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Copan Ruinas Honduras-My family life

When you live with a local family, which I have done many times in Latin America, the experiences are always varied–that’s what makes it so fun.  The school I was attending, Ixbalanque Spanish School set up the family stay.

Trini, the maid that worked at the house where I was staying, was a very nice person.  She had a very cute little girl about 2 years old that stayed with her while she worked.    The little girl always seemed  to be curious about the stranger(me) that always came to the meals.

Here is a photo of Trini and her daughter:

Trini had told me that she only had 4 photos of her little girl, so with Trini’s permission,  I spent some time taking photos of her daughter and took them to a little photo store to get developed.  Yes, even in the small town of Copan Ruinas, Honduras there is a way to get photos printed.

Here are some cute photos of her daughter.

I gave Trini 12 different photos, so in the end she had a total of 16 photos of her daughter when I left Honduras.

 

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Copan Ruinas, Honduras-A night at Jim’s Pizza

Normally, I am dedicated to eating only the local food wherever I might be.  However, Ron, one of the other students from the school had suggested we break from routine and head to the only pizza joint in the town of Copan Ruinas, Honduras, Jim’s Pizza.   Really glad we did.  We were the only customers there.  Jim is a heavy set ex-pat who drinks beer and watches tv from the restaurant. Here is a photo of he and I.  He is the one on the right.

Jim is one of those guys that is your immediate friend.  He entertained us for two hours and told us everything we wanted to know about Honduras, and then some.  He had been here for around 5 years.  Turns out his family used to be from Tulsa, so we really hit it off.  I got the complete inside scoop about everything going on in town.  All the good dirt.

The pizza wasn’t bad, but the conversation was priceless.  You could not buy that type of chatter anyplace in the world.  It was a great two hours and I was asleep by 9 p.m.

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Copan Ruinas-The Mayan Ruins. Honduras Part 3

Not only is it fun and educational to walk around the open ruins with a guide, but also located on the grounds is a museum that has a lot of replicas of different artifacts that have been discovered at the ruins over the years.  Don’t make the mistake of just visiting the ruins and leaving. There is also a nice little café and a good souvenir shop on the grounds.

Ok, one more thing:  remember what I said about the bi-lingual guides?  Even though I was enrolled in Spanish school, I asked for the tour to be in English.  I did that because the Mayan history is a little complicated and I didn’t want to miss anything.  Just don’t tell my teacher!!Here is a photo of the outside of the museum on the grounds.

Now, here are some photos of the inside:

All in all, the museum is a great place to escape the intense sun and heat.  Everything on display is well documented with explanations.   Don’t worry if it is a replica or not.  The idea is to educate you about the Maya.

When it comes time to go back to town, don’t cop out by grabbing one of the tuk-tuk taxis.  Copan Ruinas is not the place for whiners!! Take the time to stroll the mile or so back to town along the tree lined path.  You will meet a few vendors along the way that are selling dolls, etc.  If you see something interesting that you like, you should buy it.

You might want to take an umbrella if there is any chance of rain.  The day I walked back, I did not have an umbrella and got absolutely soaked in a big time downpour.  By the time I got back to town, the streets were flooded with calf deep water.  It was just like you see on the international news!!   I had to dry out while sitting in front of a coffee shop.  Good thing I was wearing “quick-dry” travel clothing.  I paid a price though and I will mention it in a subsequent post where I will have more comments about Honduras.

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