Lost and Found in Copán

by Jessie Davis (Canada)

A leap into the unknown Honduras

It was 10 pm and I had just arrived in Copán Ruinas. I didn’t know a soul, spoke toddler-level Spanish at best, and now I didn’t have a place to stay. On my 30th birthday I finally got tired of waiting for the perfect opportunity to travel and just went for it. I was on a solo trip in Guatemala and having a gorgeous, transformative time when an old friend reached out and suggested that we meet up for a week in Honduras, starting with a visit to the ruins in Copán. She even offered to take care of booking our hostel there, as well as transportation for the next leg of our travels. I couldn’t believe my luck. I was going to reconnect with my old friend Malia, have an unexpected adventure in Honduras, and all I had to do was show up! I hopped on a small shuttle bus from Antigua and headed to Copán Ruinas with an estimated arrival time of 9 pm. Border crossing delays held us up another hour or so, and I marveled at the concept of modern communication as I connected with Malia on Wi-Fi to share the news of my delay. “Don’t worry!” she said. “I’m already here at the hostel and there’s a restaurant next door. I’ll be here having a drink when you arrive.” When my bus pulled into town, I asked a local where to find the particular hostel Malia had booked. Thinking that my week’s worth of Spanish lessons were the reason for his puzzled look, I found a Wi-Fi connection and quickly discovered the sad state of affairs: Malia had mistakenly travelled to Santa Rosa de Copán instead of Copán Ruinas, and was now drinking Salva Vida about 100 kilometers away from where I was now standing alone, in the dark. As I fought to hide my nervous, frustrated tears, a British couple from my bus ride could see that I was struggling to hold it together and kindly offered to take me with them to see if there was an extra room at their hotel. This was the first of several happy accidents I would experience in Honduras. Casa de Café is a stunning bed and breakfast located just a short walk from Copán’s Central Park. I was a mess when we arrived, and was grateful to learn that not only was there a beautiful room available, but there was also a resident cat named Canela who found me immediately and stayed by my side all night, casting knowing glances out of her one good eye. Arriving in the darkness of night, it hadn’t occurred to me that we were at the top of the vast Copán River Valley. The distant mountains were a breathtaking sight as I sat alone in the garden the next morning and savored my made-to-order breakfast of fresh eggs and fruit. Malia had caught the first available bus to Copán Ruinas, and she arrived hungry and in need of a leg stretch. We wandered into the central area of town and discovered a second floor restaurant called Twisted Tanya’s that overlooked the romantic architecture and cobblestone streets below. While a far cry from traditional Honduran fare, our meals were delicious and inexpensive–and honestly, I would have paid double for the view. At breakfast the next morning, the Brits invited us to join them for some hot spring hopping at the lush Luna Jaguar Spa and the four of us rode there in the back of a beat-up old pickup truck, taking turns alternating between sitting on the wheel wells and holding onto the safety bars for dear life as we whizzed up and down the winding valley roads and took in the incredible vistas of forest and farmland. Tomorrow, Malia and I would finally visit the ruins and then jump on a bus for San Pedro Sula, where Malia had planned for us to catch another bus to the Pulhapanazak Falls at the north end of Lago de Yojoa–but once again, Malia’s planning skills and attention to detail were about to impact the second leg of our trip as well.