On December 26th, the day after Christmas we headed out for Copan Ruinas. We arrived at the Santa Barbara bus station at 8:40 am to find a line wrapped around the entire building. We got in line and it took us about 30 minutes to get our tickets, could have been worse. Then we waited for the bus to come and I prepped my parents for what they would have to do when it did. My dad was to take the luggage to the back door and get on and my mom and I would go to the front. There was absolutely no semblance of a line or any type of order at all. Whoever could push their way onto the bus would get a seat. Well, we all managed to get on the bus and actually got a seat. About 15 minutes after we left Santa Barbara the bus pulled over to the side of the road and just stopped for about 15 minutes, then without a word being spoken everybody got off the bus and stood on the side of the road for another 15 minutes. Then again, without a word being spoken, everybody got back on the bus and we turned around and drove back to Santa Barbara. The bus apparently had a problem and wasn’t going to make it all the way to San Pedro Sula. It was amazing how nobody ever explained what was going on and how nobody got mad. In the states we would all demand an explanation and a refund. When we got back to the Santa Barbara bus station there was a line of about a 100 people waiting to get on the next bus. My family decided we weren’t about to wait in line again and just walked to the front of the line and pushed our way onto the bus (only a few people yelled out ‘line!’ to us), which was already completely full so we had to stand the whole way. We stayed on that bus about an hour and then got off at Ceibita, a turn off, and had to wait on the side of the road for another bus. At first they told us that the bus to Copan Ruinas wouldn’t be there for hours, but then we realized we could take a bus to La Entrada, another turn off, and then get a bus from there to Copan Ruinas. Luckily the bus to La Entrada arrived quickly and we only had to stand half the time. My dad made fast friends with 4 little kids all packed into one seat (think yellow school bus seats). About an hour later we got off at La Entrada and caught our nicest bus yet to Copan Ruinas. It wasn’t a chicken bus and we didn’t have to stand at all. Unfortunately the road to Copan is a little windy and a few people threw up. By the time we got to Copan Ruinas it was about 4 pm. A trip that takes 2.5 hours in a car took us 7 hours. Once we got to Copan the trip still wasn’t over though, we still had to get to our hotel with was outside of town on a hill. My mom and I took a little 3 wheeled taxi and my dad decided to walk because he was still nauseous from the bus ride. I was impressed with my parents’ patience and flexibility and ability to enjoy the ride. It was kinda ironic, because it was the worst transportation experience I have ever had…I have never had to wait to get on a bus and have never been on a bus when it broke down. In the end it was worth all the trouble because Hacienda San Lucas, our hotel, was absolutely incredible.
Hotel Hacienda San Lucas
Hacienda San Lucas is about a 10 minute drive outside of town up on a hill so it is overlooking Copan. Favia, the owner, is a Honduran woman who lived in the US for a while. The hacienda has been in her family for over 100 years and just a few years ago she decided she would turn it into a functioning hotel. She did a wonderful job of it, the landscaping is amazing, the service is excellent, the sheets and towels are clean, and all the details truly make it a unique place (especially for Honduras). Every night they light hundreds of candles to illuminate the rooms, walkways and restaurant. The food is really what impressed me most, I think I can say it is the best Honduran food I have ever had. We had a five course meal the first night and a four course meal the second. The surprising thing was that it is all traditional Honduran food (beans, veggies, tamales, adobe sauce, corn soup, scrambled eggs, etc.) but they do something to make it amazing, I couldn’t get over it!
The next day mom woke up with a cold so dad and I went to the Mayan Ruins by ourselves. Although it was a shame that she wasn’t feeling well, I think she still enjoyed just relaxing at the hotel. Dad and I got a guide for the Ruins, which was expensive, but worth it because there are no plaques anywhere in the ruins that tell you what things are.
I was really impressed with the grass; it is by far the nicest and most abundant grass that I have ever seen in Honduras. I wanted to take off my shoes and walk barefoot.
My dad at the ruins
Me in the tunnels at the ruins
Hotel Hacienda San LucasHacienda San Lucas is about a 10 minute drive outside of town up on a hill so it is overlooking Copan. Favia, the owner, is a Honduran woman who lived in the US for a while. The hacienda has been in her family for over 100 years and just a few years ago she decided she would turn it into a functioning hotel. She did a wonderful job of it, the landscaping is amazing, the service is excellent, the sheets and towels are clean, and all the details truly make it a unique place (especially for Honduras). Every night they light hundreds of candles to illuminate the rooms, walkways and restaurant. The food is really what impressed me most, I think I can say it is the best Honduran food I have ever had. We had a five course meal the first night and a four course meal the second. The surprising thing was that it is all traditional Honduran food (beans, veggies, tamales, adobe sauce, corn soup, scrambled eggs, etc.) but they do something to make it amazing, I couldn’t get over it!
The next day mom woke up with a cold so dad and I went to the Mayan Ruins by ourselves. Although it was a shame that she wasn’t feeling well, I think she still enjoyed just relaxing at the hotel. Dad and I got a guide for the Ruins, which was expensive, but worth it because there are no plaques anywhere in the ruins that tell you what things are.
I was really impressed with the grass; it is by far the nicest and most abundant grass that I have ever seen in Honduras. I wanted to take off my shoes and walk barefoot.My dad at the ruinsMe in the tunnels at the ruinsThen we went to Macaw Mountain, a bird conservatory and ate lunch there and took a tour. The birds were amazing.
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