Copan

After a good hearty breakfast, we met in the bar overlooking the pool for a class from Juan.  He gave us a good overview of Copan complete with handouts.  Guatemala and Honduras do not allow foreign guides to guide at the major sites so we had to use one of the local guides.  His English was okay but the depth of his knowledge was no where near Juan's.  But, a wonderful site, is a wonderful site and with Juan's briefing before we went, and his occasional insertions and corrections, we got the gist of it all.  We were greeted at the entrance gate by about a dozen colorful Macaws, swooping, perching on branches, calling loudly. 
We started the tour at the "Forest of the Kings." This is a large plaza with many beautifully carved stellae of some of the major kings of Copan.  18 Rabbit was the King who had it built and is prominently recognized.  The picture above is of the famous Alter Q which shows the long lineage and passing of power from one king to the next.  It has the name of the 16 rulers and the dates.  The pyramid of the inscriptions has glyphs on  each of the stair risers and was instrumental in breaking the code of the Maya language.  It had to have been magnificent in its day.  There are several levels of building at Copan.  It is impressive to look down from the highest level to see how high and massive the building platform is.

We went back to town for a late lunch and then some went back to the hotel, some back to the site to visit the museum.  The main attraction of the museum is a full size replica of the Rosalilla which is the inner buried temple under Pyramid 26.  The colors are still vivid showing the snakes and feathers well.  Dave, Charlotte, Paul and I decided to go back into the site to see the original.  Unfortunately, it was too close to closing and it was already closed.  But, since it was close to closing, almost all the people had left the site and we were able to enjoy the beauty and tranquility.

Many of us enjoyed cooling off and relaxing in the hotel pool and hot tub before going to dinner.  We walked through the main square to a little restaurant.  The evenings are cool and comfortable so people are out.  Children playing, young couples getting to know each other, friends chatting, vendors selling food, trinkets, etc.  Copan is full of small 3 wheeled motorcycle taxis.  Sandra and Charles took advantage of one to get a lift back to the hotel after dinner. After dinner, Ann, Patty and I enjoyed a stroll through the park looking at the sculptures and the monument in the center of the square with the cardinal points all in Maya glyphs. 

The end of our first day at the ruins.