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