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| Copan at Night |
My Copan adventure continues. That evening we returned to
LaCasa Rosada then ventured out to explore Copan at night. Many people were out enjoying a Friday night,
street vendors selling food, musicians on the plaza, and other people like
ourselves, just exploring and enjoying an exotic spot. Because we had an early
morning, we retired to our rooms and called it a night after a wonderfully
exciting day.
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| Breakfast at La Casa Rosada |
Saturday morning found us in another wonderful
experience-breakfast at La Casa Rosada. The tables were set in the garden with
linens and flowers. Coffee was waiting-local Copan Arabica coffee- delicious. We
gathered together to enjoy this simple pleasure and start our day.
Moving to the minibus we proceeded to the Copan Ruinas at
about 8 in the morning with the idea that we could experience Copan before it
became so hot. That is a good idea if you ever plan a trip. We arrived and signed in, and as we walked
toward the ruins, the macaws (sacred to the Maya) were enjoying the early
morning cool air. They majestically
soared above our heads. It was breathtaking and one of many moments this day
that took my breath away.
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| Macaw in the Trees at Copan Ruinas |
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| Another Macaw |
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| The Cosmic Turtle |
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| Altar Where Hearts were Removed from Living Victims |
Walter led us through the ruins explaining the glyphs and
interpreting what we were seeing from the ball court, to the stele, altars and sacrificial
temples where the Maya lopped off heads that rolled down the temple
stairs.
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Heiroglyphic staircase which tells the story of the 13th Ruler
"18 Rabbit" |
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| Ball Court |
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| Stele of a Ruler at Copan |
Some parts of the area were
especially strange and left a feeling of unease other parts were magical if you
allowed yourself to feel the aura of your surroundings.
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| Temple of Death |
After touring the actual sight and experiencing that, we
entered the museum which was depicted as entering the underworld, very
cool. The museum contains countless
original stele, altars and carvings to preserve and protect them from the
elements. You could spend hours studing
each piece and reading descriptions of them.
The only reproduction is of the red temple which sits in the center of
the museum and shows how this temple looked in its original state….painted and
colorful, truly amazing to see. When you
look at the ruins today, you can detect small pieces of the color and stucco
that originally coated them.
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| The Rosalia Temple |
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Heron Catching a Fish
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Here are some additional pictures of Copan Ruinas and the Museum there.
After spending the cool morning hours at the ruins and
museum, we traveled to Macaw Mountain Avery Preserve where beautiful macaws and
other species parrots and native Honduran birds are protected and rehabilitated
to be re-released back into the wild if possible.
I have one more installment of this trip to recount, and
that is our afternoon and departure from Copan….yet another adventure!!! Stayed tuned.
More pictures of the bird park: Macaw Mountain
