MOJITOS RUIN ME AT COPAN RUINAS

,

The alien spacecraft accelerated across the surface of foreign planet. The indigenous life forms just stood and looked dumbfounded as the space creature piloted his rocket sled through their primitive villages. The alien pilot was surprised to see such a reaction; this certainly could not be the first time these life forms have seen a space ship pass by. They stare in amazement at the odd complexion of the creature’s skin and unusual features. Even through his space helmet and suit the villagers can discern that his features are different from themselves they are amazed at the green hue of the pilots skin and the sheer size of the extraterrestrial being, he must be at least three times their size. The young offspring are the most curious but the elder life forms keep the young ones from getting to close, they seem to be able to communicate in some type of language the alien notices but he cannot comprehend any of it. All attempts of communication that the alien tries are fruitless. Either the creatures do not understand his methods of communicating or they just do not want to interact. The alien checks his flight instruments and keeps his course, he has other planets to discover.

This is how I felt as I traversed the mountain roads as I left Antigua. Instead of taking the main road I drove dirt roads through the indigenous Mayan villages. It was out of my way and the roads were rough but it was like going back in time or into another world. The villages are so different form our everyday life. As I came into the first village women were actually in the river doing their laundry, pounding their clothes on the boulders and spreading them out along the shore to dry the late morning sun. The houses were crude huts thatch huts. They were using simple tools farming their corn and beans in small patches carved out of the jungle. Small children worked along side the parents. There were more people without shoes than with, old women and small children carrying heavy bundles of wood on their backs. I saw one women who must have been in her 80’s humping a load of wood down the road that I’m not sure if I could have carried. It sure makes one appreciate the easy lifestyle that we take for granted on a daily basis.

The dirt roads finally gave way to pavement as I once again approached dreaded Guatemala City. It was actually much easier this time as I was able to use my G.P.S. to back track my route I took the previous week coming to Antigua. I was even able to see were I went wrong on my first trip through and adjust to stay on the proper course.
My destination was Copan Ruinas, Honduras. For those of you who are thinking I still should be in language school, your right, but I decided to drop out. After only two days of school, I had enough. I didn’t come all the way down here to sit in a class room. I enjoy learning Spanish but there is too much to see on my adventure and not enough time. My Spanish is coming along from my day to day interaction. I wish I had the time to sit in a classroom and learn more but I am lacking the time and patience. So where was I before I was so rudely interrupted, that’s right I was approaching the Honduras border at Floridio. I was a little apprehensive about crossing the border of all the bad stories I’ve heard of border crossings most involved Honduras. This was also my first border crossing alone, without Jay to assist in my translation. The crossing went extremely smoothly, I checked myself and my bike out of Guatemala and into Honduras no problem. I could finally see an improvement in my Spanish as I talked with the guards for quite a while, I told them stories of my trip and of Jay’s demise. They seemed to understand me and I was able to understand them and answer their questions. It was truly a great moment in my trip.

Copan Ruinas was just a short drive from the border. The town is located just down the road from the border. The town greeted me with open arms. Everyone I met in the town is extremely friendly. The town is made up of good fun loving people form all over the planet, It is kind of like Vail Valley with the thermostat cranked up. I even ran into a Jamaican-Hispanic version of Woody. Carnell owns a bar downtown and has an electric personality and a soothing way about him. It was relaxing listing to him spin tales with his jovial soothing Island accent, even if half the stories were bullshit. My second night in town we were getting pretty drunk at his bar it was just myself and a local X-patriot Danny who is the bars version of Cliff Clavin. Before we knew it the bar was packed both Carnell and I were wasted and he was the only one working. I decide to help him out I started doing cocktail service, than jumped behind the bar with him as he was getting weeded behind the bar. He is the self-proclaimed best mojito maker in the land, this constant bragging resulted in about 15 orders for mojitos, which are a huge pain in the ass to make from scratch. So as Carnell worked on the mojitos I took care of the rest of the drinks, I told him he should start bragging about his ability to open bottles of beer next time to make thing easier. It was a lot of fun to work behind the bar, and when we finally slowed down Carnell showed me his secret mojito recipie, and we commenced to drinking his bar dry of rum.
I woke early the next day to a pounding headache, my room stunk of rum but it had a nice minty aroma though, I vowed to never drink another mojito as long as I live as I rolled out of bed. I shook the cobwebs off and headed to the ruins. If I visit one more archeological sight on this trip I will qualify for an honorary degree in Meso-American Anthropolgy.
The ruins of Copan differ from that of Tikal, Palenque and Tolum, the buildings are not nearly as impressive. Copan is known for its sculpture and reliefs. What the Copan Mayans lacked in their ability to build huge structures was surpassed by their artisan and craftsmanship. The abundance of and the attention to detail on the stone carvings allowed archeologists to study the daily life, rituals and beliefs of the ancient Mayans. The way they dressed, their religious ceremonies, what they ate and much more is all clearly depicted in the numerous stone reliefs and sculptures. Many off the works pertain to their fascination with death and sacrifice. Stone skulls, mythical monsters and sacrificial alters were a very popular motif.
One of the most impressive buildings in Copan was the ball court, it was substantially bigger than any other site, It must have been the Superdome of the Mayan world in its time. It was adorned with huge stone macaws, the sacred bird of the Maya. Large numbers of wild macaws still inhabit the ruins and scare the hell out of you as they screech out as you round corners of he ruins.
I am currently in La Ceiba, Honduras now. I met some local paddlers and am going to run a few of the many whitewater rivers in the area for the next few days. I will than catch a short ferry ride to the bay islands of Utila and Roatan for some diving. I will be leaving my bike and most of my gear including my computer here in La Ceiba in safe storage so it will be a week or so before you here form me, so until than adios.

Guatemala "Chicken Bus" The Border at Floridido