Mayan Ruins and Homicides

Today is my last day in Copán. Also it was my last chance to see the famous Copán Ruins, the biggest Mayan Ruins in Honduras. The ruins are the reason why tourists come here; yet I had not seen them. But today, I decided, I would.

All the people that I’ve talked to about the ruins told me to hire a guide. Sure it’s more expensive, they said, but it's so worth it. The guide will explain the purpose of each statue and building, the culture of Mayans and so on. Otherwise, this one woman said to me this morning, all you do is stare at rocks.

Well, guess what? I’m cheap. The entrance to the ruins alone was 15 dollars. I think that is expensive. So I decided to go about it without a guide. How bad could it be, I thought. There are explanation boards everywhere, I’m sure. So I entered alone, only accompanied by my camera and tons of Macaws.

And I ended up staring at rocks. Cool rocks, for sure, but without explanation they were just rocks.

I had fun though. The pyramids (or temples or whatever) sure are interesting to look at. I was walking close to a tall pyramid-like structure when I saw people up, on top of it. I wanted to get up there too, but I couldn’t see any stairs or path. The structure itself had stairs, of course, it was a pyramid. So I thought, this must be the way up.

I though Mayans were tiny hobbit-people, just like me. But these stairs were made for giants! It was quite a job to get on top. And when I did, I realized there was a fence in front of me – forbidden entrance. On the other side were about 30 elementary school students staring at me with their guide. “Ehhh… Was I not supposed to… climb the sacred stairs to the… holy temple?”

Oh well, I had fun and took loads of pictures. Now I just need to pack, once again, my backpack. Tomorrow it’s Caribbean, baby!

I feel I should tell you more about Honduras, but I don’t know what. My peaceful life in this quiet little town is not exactly a model example of Honduran life. Honduras is actually the lead country in the whole world in homicides: more homicides per capita than any other country. Even Mexico. Human life has no value here. You can get killed for your shoes.

Poverty is an issue here. There are Mayan villages on the mountains where children starve to death every day. People don’t even have clean water. It’s a third world country. And I don’t know how to deal with that. But I met one awesome lady here. Her name is Ellen and she is from the States, but has been living here for few years now. Originally she came to study Spanish for a week, but decided to stay. She went to visit some villages and schools and when she noticed that the students didn’t have books or pens or anything, she bought them books and pens.

When her friends back in the States heard about it, they sent her money to help more. First she repaired a school and then she built one. Now she has her own organization that does humanitarian work in Honduras. They are involved with many projects such as building and repairing schools and medical clinics, helping villages to have clean water etc.

It’s really humbling to meet people like Ellen, who dedicate their lives to helping others. Not all people are meant to live like her, but we should all learn from her.


"We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Two weeks of Solitude

I have gotten myself stuck in a calm and peaceful life here in Honduras. And I quite enjoy it. My days pass by quietly, with Spanish lessons in the morning, relaxing and reading in the afternoon. I rarely go out except to buy groceries. I find myself loving the solitude this place grants me. I do not miss the company of others, although I do enjoy the encounters with my lovely neighbor, Ale (the Brazilian).

Ale is the kind of girl that you just can't help but liking. She is sweet to everyone, always so happy and smiling. Plus she cooks great (although only vegetarian) and often invites me to eat.

Since last time I wrote I have found out that in the apartment below mine live two nice girls, Liza from the States and Joelyn (not sure how to spell) from Belgium. They work in café ViaVia, which is the gringo place to go around here.

Yesterday all of us girls went out to have pizza together. We were accompanied by Alejandro, are friend of the girls. We had a nice time and I did enjoy having company for a change. But it frustrates me that I am not yet able to construct complicated sentences in Spanish. I understand almost everything I hear, but talking is annoyingly hard. I don’t have enough vocabulary.

I have long been able to easily manage all daily things with my Spanish. But now I am at the point where those things are not enough anymore. I want to be able to talk about politics, history, health care and what kind of book I was reading last week. I want to be fluent in Spanish. But big news, as easy language as it is, it does not happen overnight.

In my peacefulness I have not succeeded in taking a lot of pictures. For this reason I have not posted them either. I would love to show you what a wonderful little town Copán is, but you will just have to wait until I get my inspiration. And it will come, before I leave. I am sure of it.

My Spanish school has a bookshelf with tons of books in English. I remember many times back in Finland, when I was complaining how I don’t have time to just read books anymore. Well, now I do. I have time to read as many books I want, while relaxing in a hammock, sweet dog next to me, having the warm Honduran sun make me feel like in paradise.

The peacefulness around here has a limit, though. And that limit is ten o’clock in the evening, when I usually go to bed (lame, huh?). That is exactly when all the dogs in the neighborhood start their two-hour barking contest. And after that, around four in the morning, the roosters start their serenade. But I got kind of used to that in Mexico already.

I am not yet sure of my future travel plans, but I am hoping to make it to Utila, one of Hondura’s Caribbean islands known as Bay Islands, to get certified as a diver. Utila is the cheapest place in the world to get certified, plus they have the second biggest coral reef in the world. Wish me luck.