Chillin' with the Mayans

Yesterday was absolutely amazing! I'll give a quick run-down of what we did along with some amazing pictures. 

We stayed in a quaint, welcoming hotel called Don Udo's - if anyone ever visits Copan, I would highly recommend staying there. Great location, reasonable price, friendly staff, nice rooms, and a delicious breakfast! 

After breakfast, we headed out to the ancient ruins. It was a quick 15 minute walk, and we arrived before they opened, so we walked a bit further down the road to the sepulturas (grave sites). There were a few guides out front chatting in Spanish, and they asked for our tickets. We said we hadn't picked them up yet, and one of the guides asked if we understood Spanish. We told him "un poco" (a little), and he started telling us all about the site. We got about 50-60% of what he was saying and decided to let him take us in a tour. About 2 hours later, we had learned a lot about the Mayan way of life and seen some amazing remains of their homes. The "grave sites" are actually beneath their homes, so we really got a tour of the  residential area. Here are some shots...

And of course, one of me curled up in a gravesite. The Mayans were very short!

After we ended our tour, we headed back to the main area for the ruins. I'm glad we did the sepulturas first, or else it would have been a bit of a disappointment. On our way in, we were stopped by a bilingual guide who was eager to tell us all about his services. This ended up being a blessing, because the rest of our experience in Copan was spent with Mauricio - from the horseback riding to dinner and a showing of Monsters University to coffee this morning before we came back to La Ceiba. He was an amazing guide and became a friend and someone we could trust to show us around the city. 

Without going into too much detail about the ancient Mayans and what still remains today as evidence of their culture, I'll post some of my best shots with captions. 

Statue of a god with hieroglyphics beneath

A stadium where events were held

The Jaguar who, according to Mayan beliefs, swallowed the sun at night and protected it in the underworld only to spit it back out the next morning. The statue faces the east and the sun would set behind his back. 

An amazing view of the pok-a-tok court (a game played for human sacrifices)

A picture in a tunnel beneath the above ground temples where archaeologists have found earlier temples. This is a bird whose beak is missing. 

The hieroglyph staircase - it tells the story of the last Mayan king. The first 15 steps were found intact, and archaeologists had to put the remaining steps back in place as they had fallen. 

The captain of the winning team of the pok-a-tok game was often the one who was sacrificed; it was a great honor for him. He was beheaded on this stone at the foot of a statue. 

The place the king would stand to address his thousands of subjects

The only statue in Copan found with its original paint still on it

After our tour, Mauricio set up a tour by horseback of a local hacienda in the mountains. He planned to pick us up at our hotel at 2. We grabbed lunch with Dale and Sara, who are spending the week in Copan taking Spanish classes. We saw this little guy in the central park:

It's a baby armadillo!

Yesterday was my first time on a horse, and I had a blast riding! He was pretty tranquil, and Mauricio had a 12-year old boy named Eduardo assisting him, so anytime he slowed down or wasn't responding to me, Eduardo would help out. Eduardo's dad owns the horses, and he was a very helpful assistant! He didn't speak any English, so I was able to practice my Spanish with him. 

View of Copan from the mountainside:

We met Mauricio and his brother, Fredy, for dinner and a movie. Fredy is actually an anthropologist with a lot of experience in Mayan history and is finishing his studies at the University of Michigan. He just happened to be home in Copan visiting for a bit. I got his contact information, and he said we could try to set up a visit to my classroom sometime next year, as my 5th graders will study the ancient Mayans. I picked up some great souvenirs to share with the kids as well. We met some awesome people in Copan, including a coffee shop owner named Katya. We met Mauricio at her shop to have coffee with them this morning. They serve the best chai frappe I've ever had! Katya also has a spa in the mountains nearby where her family grows the coffee for the shop. 

It was sad to say goodbye to Copan today, and I definitely plan on visiting some time again. It was a very safe place, full of friendly people, and amazing sights. 

We arrived back safely in La Ceiba, and I have my last Spanish class tomorrow. The rest of the week, I will be volunteering mornings and afternoons at the school. From what I can tell, I will have 1st through 3rd graders in the morning. 

Spanish word of the day: "cheque" meaning "alright?" or "is everything good?" To which I would reply "todo bien" (all is good).