Copan: Day 1

After an arduous 24-hour journey, I am finally in the beautiful city of Copan! Boy. what a day. Two painless plane rides and an uncomfortable night spent on the terminal chairs in IAH later, I arrived in San Pedro Sula. The greenish-blue waters of the Caribbean Sea could be seen during our descent--absolutely beautiful!--and the lush forests surrounding the runway served as a stunning reminder that I was flying into paradise.

For those Denver Zoo patrons out there, the only way I can describe the experience of stepping off the plane is that it was just like walking into Tropical Discovery. The feel, the smell, everything! Pretty euphoric, actually: feeling something familiar in a completely strange land. But that feeling soon washed away with all the obligatory chores of international travel: a long customs line, searching for luggage (mine arrived, safe and sound!), etc.

After meeting up with Bill (field school director) and Molly (teaching fellow), we headed to the main, air-conditioned portion of the airport to wait for the remaining students to arrive. And look: a Wendy's!



Apparently, that's the last we'll be seeing fast food for a while. Good riddance, in my opinion!

Soon, it was time to head to the van for our 3-hour ride to Copan. We packed ourselves in, waved good-bye to SAP, and were on our merry way.




The ride was a little bumpy, but no where near what I was expecting. The scenery was incredible and I tried as hard as I could to stay awake and absorb it all, but I was so exhausted from air travel I could barely keep my eyes open. Yet, a rest stop about half-way through provided me an excellent opportunity to photograph some of the landscape.



Once back on the road, I attempted to document some of the amazing vistas. I don't think any of these pictures really do Honduras' beauty any justice, but I hope they give you a better idea of what the area is like. The road to Copan twists and turns through western Honduras, sometimes skirting along residential areas and other times overlooking the rippling and seemingly endless Copan river valley. Breath-taking, really.




And finally, our hotel! Don Udo's is as beautiful as its home country. I have a feeling I will be very comfortable here. The courtyard is gorgeous, the room is very comfortable, and the atmosphere is just in general very appealing. One of my favorite little details is the Mayan numerals accompanying the usual Arabic ones by each door. And who can forget the parakeet?



I can't believe I am really here! This will be a crazy adventure, hopefully with more photos and less words next time. But for now, I am pooped. Good night!