Copan Ruinas- Ancient Maya

Some Background Info

Honduras was home to the Mayan people, who are thought to have arrived in Honduras as early as 1000 BC. This society of people settled in North Western Honduras on the beautiful plains of the Copan River, and built the city of Copan. Honduras has a variety of attractions to offer travelers, and one of the main attractions is the remains of the ancient Mayan city of Copan.




There is archeological evidence that the Copan Valley has been inhabited since as early as 1200 BC. However it was not until AD 426 that Copan was ruled by a royal family. Copan is not the biggest Mayan City in Central America, however it was the predominant cultural centre during the Mayan period. It mounted to be highly advanced in its evolvement of sculptures, astronomy and hieroglyphic writing.

In AD 749 the most famous monument the city ever saw was erected, the spectacular Hieroglyphic Stairway, by King Smoky Shell. The stairway was created in order to perpetuate the success of the kingdom. The inscription found on the hieroglyphic staircase is the longest inscription found in the Mayan world. Initially it was thought that the hieroglyphs found in Copan were firmly rooted in astronomical and calendaric calculations. Through recent investigations it has been discovered that the script actually refers to the life and times of the Mayan rulers.

 There are more than 1250 glyph blocks in its inscription. The stairway is important because many monuments of previous rulers had been destroyed by their successors, and the stairway provides the names and dates of the rulers and furthermore it narrates battles and conquests of these leaders. The final ruler of Copan, U Cit Tok', came to power in AD 822, it is still unknown when he died.

It is only recently that archeologists are beginning to comprehend the reasons behind the collapse of Copan. Amid the last few decades the city saw and immense population growth, and this was a huge strain for the land, which the people of Copan were being agriculturally active on, leading to environmental degradation. The civilization began to migrate to other areas of the valley which were not designed for settlement. Many areas were deforested, and during the monsoon season the land would subsequently flood as there was an increased lack of vegetation to absorb the water. The society not only had to cope with floods during a period climatic fluctuations, but also intense droughts. Scientists have found evidence of malnutrition in the remains they have discovered, and during this period life expectancy decreased dramatically. The valley was not abandoned by the society instantly, it is thought that it was still inhabited for another one or two hundred years.

The first recorded discovery of the ruins was by Diego Garcia de Palacios on March 8th, 1576. It was not until three hundred years later that the history of the ruins was investigated. Archeologists are continuing to make new discoveries in the site. They have divided the site into five phases and it is the fifth phase that is visible to people today. However layers of the other phases are buried underneath the standing ruins. These remains are beginning to be explored today through the means of underground tunnels, two of which are now open to the public.

-Mayan Ruins of Copan, by Lowri Gilbert

This information was found at: http://travel-to-honduras.com/travel/honduras-mayan-ruins-of-copan.php

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Ok, now that I got that out of the way and you have some educational background about the Mayans and the ruins at Copan, I will continue with my narrative of my experience there.

So after breakfast, we set out on a hike across town to get to the ruins by foot. We picked up some bottled water, threw our cameras and notepads in our day packs, and set out for the road. The young daughter of the woman who runs the hostel we're staying at drew us a little picture of the route to take to get to the ruins. I was getting more and more excited by the minute.

The city of Copan was a lot more lively during the daytime. As we walked through the narrow cobblestone streets, people were shouting and selling handmade crafts and little tacos smelling all kinds of yummy every street we walked down. The market called out to me and I wanted to partake in the fun of it all, but the ruins were a-waitin'. As we walked farther away from town, down a country road that would lead us to the ruins, I could not contain my excitement.

But then we came to a fork in the road. To the right, the ruins were less than 1 km away. To the left there was a 4 km road that would take us to Macaw Moutain, where the native birds of Honduras dwell. Colorful, beautiful, tropical macaws. We couldn't say no.

So we began trekking up the steep hillside and immediately sweat poured down our faces and backs. But it felt good to hike. Along the way, we saw wooden shacks, with dirt floors. I realized people lived inside. Here is a picture of me in front of one:



That shack behind me there- is someone's home.
It was shocking. I couldn't fathom what life would be like living in there, and I was drowned in these thoughts as we continued to hike up the hill. It was a quiet, peaceful hike. It was wonderful to be out there, on a country road, under the clear, blue Honduran sky, hiking up the road and feeling the good burning throughout my legs, my core, and my back, heading towards the macaws. Here is a picture of the greenery all around me:



After a long, hot, sweaty hike which we thoroughly enjoyed, we finally arrived at the bird sanctuary. We joined a guided tour of the place, and saw many different kinds of birds. We saw cocoa plants, big spiders, and owls, parakeets, toucans and macaws. Here is a picture of a toucan, our tour guide and a macaw:



 


It was a lot of fun. I fell in love with these owls:

 

The first one had these big, beautiful dark eyes and he stared back at me with such intent, I wanted to make him mine.

After our tour and a cup of fresh coffee, we decided to hop on a tuck-tuck and get a ride to the ruins. I couldn't wait any longer. Here's us in a tuck-tuck:

 

And off we went!

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Because of our pit stop, it was already pretty late in the day. But we didn't mind. We had every intention of going back the following day. So by the time we arrived, the park was only open for another hour or so.
We took a guide and allowed her to show us around. When we began walking down the path, several macaws flew over our heads, taking our breath away. It was beautiful. When I finally caught my first glimpse of the ruins, my heart skipped a beat. The ancient ruins of the Maya completed my trifecta of seeing the ruins of the Aztecs, the Incas, and now the Mayans. We immediately climbed the first pyramid we saw and took in the view from atop. It was grand.

 


The intricate carvings are astonishing. It was breathtaking to see that so many centuries ago, they were able to carve these designs into rock and here we were, standing in front of it, centuries later, marveling in all of its glory. It really humbles you and you think about how advanced these people were to be able to produce such art with perfection. Seeing these carvings made me feel connected to people who existed thousands of years ago. I can see how they would have bent over a giant piece of rock, and how they would chisel or carve away on the hard surface to painstakingly create a curve or a ditch, blowing on it and working day after day to smooth its sides. There is no denying the hard work and effort they put into creating such intricate sculptures.

 


Ancient, I tell you. Old-ass stuff. Puts the world into perspective and how far we've come, and where we were. It's amazing to see the passage of time, and everything trivial in my life suddenly doesn't matter. We are a blink of an eye. Long after I'm gone, this thing will still be standing here. And then you begin to think about how you can make a mark on this earth while you are here.







So as the day began coming to a close, we decided to take a few more looks around and just come back the following day. We were getting hungry. We took a few more shots of the digs and began walking out of the park.

For dinner, we wanted to try some street food- so we went straight for those delicious smelling tacos and satisfied our hunger. They were pretty darn good. And so darn cheap. And fresh. Again, no preservatives, no chemicals. We plopped down on the side of the road and chowed down, taking in the night scene.


 

We walked around, trying to work off our filling meal, and tried to chat with the locals in more of our broken Spanish. It's amazing though, how much of what I learned came back to me, and I was able to get a few compliments from them- they commented about how well I spoke Spanish, and I was pleased to be able to understand them when they said that. We walked up steeper streets to get exercise, and talked about what more we wanted to do. We definitely wanted to go back to the ruins, check out their museums, and maybe try horseback riding. Also, the next day was New Year's Eve. We couldn't wait to see how the Hondurans celebrated their New Year's. In our scattered conversations with the locals, Paul kept asking about the "Apocalypto" and how they all felt about the Mayan calendar ending. That brought about a lot of laughs from the Hondurans. They giggled when Paul would widen his eyes, raise his arms, and say "Apocalypto!" in his animated way. And it was funny and surprising to me when I saw that they all understood what Paul meant. From what I can gather, they reassured us that life is a cycle, and the Mayan calendar ending is only the end of the previous cycle. At least we heard it from the source. The world will not end in 2012, sorry to disappoint you.

We then hit up some souvenir shops, and met some really nice salesfolks who had cute ways of making a sale. This one particular store I liked had a girl who would tell us "It really costs 300 limperas, but I'll give to you for 250." She pretty much used that line for everything, and it worked. I bought quite a lot of trinkets from that store. They had some nice things, and I just liked her sales method. It was cute. I tried to pick out authentic things, things that would bring back special memories, something I'd treasure. I have a hard time buying things for myself when I travel, but I've learned over time that every single knick knack I pick up becomes absolutely precious when I'm back home in California. They are all one of a kind and special and worth so much more than the dollar amount I pay for them.

After a healthy amount of souvenir shopping and walking around aimlessly, fully enjoying just the act of wandering down unfamiliar streets, we finally headed back to our hostel and spent the rest of the evening playing with the owner's adorable little boy:

  

*****

The next morning was New Year's Eve Day. We were giddy and excited to go back to the ruins. We found another great breakfast nook and had a filling, delicious breakfast of El Tipico:

  

And then we immediately set out for the road again. Here's a picture of the road:



When we got there, we took our time, without a guide, just walking around and taking it all in. We marveled at the giant trees, the jungle-like growth on the pyramids, the age-old stones with all of their carvings, and imagined what a Mayan empire might have been like in its hayday.
 

Above is a shot of Paul standing over the ball court. They say that during the Mayan civilization, they held fighting competitions there, and they would kill the winners. I could almost hear the screams, the bashing of bones on the rock, and the blood dripping from the steps and onto the grass. The cheering and the booing. Us humans have a history of enjoying violence for sport. It goes way back, doesn't it?

We checked out the museum and saw a replica of the temple that used to stand on the holy grounds:



Most of all, we were so happy to have visited another country where we can learn about another culture, an ancient civilization, and expand our horizons even more. The study of another language, another world, another race- it allows us to see beyond our world and our lives, and learn to appreciate diversity and it enriches our own experiences to be able to be grateful for what we have and be open to others' views. I couldn't think of a better way to spend the last day of 2011.

 

After spending the day at the ruins, we were eager to partake in the celebration of New Year's Eve.

***to be continued.