Copán Ruinas, Honduras

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, and San Pedro Sula is considered the world’s most violent city… that being said, we survived our stay in Honduras without any problems. Luckily, the little town of Copan Ruinas is a pleasant town that is quiet and safe for tourists. On our first morning, we decided to go on a reckie (reconnaissance run) to the entrance of the ruins to get an idea of logistics for our visit the following day… we ended up on a very nice interpretative nature trail with the loudest scarlet macaws hanging out in an ancient Ceiba tree.

We then headed to the interactive Casa K’inich Children’s Museum. It’s designed to teach young children about the Mayan Culture. Now THIS is the type of museum that we enjoy! It was interactive and had great displays explaining the ancient Mesoamerican ball game that was played by the Mayans. We tried out new skills at the real ruin site the following day:

We arrived early in the morning to avoid the heat and the crowds, and can now take pride in the fact that we were the FIRST people to enter the site on that day. What probably most impressed us was how many temples are still hidden under mounds of dirt and trees. It really gives you an appreciation for how old they really are.

To finish off our first Mayan cultural experience, we went to a tea and chocolate café for a few traditional Mayan made snacks and hot chocolate over sunset. We hope the ancients don’t mind that we spiked their raw chocolate drink with some local rum.

Nearby Copan is a 375-acre jungle shade grown coffee farm for Welchez coffee. We didn’t have high expectations for Finca Santa Isabel but were blown away by the tour. First of all, we had our own private tour with a really knowledgeable guide. Secondly, we didn’t know that we would be served a three-course lunch in the heart of forest next to a babbling brook! We had a lovely walk through the mountain farm and were amazed by how the coffee integrated with the forest. The comparison of this large scale farm to the small one we saw in Panama was immense. Beans were washed through huge machines and sorted through several mechanical processes before then sorted by a lineup of real life old lady hands!