Central America - Day 3 (Copán, Honduras)

I woke up early started off with breakfast (Welchez Cafe). I had a latte and a deconstructed yogurt bowl. The latte art for the cat was super cute.

Then, we visited to the Copán Ruins Archaeological Site, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This whole area is built on Mayan ruins, but only 30% has been uncovered. Our guide, Cesar, met us at the hotel and we walked towards the site. 

On the way, he shared with us some history of the town, where nearly 90% of the population is of Mayan decent with over 20 languages. In the site, we saw many statues, palaces, a Grand Plaza along with a football field. My favorite part was the incredible Escalinata del los Jeroglíficos (Hieroglyphis Stairway). It was a flight of 63 steps which displays a visual history of the royal house of Cópan. Because the stairs were partially ruined and the messages jumbled, there is a preservation effort to scan them to create a digital version of the original.  

Additionally, we walked through an area that has some preservation efforts for the macaws, Honduras’ national bird. They are very majestic. The guide told us there were fewer than 10 birds in the park and they have expanded them to nearly 100 birds. Apparently, people used to buy/sell them and they nearly lost the population in the park. 

We ate lunch at the this little grilled place, called Asados Copán, where I had garlic shrimp, vegetables and tostones. They also have this hibiscus drink called Jamaica that was really good. 

After lunch, we walked up the hills to a recommended place for cacao called The Tea and Chocolate Place. Chocolate and coffee are common grown crops here and this place came highly recommended by our guide and Lonely Planet. The place was super cute, with many little places to site surrounded by plants and overlooking a beautiful tropical oasis.  

After a long day of walking around, we came back to the hotel and chilled out before an early start tomorrow.