Travelig to Copan

President's day is Monday, and following Army tradition, we have a 4-day weekend. I requested and was granted a pass and am participating in a Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) trip to Copan, Honduras. Copan is the site of the largest set of Mayan ruins in Honduras. It's VERY close to the border with Guatemala and is in the mountains. I'm not sure how far it is if you can fly, but the main highways really go in and out of major cities. So, the chartered bus went from Comayagua to San Pedro Sula to Copan. It took about 9 hours. We did stop for lunch at a cafeteria along the way. I think it's pretty typical for here (at least I've been to similar kinds of places in Comayagua and LaPaz (the towns surrounding Soto Cano Air Base). You buy a plate of food from the buffet. They always have rice and tortillas (corn at this place). They generally have 4-5 kinds of meats, 4-5 choices of vegetable and 4-5 salads. I'm not sure if it's a flat price or depends on how much of each thing you pick... my lunch was fried rice, fried chicken, steamed vegetables, beet salad, a second vegetable and tortillas (too much food to finish). it cost 80 lempira (about $4).

We stopped as well to go to the bathroom. The thing about the bathrooms here is that they don't always have water in the chamber... sometimes, you get to get a bucket of water to fill the chamber so you can flush. That's not a big deal, but it's not a favorite part for me! Thank goodness charmin makes the little rolls for your pockets and that I got a big shipment of hand sanitizer this week! (By the way, if you're in the market for hand sanitizer, I highly recommend Bath and Bodyworks... they've got great smell/feel in their hand sanitizer.)

The trip was through the mountains. I was impressed with how pretty it was when we were away from the city. There were farms along the mountainsides. Lots of farm animals. (It's pretty common to see a cow or horse tied to something on the side of the road with a leash that's short enough to keep them out of the road.) A lot of the trip reminded me of northern Arizona. When we got closer to Copan, it got greener and more tropical looking.

Tomorrow, I'll go see the ruins and we have reservations at a nice restuarant. Sunday, I think we're going to go the Copan river where we can do the zip lines and swim. I plan to take photos (and write more).