Time to Travel: Beer, birds and ancient buildings in Honduras

We entered Honduras with a little trepidation inspired by the number of people who had reacted to the news that we wanted to travel through the country with shock. Apparently it is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Why, we have no idea! We felt no more threatened than in any other country we have been to so far. The only evidence of an elevated awareness of security was the extremely well reinforced doors we had in some hotel rooms (see below). Other than that, we found the atmosphere relaxed, the landscape beautiful and the Hondurans extremely friendly. Our stay was short, but very sweet! Passing straight through the capital Tegucigalpa, we spent our first night in the little colonial town of Comayagua, famous for being home to the oldest clock tower in the Americas (built in southern Spain sometime during the 12^th century). After exploring the pretty colonial centre and enjoying a coffee on the square, we headed further north along the shores of Lago Yojoa to the secluded D&D Brewery. A prefect little paradise of a place with a microbrewery, huts and cabins surrounded by a lush proliferation of plant life – the perfect place for beer sampling and bird-watching! And that we proceeded to do for the next few days; waiting patiently for that perfect shot of one of the multitude of hummingbirds that frequented the gardens, paddling out onto the lake with Malcolm, a lovely elderly Englishman with an amazing beard and a wealth of knowledge about the local birdlife, wandering along marshland boardwalks, and in the evenings supping apricot ale around the campfire. Although the fact that the D&D staff were looking for someone to look after their little library in return for free food and board was VERY enticing, we managed to drag ourselves away after four days to head to north to Copán Ruinas.

One of the seriously secure doors in Honduran hostels - this one was metal and had not one, not two, but THREE deadbolts :P God forbid if you want to get out in a hurry :P

Beautiful square in front of the oldest clock in the Americas - Comayagua

The D&D Brewery and Lodge - prefect for beer sampling and bird watching!

Early morning birdwatching boat ride with Malcolm

A local out fishing on Lago Yojoa

One of the many (very rare!) Snail Hawks we saw fishing on the lake

Finding out what makes water lilies float - they have a little buoyancy ball full of natural Styrofoam ;)

Egret fishing on Lake Yojoa

Amazing tree draped with grandfather-beard-like epiphytes

A tiny little bat on the limestone cliffs along the waterfront

A sea of water lillies

Lovely campfire area in the D&D Lodge

Trying to get a photo of the hyperactive little hummingbirds is easier said than done!

Their wings move so fast!

Gotcha!

The selection of special beers at D&D - ranging from Porter over Pale to Blueberry and Apricot Ales!

View over lake Yojoa from the wetlands boardwalk

Wandering through the wetlands - we were the only ones there - what a prefect spot!

The tiny town close to the Guatemalan border has to be one of the most picturesque colonial towns we have visited so far. Nestled in the rolling green highlands, the town is a picture prefect mixture of narrow cobblestone streets, shady squares and colourfully painted houses. Our liking of the town was increased all the more by the discovery of several really great places to eat and drink – one being a little German brewery called Sol de Copán which served very authentic Bratwurst and Schweinebraten along with its Hefeweizen. Needless to say, after eight months without, Mic was very excited to sample a couple of real German beers and dig into some hearty meat dishes! J We also found a great little bistro called Café San Rafael serving amazing cheese platters (REAL cheese again!!) and red wine…..But as good as it was, the food was not why we came to Copán – we came to see the Mayan ruins that give the town their name. The ancient city of Copán is known as having some of the most well preserved portrait stelae and petroglyphs in the Mayan civilization – some of them more than 1300 years old and still retaining some of their original colour! It was amazing to stroll through the enormous old plazas, scramble up the steep stairways and crumbing pyramids seemingly held together by tangled tree roots (of course we had fun with Lara Croft/Indiana Jones parodies J). Although the ruined temples, villas and palaces impressed us, by far the most extraordinary part of the huge structure was the Hieroglyphic Stairway, a towering series of steps that once led up to the central temple. Each step is engraved with a series of complex hieroglyphs which tell the tale of hundreds of years of the city’s history – unique in the Mayan empire. The incredibly preserved detail of the statues, stelae, petroglyphs and hieroglyphs throughout the ruins, together with the sheer scale of the site was completely staggering. Although we thought we were ‘ruined’ for ruins (couldn’t resist the pun, sorry!) in Perú, we were really blown away by the complexity of the Mayan building style, and can’t wait to explore some more of the famous sites in Guatemala!

Macaws doing their morning preening in the Copán ruins (they were central to the Mayan culture, and their feathers were prized for royal head-dresses)

Ancient stairways held together by tree roots in Copán

Perfectly preserved petroglyphs

Artist's rendition of the Hieroglyphic Stairway in its heyday

The Hieroglyphic Stairway today - still very impressive!

The remains of complex carvings on the banisters

Ancient ballcourt - it is believed a game was played here that involved keeping a ball from touching the ground - but only by using your feet (a bit like hakey sack)

Amazingly detailed carvings

Staring into the eyes of a 1300-year-old Mayan king.....spooky!

The god of thunder - looks intimidating!

Sitting up on the top of one of the staircases looking down over the main plaza - this is where royals are thought to have sat and watched ballgames and festivities (see below)