The 3:20am alarm was brutal.
We drove through Guatemala City nice and early and in doing so avoided the dreaded traffic; we retraced our journey towards Rio Dulce for a while, and then veered off towards Honduras.
We stopped to admire the Sierra Madre. This mountain range was important to the Mayans. Due to the terrain and the daily mini-earthquakes, jade regularly appeared (without having to be mined) and they used the stone for important ceremonies.
As the sun rose, we were treated to amazing crepuscular rays. The amount of litter by the roadside continued to shock us.
Breakfast tasted a lot better than it looked. A crisp tortilla with eggs, beans, cheese, ranchero sauce and sour cream, with a welcome cup of coffee.
We officially crossed into Honduras without leaving the bus. How easy was that? Pretty easy considering that Dennis (our guide) had warned us that it could be a tricky one; it all depended on who was on duty. Yes, the words bribe and corruption were mentioned.
The landscape is hilly, and more cultivated. The places we passed look more like little villages, with people looking after their front gardens.
We checked into our hotel. We’re told that the local rooster is noisy all day and all night. We had such an early start this morning that hopefully this won’t trouble us too much.
Less than an hour away from Copán Ruinas is Luna Jaguar Aguas Termales. The owners have natural hot springs in their back garden, and they created a series of man-made pools with varying temperatures. After a hearty lunch (which included some grilled hot chilli peppers), we spend a couple of hours trying a fair few of the pools and had a lot of fun rubbing mud all over ourselves (our skins are now super soft and we look ten years younger!).
Back in town, we went out in search of beers and dinner. We’re now in malaria country so the full strength deet came out (horrible stuff).
We settle on Restaurant Via Via and try a couple of beers from Honduras and share a baleadas – a combination of eggs, beans, and cheese inside a soft corn tortilla. You can it eat it plain or add salsa picante and pickled vegetables.
The town is very small, and built around the central square, which lies on a flat surface. All the streets around it are ridiculously steep. There are a few restaurants and hotels. It’s a dinky town. Bizarrely, the museums are open until 9pm and don’t open until 1pm so sadly, we won’t be able to check them out as that’s when we’re leaving.
Andy and I had plenty of time to chat during our long bus journey today, and we thought it was time to stir things up a little. With no further ado, we’re introducing the ‘Big Trip Comment Competition’. We’ve really enjoyed the comments we’ve had so far on the blog (thank you guys); and we want more. We know we have a substantial audience but clearly, a number of you are shy little munchkins. So we’re opening the competition to everyone – if you’re new to the site (welcome!); an occasional or regular reader and an avid commenter. Comment away. Tell us what you think. Send us recommendations. You can be as serious or as funny as you want; just tell us your reactions to our stories. The prize? A bottle of Belizean rum. The winner will be announced on 17 April.*
And totally unrelated, did you see that Giroud goal? Oh my.
* Terms and conditions apply.