After two international border crossings, we arrived in the small village of Las Ruinas. We stayed at the Hotel Marina Copan, filled with secret gardens and private patios. The pool was nice too.

Day 3 started with a talk by David Sedat, a professor at University of Pennsylvania who has been studying Copán and the Maya for the last 20 years. After this interesting introduction, we loaded onto the bus for the short drive to the ruins.

Irv with Scarlet macaw

At the site we met our friendly and knowledgeable local expert Julio (aka Julian) who showed us around the site. At the entrance gate we were greeted by the resident screeching scarlet macaws. Irv even held one to introduce us all. As we walked the trail toward the ruins, we saw pieces of ancient pottery on the ground that Julio told us are evidence of the Mayans being great recyclers. When pots and vases broke, they were often crushed and the materials re-used in the construction of new pottery.

We started with a look at Alter Q, a large cubed carving that portrays each of the 16 rulers of Copán, sitting cross legged, around the sides of the block. On top, there are six carved blocks believed to be a kind of rosetta stone for deciphering the hieroglyphics here and on the

A "recycled" pottery shard

stairway we saw later. Next, we saw a cemetary group (where the Mayans buried their dead under their front doors) that likely housed the final ruler of Copán. After this, we climbed up the back of the Acropolis where we found detailed carvings at the top. Archaelogists have tunneled under this structure and found two other temples/tombs built underneath the current one. This was a common Mayan practice and one we saw repeated at other sites we visited.

The most spectacular site of the day came when we got to the Hieroglyphic Stairway. Rising 120 feet, the stone stairway features over 2,200 carved blocks which are thought to be a record of the dynastic history of Copán, as well as a record of important astrological events like eclipses (though reconstruction efforts in the 1930s badly jumbled the order and meaning of these blocks).

Lastly, we walked around the immense Plaza Central and Gran Plaza, stopping to look at the ball courts, stelae (large carved stone statues), and a sacrificial alter. At this last alter there were small channels carved into the stone to allow for the collection of blood from the sacraficial offerings. We followed this tour with a picnic lunch on site where chaos almost broke out when the beer ran out.

After lunch, some of the group went on to visit the nearby site of Las Sepulturas where young Mayan elite are thought to have spent most of their day-to-day lives. We even got to see an excavated burial chamber.

After a shower back at the hotel, and a stop at the small local museum, we went to dinner at Carnitas Nia Lola where our talented waitresses brought everything from bottles of wine to steaming clay pots of dip upstairs on their heads.

Day 4 brought an early morning stop at the house of some modern-day stone carvers.We watched as two of Don Lito's carvers chiseled away on a replica of a Copán stela.

Below are some additional pictures from Honduras:

Group listening to explanation
Copán, Honduras

Investigating a burial chamber
Las Sepulturas, Honduras

Julio discussing tomb of last ruler of Copan