Page 170 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

milk, fish and plantains that had plenty of flavor without
the spicy yellow chile cabro on offer. Fishermen unloaded
their catch from cayucos (small skiffs) at the pier below the
restaurant as patrons ordered whole fried fish and garlic
shrimp. Children in elaborate headdresses gathered in one
corner, eager to perform traditional dances for their families
and visitors. While sheets of rain dropped like stage curtains
outside the open-air restaurant, drummers and dancers filled
the restaurant with rhythm and color. I may have been denied
underwater adventures, but my time in Punta Gorda was just
as fulfilling and fun.

On to Copan

A short flight and long drive transported me from the Carib-
bean to the hillside town of Ruinas de Copan in lush green
highlands of Honduras, where some of the world’s finest
coffee beans are harvested at huge plantations. Small red
tuk-tuks ferried school kids and shoppers up and down steep
cobblestoned streets past simple white and pink houses and
storefronts with terracotta tiled roofs. The town reminded me
of Peru’s Cusco on a far smaller scale, with touristy shops
and restaurants, a small museum, a central plaza and a slight
hippie vibe. Nearby Santa Rosa de Copan has been called the
Berkley of Honduras. I’ll definitely catch it next time around.

Copan’s legendary macaws were in full voice and color when
I arrived at the archeological site the next morning. Sky-high
cedar, guanacaste and ceiba trees lined the trail to the Acrop-
olis, where structures nearly 100 feet high towered above the
grassy Great Plaza. The temples and pillars were covered in
amazing carvings and reliefs depicting rulers wearing ornate
headdresses, serpents with wide mouths opening to the
underworld and all sorts of creatures including jaguars and
bats. Stone macaws, skulls and Maya deities adorned various
structures, while narrow underground tunnels revealed bits
of painted walls and sculptures from temples buried beneath
those rising above the Great Plaza.

Those who love all things Mayan know Copan is a truly
special archeological site. Thanks to its remote location in a
less-traveled country, Copan is remarkably well preserved
and untrammeled. It’s smaller than the more famous sites

One of the structures in the Acropolis at Copan.

170 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018