Asombrar: To Amaze

One of the greatest gifts of traveling, is the constant sense of wonder and awe. Something curiously difficult to find amidst our everyday environment; and yet, when we travel, we are constantly dwelling within the boundaries of this curious word: amazing. Copan opened its cobble-stoned palms and offered breath after breath of marvelous, pure, amazement. At the generosity of my host family. At the depth of verde (green) in Honduras. At the views. The ruins. The coffee. The language. Copan was simply the dwelling place of wild, unadulterated amazement.

Before I begin the true carne (meat) of my Honduran story, I would like to share a few, lighter of heart, adventures from the sun soaked city of Copan.



1). Mountain Biking

Have you ever experienced something so close to awful it was entertaining. That is a little bit like our mountain biking adventure. The intermediate course was by far the most intense strenuous biking I have ever seen or been a part of. I think of the 7 hills we went up, 4 were walked. It. Was. Hard. By the time I was done I think the 70% of my body that is supposedly water was sitting on my skin in the form of sweat. Half way through the biking adventure I noticed my left break didn't work, thinking nothing much of it, since we had only gone up hill, I decided not to slow us down with the repair. What goes up, must come down. I went up... I went down. Not on my terms. I did realize before imminent physical danger was there, but a fall is a fall, and one certainly need brakes while mountain biking.

before

after

2). Spelunking

A third climbing, a third hiking, and a third wading gets you about as close to spelunking ad you can with only words. This was by far the coolest thing I did in Copan. Here is a brief list of the things we encountered in the cave, with some pictures to augment the story.

- Bats

- Bat poop

- A spider the size of a human hand

- Neck deep water

- Some tight corners

3). Horseback Coffee Tour

What could be better than the combination of one of natures greatest animals and one of the world most exhilarating drinks? Not much. While the tour was mostly in Spanish, and our guide definitely had a thing for Alexis, there were a few things I took away. Mostly a free gourmet second lunch, complete with fresh brewed coffee, and photos. Maybe some knowledge about coffee. There are different micro climates on the coffee plantation, the bushes can be up to 10 meters tall, at one spot they stir the coffee with wooden sticks. That's about it... Here are a few more pictures so you all don't think I have nothing to show for our last adventure on our final day in Copan.

Leaving Copan was harder than I expected. I had begun grow the smallest of roots and was now entering into to another experience of transition. I know I will miss the cobble stones, conversations, and new friends, but I order for the real work to start I had to get to that not-so-little ranch. That place where children who otherwise would have nothing but starvation or worse for friends, can grow up with dignity, a career, and most importantly love. But more on that later.

 

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