Leaving paradise
This was more difficult than I thought, and I stayed in Roatan at least two days longer than I should have. Sounds like I'm being a bit of a drama queen, but the perennial backpacker dilemma seems to be that one inevitably falls behind schedule: so much to see and do - so little time (even though most of those complaining have been on the road for at least six months or more ...) Anyway; decided on the ferry from La Ceiba that I was probably not going to return to Honduras soon, and that it would be a sin not to see Copan Ruinas. So I headed for San Pedro Sula, and took another bus from there to Copan - 3 and half hours in each bus, all for the princely sum of about R80, but of course cuppucino and massage not included. Stayed at La Posada Bellsy (very small local family run hotel - simple but nice!) where I arrived late on the Friday afternoon; made an early start on Saturday and ambled off to the most southern Mayan ruins in central America. I joined a group of three ladies from Spain and their - naturally Spanish speaking - guide and had a great morning all round. The ruins here are not as impressive as Tikal, but make up for it in the intricacy and level of detail of the stellae and carvings on the temples and buildings. Sounds boring, but really imposing when you're eyeballing it for real. The guide was full of interesting facts; one rather strange one was that the Maya of this area and era apparently found cross-eyed people with flat foreheads (i.e. straight line from point of your nose to the top of head) very beautiful, and the heads of many royal children were squashed and manipulated (mutilated?) by various (I suppose rather uncomfortable) means, in order to conform with this aesthetic. Mmm - here's one for the common people! From here I wasted a day and bit trying to find a short-cut through the Honduran mountains to the capital Tegucigalpa ... but no go, I'm afraid. I did not keep track with the eccentricities of Honduran transport and found myself back in San Pedro Sula for a THIRD time. Rather irritated and tired, I rocked up at Hostal Tamarindo and left the next morning at 04h00 to catch a twelve hour bus to Leon in Nicaragua. Man, was I happy to arrive at the Bigfoot Hostel in Leon 4pm on Monday 19 Oct - good bye Honduras, hallo Nicaragua!