Where Is Ron?
Mexico and Central America: October 2006-February 2007
Ron and Ellen at Agua Azul, Mexico, November 2006
Report from El Salvador and Honduras
November-December, 2006
7 December 2006
Afton, Virginia, USADear Family and Friends,
Over a period of two days Ron sent me 106 high resolution photos as email attachments, many of the ruins at Copan and of the Bird Park nearby. I knew it would take me a bit of time to sort through them decide which ones to use on the Web page, resize them (so the photo pages don't take forever to download for those of us without high-speed connections), and set up the Web pages. In the mean time, the original version of the message below didn't talk at all about either the ruins or the Bird Park. Ron simply said, "Pictures are much better than my descriptions of the town, Bird Park and the Copan Ruins." I told him I thought not talking about them at all was a cop-out, especially since I was going to send the message out before processing the photos! He agreed, so the final message included a bit of additional information on the ruins -- but still nothing on the Bird Park. Oh, well....
For those of you so inclined, I did find a nice Web page on the ruins at Copan and another extremely nice Web page on Macaw Mountain Bird Park and Nature Reserve. So you can look at those, and now also Ron's photos linked below.
Love to all,
Ellen
Panahachel to Copan - the long way
To see photos of El Salvador, click on the thumbnail at the left.
To see photos of the town of Copan Ruinas and Macaw Mountain Bird Park, click on the thumbnail at the left.
To see photos of the Mayan ruins at Copan, click on the thumbnail at the left.
6 December 2006
Copan Ruinas, HondurasHello my dear -
Copan is another one of those special places for backpacking travelers where there are lots of cheap places to stay, places to eat that cater to travelers, and a number of bars for socializing. This is my fourth day here, and I could stay longer, but I think I will move on to Roatan to experience some beaches: sun and sand.
I took a rather long route to get here from Panahachel because I wanted some hot and dry weather: Guatemala City and then Escuintla (Guatemala), San Salvador (El Salvador), San Pedro Sula (Honduras) and Copan Ruinas, and I did find hot dry weather and got rid of my cold. But now in Copan it has been raining some again and the evenings are cool but not cold like I experienced in Guatemala.
In 1971 I spend three months with Brenda traveling everywhere in Guatemala and this time wanted to see places I didn't go before. On the beach in El Salvador in 1971 I was very sick, and was adopted by a group of med students and taken to their dormitory in the hospital in San Salvador where they consulted with their teachers, did lab tests, prescribed medicines, and fed me for several days while I recovered. A most unusual experience, and I have always been fond of El Salvador since and wanted to return to the city of San Salvador.
I stayed near MetroCenter, which was a very large Mall. My time was not very eventful but I met a lot of people and am convinced that everyone in San Salvador has either been to the United States or has a relative living there. I met a guy who retired from the States and moved back to San Salvador and is living quite well here on his retirement.
Wandering around a small park I discovered a memorial wall that reminded me of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. There were two sections with lists of names for each year from 1980 to 1989, one section for the disappeared and the other for murdered. At least that is my interpretation. People left flowers and notes. And at the end there were some wreaths. From the pictures [when they are posted on the Web page] you can know as much as I know of this wall.
I have almost no memories of Honduras from the 1971 trip, so I am enjoying exploring new territory and have enjoyed my stay in Copan very much, including the ruins and the Bird Park. And every day I have met new people with whom to exchange travel tales and information.
I went to Copan Ruins early in the morning, paid for my $15 admission ticket and walked up the path to the entrance with all the macaws perched on the fence.
There were lots of others also entering at the same time, a couple of large groups and a couple of small groups, all with tour guides. I wasn't invited to join any of the groups and the cost was rather high for just one person. As the groups got organized, I went ahead. As I was sitting somewhere taking pictures, a group would catch up and the guide would tell the group about whatever it was that I was taking a picture of. This happened repeatedly.
There was a general route through the ruins indicated in my Lonely Planet guidebook and it was easy to follow the path. I first went to the West Plaza which was overlooked by the Acropolis, then around Temple 16 to the East Plaza: Plaza of the Jaguars where there was some good sculptures, then over the top of the Temple of the Inscriptions and down into the Great Plaza with the Hieroglyphic Stairway, the Ball Court and the Stelae at the far end.
In the middle of the day I returned to town for a nap while it rained and in the late afternoon as the weather cleared I returned to take some more pictures with the sun in the other direction and the lighting softer.
I enjoyed the more private experience in the afternoon when there were few people and almost no tours.
The site with its large trees and green grass among the ruins was quite spectacular. But like I said - a picture is worth a thousand words.
In Guatemala and Honduras I have used a lot of buses that are like our school buses, and one bus on the way to Panahachel has a label on the front of the bus to the right of the driver that said: Blue Bird Bus - Buena Vista, Virginia. Made me feel right at home.
My accommodations have varied between $US 7 and 30, the most expensive in San Salvador. I generally am a notch up from the "real" backpackers, since I prefer to have my own bathroom and a bit more comfort and security.
When I traveled here in 1971 I was generally older than most travelers who were in their early 20s. Today I am still among the oldest and there are still all those young people in their 20s from the States and Europe, but there are also many more, especially from Europe, in their 30s, as I was in 1971. I think it is easy and cheap for young people from Canada and the States to get to Mexico and Central America and they can live cheaply, but not nearly as cheaply as we did 35 years ago. But for me I think I still prefer Asia.
It rained all last night and is still raining this morning, so my travel destinations become more problematic if I am seeking the sun and sand of the beaches of the Caribbean.
I love and miss you and would have enjoyed touring the ruins of Copan and the Bird Park with you, but doubt that you would have loved the trip to get here -- or the weather and transportation of the next couple of days.
Ron
11 December 2006
Afton, Virginia, USADear Family and Friends,
Today I received the message below from Ron, who, after waiting out several days of rain in the coastal town of La Ceiba, Honduras, is now on the Caribbean island of Roatan (also Honduras), about 50 miles off the coast.
Ron may be on a Caribbean island, but this past weekend I enjoyed our grandson Leo's 7th birthday party on Saturday and Ringling Brothers Circus (with Sharon and Derrick and Leo and Simon) on Sunday. I'd rather be here!
Love to all,
Ellen
11 December 2006
Roatan Island, HondurasHello my dear -
The weather has cleared up some, at least during the days, and I am now on Roatan Island in West End Village. I have rented a small cabin with a small icebox, private bath, drinking water, fan, mosquito net and a comfortable bed for $15 a night -- and also unlimited but slow Internet use when no one else is on. The Internet costs $5 for as long as I stay (not bad compared to the $10-$14 per hour rate in the local Internet cafes). Here at the computer there is a white cat eating, a tabby sleeping on a table next to me, and what appears to be her young kitten wandering around my feet. So I feel right at home.
Last night I met a lady who moved here by sailboat from the Florida Keys with her Cuban husband. They then purchased a glass-bottomed boat business and have lived here for about 6 months. They are waiting for the "old guy" in Cuba to die and then will move there.
This area is famous for the clarity of the water and the coral reefs for diving. However with all the rain the water is mucky and the glass-bottomed boat is not going out. Too bad.
West End Village is a small typical backpacker beach place with lots of cheap places to stay, and lots of restaurants and bars. Food is a bit expensive compared to the mainland since everything arrives by boat. However, compared to the prices back home, still a bargain. Last night, Sunday, the place was pretty quiet after 10pm. Hopefully it will be more lively tonight.
Including taxis at both ends of the ferry, the round trip here and back will be about $70, not cheap, perhaps a bit less if I find people to share the taxis on the way back.
The ferry ride here was quite rough and I arrived in the dark, which is something I always try to avoid. But it feels quite safe here and the village is small and strung out along the beach on the one pot-holed road. While most of the people who come here come for the diving, there seems to be a mixture of backpackers also.
I have no idea how long I will stay, but I would like to get to Leon, Nicaragua, to spend Christmas with Chris if I can find him. [Note from Ellen: Chris is a long-time friend who is spending several months in Nicaragua, and he and Ron plan to meet up and travel together for a while.]
Love you,
Ron
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Last updated: 11 December 2006
