Copan for the New Year

We arrived in the small town of Copan, near to the ancient Mayan city if the same name on the 2nd January. A day of recovery with no public transport was needed on the 1st. Copan is very easy to get to by bus because of the numbers of tourists who visit for the archaeology. Though it rained through the day our first impressions were of a pleasant, small hill town set out on a grid pattern with a wooded park at its heart. The numbers of hotels, tourist restaurants, bars and gringos wandering the streets were a big change compared to Gracias.

A hotel tout took us to a great hotel near the bus station by the name of Hotel Carillo's. A series of rooms were set around a small courtyard with a tiled verandah running around its whole circuit. The room was very clean and the hot water in the shower was really hot. The owner was incredibly helpful and has also provided drinking water and an internet connection. At 200 lempiras a night we certainly recommend it to anyone going to Copan.

Our first missions were to find a place to stay for a couple of weeks (somewhere quiet with a kitchen, hot water and yoga space) and a new laptop for Georgia since the Vaio blew up in Guatemala. Within 3 hours we had found an apartment through the local language school which is where we are now staying and had looked at a second hand Dell laptop. We took the apartment but not the laptop as the next day we found a shop that could get a new Toshiba from nearby San Pedro Sula for the same price within 24 hours. Georgia is now back at work with a working, though much heftier, laptop.

We have also met up again with Paco, the Guatemalan archaeologist from Tilal who is now working at Copan. It is great to see him again because he is a great person and enjoyable to spend time with. Thankfully he shares my belief, discovered on Saturday night while out drinking with him, that anyone found playing Stairway To Heaven, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Brown Eyed Girl or House of the Rising Sun on pan pipe type flute, as well as those listening, need urgent therapy! The mini light show playing across the musician's display of pan pipes for sale really set the whole concert off splendidly.

We'll get some pictures up later. I'm now off the the archaeological park for a reco and first photography for the afternoon (Sunday).