Woke up at 3am for the 4am shuttle to Copán…ugghhhh…it’ll be worth it! Haha. We got picked up 10 minutes early… a promising start to our shortest shuttle ride yet…or so we thought. Haha.
We waste almost an hour running around Antigua, collecting more passengers. Dang! We thought we might get away with a lighter load. Nope! Completely full! We had 2 spots left, that were to be filled by a couple in Guatemala City, that we’d pick up on the way.
We finally leave Antigua, and not long after, we hit THE WORST traffic. Ambulances are going by, and we all realize we’ll be sitting here for a while. Uh-oh! As we inch along the road, we never see the accident we presume is the reason for the traffic. Then it hits us; this was probably just regular Guatemala City traffic. Horrible! Like a giant parking lot that slowly moves forward, half a car length at a time. The roads are narrow and just can’t handle the crazy amount of cars. It took us 3 hours to get to the gas station in Guatemala City, where we picked up the 2 new people. Omg. We should’ve been arriving in 2 hours time, but we haven’t even left the city yet! Haha. So much for this being our shortest ride!
Meanwhile, during the worst traffic, about an hour into the drive, the driver realizes he forgot to load the surf board of one of the people on board. He pulled over to double check, and it wasn’t there. Turns out he left it on the street where we picked up the woman. As a collective group, using a guy’s phone with Guatemalan cell service and a couple that translated for the woman, we managed to call the hotel and have them go out and look for the surfboard. They found it! Next step was to try and contact the boyfriend, who owns the surfboard, who so inconveniently didn’t have a cell phone and was also planning to leave on a chicken bus for the Honduran border later that day. He was doing it this way because he is Peruvian, and his passport expired 10 years ago, and he never renewed it. So, his plan is to sneak across the border somehow. What?!!! Lol, hot mess express if I’ve ever witnessed one, lol. Good luck, dude!
We collectively decided not to stop for food, as we all are desperate to get to Copán. Not to mention, this van was the least comfortable yet. I was on a double seat with a space to my left, and the seat was not wide enough for 2 adult butts… so, my left butt cheek was pretty much hanging off the entire ride, haha…which ended up being 9.5 hours. Have you ever experienced one butt cheeck falling asleep? 10/10 do NOT recommend, haha.
On top of a tingly butt, I was unable to use the “oh shit” bar in front of my seat. Early on during the ride, it came in handy several times, going around tight curves. If it weren’t for the seatbelt holding me in place and that handle for balance, I would’ve easily fallen into the aisle next to my seat. Bad news though, by this point, the woman seated in front of me had her hair down, and for the last half of the ride, I couldn’t use it without grabbing some of her hair. Haha. Grrrreat. The good news? Those snickers we bought yesterday really came in handy!
And now, I think, after three 10-hour shuttles in a 4 day time span, I am a certified pro!
We finally made it to the Guatemalan-Honduran border, and it was quite a breeze! It took a long time, but it was a smooth transition. A new country for me! Wooohooo! I technically drove through Honduras on the way to Nicaragua way back, but that just doesn’t count. After the border, it was a short 10-minute drive into town, Copán Ruinas. Our driver made a joke and said just an hour more to go, and for a minute, we all were concerned, lol. But we had already been tracking the GPS, and we knew it wasn’t that far. Thank all the gods, lol.
Once we arrived to Copán, we got off the shuttle and began making our way towards the airbnb. Easier said than done, as it became quite the journey of nearly wrong turns that were actually correct; we essentially walked around the one dirt path we needed to go up, and instead, hike up 3 different long steep hills, haha. Our last attempt brought us to a GIANT steep hill, and we climb halfway up before we stop and rethink our life decisions. 🤣 We reviewed the video that the airbnb host sent Dana, showing us how to get to the apartment from a landmark hotel, which is perched on this huge hill, out of eyesight at this point. We try to find buildings that look familiar to us on the street we’re on, but to no avail. Hayden hikes it to the top of the steepest part and yells back to us that this is the correct road. Ugggghhhh….it’ll be worth it! Lol. And it was! This apartment has an adorable open and modern concept, with two bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. And there is a washing machine! Yassssss! So we’re doing all the laundry, lol.
We settle into the apartment and shortly head out to the grocery store and bank. The first bank we go to has a screen that is nearly illegible, and we try to take out 3,000 Lempira, but we can’t see how many zeros are there, so Dana tries to take it out, and the machine says it doesn’t have enough money in it, lol. It must’ve been 30,000 Lempira, hahaha. So the security guard tells us there is another bank across the park. We head there, but to enter, this security told us we needed face masks, even though we just saw someone walk out without one. Lol Okay……so we continue towards the supermarket and happen to stumble across another bank. We walk right in and have no problem reading the screen, and we successfully got our money. Hayden and I were desperate to find a good-looking Lempira bill for our collections. We were going to battle to the death for the bill in the best condition. Turns out the grocery store gave us 4 lovely single Lempira notes, so we didn’t have to duke it out. If we come across some 20 notes, though, we may have to battle it out, hehe.
Back home at the airbnb, Hayden begins cooking what is going to be a bomb-ass veggie bowl dinner. It was soooo good! And Dana and I were getting “work” done, catching up on posts and journaling. We also did some laundry, and we solved our El Salvador route! Yipeeeee! More to come.
We agreed to take a rest day tomorrow, so we didn’t set any alarms, but I still managed to be up early, lol. I continued editing and going through pictures, waiting for Dana and Hayden to get up. Once we were all awake, Hayden made us some breakfast: oatmeal with bananas, strawberries, and honey. So yummy! And all of a sudden, while finishing our breakfast, we heard the loudest, strangest cries. Hayden and I both thought it was a small child, but Dana got up and looked out the sliding doors. They were macaws! Wow! They were so beautiful, and we attempted to get photos, but the sunlight was not on our side. We stood for a minute, soaking up the view and enjoying our sheer luck. This was only the second time I had ever seen these birds in the wild. The other time was on a beach in Costa Rica.
We spent the day working on various projects. Hayden researching next steps after El Salvador, Dana working on TikTok’s, and emails, and I was working on journaling and getting back into my blog. I think I’d like to upkeep it and continue to write travel stories and tips, etc. It was a fun resvist.
At around 4pm, we got ready and headed out on a small self-guided chocolate and beer tour. First stop was Chocolate and Tea. Clearly a touristy spot, and not so cheap, but equally as cute and inviting. We each got a drink, Dana and I chose the spicy hot chocolate, and Hayden got a lemongrass tea. While we waited for the drinks to come out, we sampled tons of chocolate bars they had out; mint chocolate, chile with salt, honey, vanilla, cardamom, too many to even remember. They also had hot sauces, and boy, were they spicy! I wanted to take one home, but they were bigger than 3oz, and I don’t plan on checking my bag. *Sigh.*
We found a table and sat to await our chosen beverages, and when we got our hot chocolate, the waitress delivered a small bowl of chilli powder, and another with panela, or pure sugarcane. I guess we get to mix it all ourselves! Sweet! Of course, we tried a sip or two with nothing added, and it was quite bitter, although not as bitter as I know pure chocolate to be. We added in our doses of chilli and sugar, and once we found perfection, we sat back and enjoyed.
Not too long after, a gentleman walked in, a “gringo” who we had seen the day before on our way to the supermarket. He began telling us about his story and how he owns a cacao farm in Costa Rica, and is here learning more about cacao production. He held up a fabulous conversation, and I nerded out a bit on the history and anthropology of Mesoamerica. We discussed the genius of the Maya and how so much has been lost to history and to the people who wrote it. He gave me a few book recommendations, and I’m eager to find copies and give them a read. I felt in my element, talking about how incredible and advanced the Maya were with another individual who shares the same appreciation and reverence for that culture.
We nearly finished our conversation and were getting ready to leave when we realized we never introduced ourselves, haha. This gentleman’s name is Antonio, and we swapped instagrams, and maybe one day we’ll catch up with him again in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!
After our chocolate experience, we headed to Sol de Copán, an expat-owned Bavarian Brewery, in a remote Honduran town! Who would’ve thought?! We walked down the stairs into the basement location, and there were two beers available, a white ale and an amber ale. Dana and I each got one, and we tasted them all around. We all preferred the amber ale. We sat around talking about travels and potential next steps for Dana and Hayden. It was so fun to discuss the possiblities and to hear their thoughts on doing a youtube channel or a travel blog or even starting a business. There are so many options, but none of which are speaking to them just yet. It’s hard work! Witnessing all the effort and time that goes into making the TikTok’s, writing the emails, planning where to go next…It’s a lot! Sure, it’s easy for us on the outside to see their traveling lifestyle as an ideal thing, or a 2 year vacation, but its also work. Hard work. I’ve been loving seeing the insider edition of it all :).
After we felt nice an buzzed off one beer, we needed to find a place to eat. We had done some previous research, but nothing stood out to us, so we asked the bartender at the brewery. He told us his favorite was a burger joint. Meh. While that is probably delicious, we were on the hunt for something more local. I found in my research 2 things that appeared to be a local Honduran specialty: baleadas and anafres. Dana messaged our airbnb host, and he gave us a recommendation of Llama de Bosque. This had come up in our search, so I was immediately interested. We head over there and take a peak inside, and there aren’t many people at all. Hmmm….and across the street is a packed house. Hayden mentions this, and I think we’re all on the same page; usually, the busier a place is, the better it is, right?
Well, we go into the Llama del Bosque and look at the menu. They definitely have baleadas and anafres. I’m in. Lol. Sold! Hayden still has a nagging feeling about the other place, so we go check it out. We immediately realize it’s all American food, burgers, fish and chips, etc. We also realize the clientele are all gringos. Hahah ok…this changes things. We all agree we came out for local food, so back to the first place. We go in sit down, and are immediately attended to. Dana and I order one of each type of baleada, sencillo, with just beans and quesillo, and one with eggs added. We also order anafres, which is a bean and quesillo dip. Omg it was sooooo good. It tasted like the insides of a pupusas, which it essentially was. We all loved it! The baleadas came and were HUGE! The woman who brought them over also laughed with us…how cold we eat all of this? They were larger than the plate they were served on, haha. Oh well, it’s time to dig in! The baleada is a flour tortilla, stretched almost like pizza dough, so it’s one giant piece, and it’s almost fluffy, bordering on the consistency of pita bread, but still very much a flour tortilla. Inside, they add beans, cheese, eggs, and then they fold it over into a half-moon shape. Dang, were they good! Dana and I also ordered a Salvavida, the local beer, and bam! I was in heaven. I was truly feeling in the vibe of Central America and in my element. The people here in Copán Ruinas have been so kind and inviting, and it was really reminding me of El Salvador. Maybe that’s not a conincidence since they’re neighbors. 🙂
After we stuffed ourselves, it was time to head home. We wandered the streets and enjoyed some of the festive lights and decorations the different restaurants and businesses had. Tomorrow will be an early day for the Copán archeological site! My favorite! Hehe. See you there! 🤗
Taking Off With Amelia 