Honduras

Arrival in Copán, Honduras

At 5:00 AM, we meet the driver, picking up a Dutch woman and a boy from Connecticut, and heading towards the border with Guatemala; from there, we will pass through Honduras to reach Copán. Shortly after departure, while it is still dark, we witness a car leaving the road, presumably because the driver fell asleep. Fortunately, the ditch is not deep and there are no obstacles, so it escapes with some material damage. Around 6:30 AM, dawn breaks; after an hour, in the middle of a dense forest, we arrive at the first border, where the building on the side of El Salvador is recent, modern and imposing. We complete the formalities without particular difficulty and proceed along a hilly landscape to reach the border with Honduras: here, the procedure requires some additional formalities, which are facilitated by the fact that there are few people; after having us photographed and taking our fingerprints, we can consider ourselves cleared and enter the third of the countries we intend to visit. In reality, we experienced a moment of concern when the driver asked if we had prepared the online form for entering Honduras, which we were aware of but neither we nor the other travelers were able to open the website page. We are informed that there are computer problems that have been ongoing for at least a month, and we proceed without completing this formality. It should be noted that in all ten border crossings of this trip — including entries and exits — we have never experienced arrogance from the officials; on the contrary, there is talk of collaboration, such as when we were offered gel to sanitize our fingers while taking fingerprints. Upon entering the country, a fee must be paid in lempiras or quetzales, but the receipt issued states 3 USD — which is not accepted. The distance to Copán Ruinas is short and we cover it in just 30 minutes by car; we leave our luggage at the hotel, located in a prominent position with views of beautiful flowers — although the sky appears gray this morning, it will improve during the day. The country is located on hilly slopes, rather than on a single hill, with narrow streets where tuk-tuks must maneuver and use all their power to reach the top. The cobblestone paving of the roads and buildings suggests an ancient village; however, it was founded at the end of the 19th century, when the adjacent Mayan ruins were discovered and excavations began. The subsequent tourism has led to a boom in hotels, restaurants, shops and various accommodations, without distorting the original style: Copán will be one of the most beautiful towns visited on the tour. Several men wearing cowboy hats circulate in the town; we discover that they are actually cowboys or farmers who use this symbol to highlight their social status or profession. We go to a hotel/agency to agree and settle the private transport that will take us to Antigua tomorrow. Organizing a trip with fixed dates involves some difficulties in managing transfers compatible with shuttle schedules; in this case, the one to Antigua operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Since we could not do otherwise, we are forced to rent a car with a driver and pay accordingly — a luxury that we would have done without, but which has been of considerable help in the context of the trip. Unfortunately, our credit card does not work at the cashier's machine: but here everything is possible, we go to a supermarket, swipe the card and everything is solved. Tomorrow we leave again.

After a light lunch, we head on foot towards the Mayan site, which is why we are here. Along the kilometer that leads to the entrance, we meet a Danish couple with whom we will share the guided tour, which is essential for understanding a civilization unknown and distant not only geographically. At the entrance, several colorful parrots, both wild and fed by the guards, make their presence known, ensuring a splash of color for arriving visitors. We are told, in a rather stereotypical but effective way, that Copán was the Paris of the Maya, while Tikal was the New York: refined and culturally rich the first, with tall buildings the second. In fact, artists, scribes, and the entire educated class lived here, whose homes we will see on our next visit to the Las Sepolturas site, which is two kilometers away and that we will cover with a pleasant walk. We learn that the name Honduras comes from "high" and "low," referring to the continuous undulations of the terrain. We also find out how the name Honduras originated from the famous "Banana Republic," which appears in various texts and ironic jokes, originating from the vast plantations of the plant, which later became synonymous with a somewhat serious political situation that often turned tragic. When we talk about bananas, it becomes difficult to say whether they are just fruit or something more; last year in Tanzania, we discovered how they can replace potatoes as a good source of carbohydrates or in soup; here we find them dried and salted, competing or serving as an alternative to the ubiquitous chips.

The pyramids, expanded and raised over successive generations, had after abandonment been completely covered by the forest, with its roots having largely undermined the steps: excavations have brought to light the sites and restored the blocks displaced by nature. It is in Copán that you will find what is considered the Mayan Rosetta Stone, namely the Escalinata, a series of writings on stone that allowed for the translation of the glyphs of the ethnic group. As with all Mayan kingdoms, the period of greatest splendor is defined as Classic, which spans from 250 to 900 AD. The king was considered a God, but when the thirteenth monarch was killed during a war in Guatemala, the subjects realized the impermanence of their lineage; from that moment on, they stripped them of divine titles and descendants, while retaining earthly rights – including concubines. At the time, there were approximately 27,000 residents, and the game of ball was central to their lives, serving even to resolve disputes with neighboring tribes. As always happens, archaeologists have carried out extensive excavations and discoveries; a portion of the artifacts has since been sent to various museums of origin, such as the British Museum in London or other American locations. What could be stolen has been moved to the Copán museum; the same has happened with many skeletons found. The Las Sepolturas site, which we will visit next, owes its name not so much to a cemetery but to a village where many bodies were found inside the houses: the corpses were buried under the rooms after being cleaned of their insides, wrapped in sheets and treated with mercury or other substances to prevent the spread of odors, since the burial essentially took place in cellars. Copán was located on the banks of the eponymous river, which in the 1930s had to be moved to avoid the floods of the rainy season eroding the foundations of the ruins. In one case, erosion has however brought to light new buildings hidden underground. The Maya had 284 gods, each dedicated to a specific cause – rain, sun, fertility and so on – identified with a day in the calendar, similar to how we identify our saints. The calendar included 18 months of 20 days, bringing the year to 360 days; there were 5 remaining days, a sort of no-man's land: those born during this period were considered unlucky, so anyone who could afford it would register later by bribing officials. The kings had 20 wives, one for each day of the month.

In Las Sepolturas lived the ruling classes, astronomers, artists, scribes, hunters – a jaguar skeleton was found inside a well – and finally, the middle class. The buildings had stone foundations and walls, which remain intact, and the upper part with a wooden roof. It is clear that the areas used as beds are where the inhabitants slept side by side. It's surprising to see such short sleeping arrangements, but it should be noted that the Maya were no more than 1.25-1.35 meters tall – a characteristic that somehow still resonates today. The shaman could reach up to 1.60 meters. The ruling classes were buried standing, sitting or in a fetal position as a symbol of rebirth, while the common people slept. The wealthy had provisions and various objects for the afterlife, and their bodies were often found, specially killed to serve their master in the next life. As we will see in Tikal, the sites were abandoned due to over-exploitation of the land and subsequent floods caused by deforestation. In the following centuries, the forest reclaimed the area, hiding the sites until around the middle of the 19th century. The native people who lived in the area were not particularly interested in exploring the history of their ancestors. The city also had a hospital, divided into two parts: the first dedicated to childbirth, while the second housed patients with all other ailments. The shaman and his assistants used herbs and other natural medicines to treat illnesses and perform anesthesia for surgical procedures.

Dinner at The Forest's Llama

Dinner at a truly authentic restaurant, La Llama del Bosque, where an entire family dedicates itself to cooking and serving classic Honduran specialties, including the Anafres, a mix of bean puree, cheese, and meat kept warm by embers beneath, served in a terracotta pot with corn chips on the rim. A short walk through the clean and quiet center leads us to our accommodation for today.