Traveling Applejax

We had a lovely day biking our way into Honduras. There were a couple of hills, but they weren’t nearly as bad as the ones a few days ago. We were a bit disappointed when the border-crossing officials refused to stamp our passports though. They claim that the stamp that got us into Guatemala is good for Honduras too. Bummer. Between the Guatemalan exit fee and the Honduran entrance fee we also spent $8 that a sign shortly after the border crossing informed us we shouldn’t have to pay. Corrupt officials and poor sign placement. We have kind of come to expect that though. Ah well, at least it was only $8.

We ended up in Copan Ruinas, a small town right next to the Copan Mayan ruins. We spent today exploring the ruins, which will be our last for multiple reasons. For one, this is the farthest south the Mayans settled — there are no other Mayan ruins in Honduras (or Nicaragua or Costa Rica for that matter). Also, I think we’re a bit ruined out. Copan lacks the publicity of Chichen Itza (it’s no 8th wonder of the world) and the wild grandeur of Tikal. It is famous for the copious amounts of Stellae (engraved stone statues complete with images and glyphs), however, which are in decent shape considering the centuries of weather damage.

Tomorrow we start our ride across Honduras. We’ll be heading north toward the Gulf coast where we plan to do some diving. I’ll probably be posting a little more regularly from now on since school starts next week and I’ll have to be online in order to teach, grade, etc. Sorry I don’t have any new photos for you this time — I promise to get some posted soon. Also, I’m anxious to reveal the answers to the latest games and poll questions, so don’t forget to submit your guesses ASAP.