit the road for Rio Dulce. Sometime around 11:30 (I’m not exactly sure what happened because I was sleeping), we broke down in Guatemala City. Something smelled like it was burning and then something started smoking--never a good sign. We had broken down right behind another truck that had run out of gas; of course, this caused a huge traffic jam because there are not shoulders on the road in Guatemala so we were stalled out in one of the lanes of a two lane freeway. At one point, another car that was trying to pass us broke down right next to us, blocking both of the lanes so nobody could get by. Luckily, it was a little car, so we all got together and pushed it up the road (of course we were stalled out on a hill). Eventually, the traffic police came and asked Samuel what had happened. He explained to them and they helped direct traffic around us. When a big semi truck was about to go around us, the traffic police stopped them and asked them to pull us up the hill (just a random truck that was driving by). Sometime during all this, the truck that had run out of gas got more gas and drove off; we got tied to the back of the semi-truck with a rope they had and they pulled us up the road to a place where we were out of the way (one of the guys who was driving the semi was shirtless and decided to pose on the back of the truck for us while they were towing us...it was SO FUNNY). We got up the hill, said thank you them and then decided we would hail taxis (in the middle of the freeway, no less) to take us up to McDonalds..the closest place we could go. We hung out there for about an hour to wait for our new driver (because generally when the engine is smoking it’s not just a quick fix).
We all got some lunch...of course only the best quality from McDonalds. Brionne, who’s a vegetarian, tried to order a grilled cheese. It took 5 minutes and 5 people working at McDonalds and me to translate what she wanted...I guess grilled cheese isn’t something they often have ordered. But, eventually, very confusedly, the confirmed that she wanted just bread with cheese, nothing else, and she got her grilled cheese. We continued on our way to Rio Dulce that night and made it, surprisingly, before dark. That night we just hung out near our hotel and grabbed some dinner down by the river. The next day, everyone except me went on a boat ride down the river to Livingston. I decided that since I’d gone last year, I wasn’t going to go again this year. It’s a lot of fun and a really pretty ride, but I decided I would save the money and do the canopy tour instead, because I didn’t want to pay for both.
So Saturday morning, when they all left at 7, I got to sleep in :) It was nice, I slept pretty late, til about 9:30, then got up, took a cold shower (because it’s really hot and humid in Rio Dulce), packed up my things, found our van driver (Jorge) and dropped my stuff in the car. Then I grabbed my book and headed on down to the restaurant on the river. I spent the whole morning just reading and hanging out. It was nice to actually relax and not have to do anything. Right before everyone got back, I found some old alumni from Cal who were also vacationing down in Guatemala. I talked with them for a little while until everyone got back from the boat ride. After that, we hit the road for Copán. Of course, we got going later than we meant to and didn’t hit Honduras until dusk...breaking the golden rule of traveling in Central America...NEVER TRAVEL AT NIGHT!!!
Luckily, because we were at the border, there’s always tons of security around and even though they assured us it would be safe to drive to Copán because there were police all along the way, Mark insisted that someone accompany us just to be on the safe side (and of course we would provide them with compensation). We ended up hanging out at the border for like 45 because some of the people were going home so they said they would just drive with us and make sure we were safe. Crossing the border wasn’t too bad. You just have to pay a little bit to get out of Guatemala and a little to get into Honduras and then show your passports at both places. We saw a couple of really big toads while we were waiting, but we crossed the road to look at them they hopped away quickly. Anyways, we drove into the city of Copán and found a place to stay for the night. The city is really cute, it reminds me of an old colonial city--it has a little plaza in the middle and cobblestone streets. We wandered down by the plaza for dinner and found a nice little restaurant. I got papusas which were delicious and a cerveza made in Honduras, to compare with the Guatemalan ones--it was pretty good. After dinner we all went back to our rooms and went to sleep because we had to get up early the next day to get to the ruins. The next morning we just ate in the cafe at our hotel. I got a baleada--a Honduran speciality which is essentially a flour tortilla with beans and cheese and sour cream and hot sauce...really, really yummy.
Once again, we got on the road later than we meant to because we all to go to the ATM to get out Limperas, because all we had were Quetzales. Luckily, the ruins were only about 10 minutes from our hotel so we still got there right as they were opening. The whole area the ruins are in is a lot smaller than Tikal and the ruins are nearly as grandiose, but they have a lot more intricate detail. There are a lot of statues and detailed carvings in the pyramids themselves...and there was one structure that said it was a steam bath! We spent the whole morning wandering around the ruins (and of course climbing all the ones we were allowed to). They had everything from royal residences to a hieroglyphic staircase that supposedly told the story of Copán was started to a ball court. It was cool--and I enjoyed seeing all the various carvings they had (some looked, really, really, strange). Once we had finished with the main plaza and the residences, we went out a “nature trail” which is supposedly where the common folk lived, except they haven't really excavated it yet. So mostly what you can see is a bunch of mounds where the houses used to be, with a few things excavated, and then they have put up some signs talking about how their daily lives were. After the ruins we went over to the canopy tour. It was a little hard to find because it’s in the middle of nowhere and we had to ask like 4 people for directions, but eventually we found it. It was AWESOME...some of the ziplines were over 1 kilometer long...it feels like you’re flying through the air forever. And on a few of them you go over these huge canyons, which is a little scary, but really cool to see all the trees down below. I think everyone enjoyed it.
After that, we all loaded up into the car again and headed for El Salvador. We wanted to hiking in Parque Nacional Montecristo up to a point in the mountains where Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador come together, but after we got to El Salvador, we realized it would be a whole day excursion. We debated whether we should blow off work for another day and go, but ultimately decided against it. So, we just ended up hanging out in the little town of Metápan, El Salvador for the night. The hotel was really expensive--$20--but the food was cheap (oh yeah, they use the dollar in El Salvador, which was weird). We went to a little taco restaurant across the street from our hotel and got really yummy tacos. I also accidentally ordered a sandwich...my brain wasn’t functioning and I thought I was ordering a tostada (like fried tortilla with stuff) but I ordered a torta (sandwich)...but it turned out to be really good. Then, we just hung out and wandered around the rest of the night. We tried to find a club or something to go to, but there wasn’t much going on. The next morning we hit the road again for San Pedro.
The whole trip was a lot of fun and I’m glad we got to go. It was cool to see Copán and compare it to Tikal and to go on a different canopy tour. I’m bummed we didn’t get to go hiking, but hopefully I’ll be able to come back sometime :)
Now...the pictures I’ve been promising...
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