Honduras

Honduras

It was hard work getting into Honduras (visas) and so we thought we would have a bit of a look around instead of crossing directly into El Salvador in a day (as many travellers choose to do). From the border we headed up to the capital Tegucigalpa and visited the cathedral (the Father very kindly let us stay in the parking lot), which had a good view over the city. On the way we visited an animal rescue centre and the Honduran aviation museum (we were the only visitors, and it being located on a military base, driving Big Bertha in caused some consternation).

Lake de Yajoa was a very pleasant surprise. Our first stop was Cerro Azul Meambar National Park, up in the hills above the lake and quite a challenge to reach the Panacam camp in Big Bertha. We hiked to a beautiful waterfall on our first day and the following day we followed the Sinai trial to the peak – a 540m ascent, that took most of the day. The bird watching was excellent and we saw a couple of snakes on the trails. From the park we descended to Los Naranjos, next to the lake, and David kayaked on the river and lake.

Our final stop in Honduras before crossing into Guatemala were the renowned Copán Ruins. As the major Mayan archaeological site in Honduras, Copán receives many visitors, but we had stayed overnight in a campsite opposite the ruins, so could enter the park as soon as it opened and had the place to ourselves. Copán was founded by a ruler from the Tikal Mayan city in Guatemala. But whilst Tikal was in decline, Copán thrived (from the 5th to 9th centuries AD). Unique to Copán is it’s impressive hieroglyphic staircase – 63 steps with hieroglyphs depicting the rulers of the dynasties from the 5th century. Many other intricate carvings have survived, including the interesting four-sided “Altar Q”, which shows the sixteen rulers in succession, each passing on the insignia of power to the next. A replica stands in the approximate position of where the original was found, with the original having been moved to the on-site museum. We spent the morning exploring the site and museum and in the evening we visited the Copán town, dining at a German restaurant. The beer was ok, but the food not so good.