10-Day Journey starting from Antigua to Copan and beyond

I just spent 10-days touring with two girlfriends. I have to remind myself three grown ladies will never be able to travel together. Our likes, dislikes, budgets and lifestyles were all different. This was a difficult trip for me and I learned the art of comprise. Now I know why all of my travel has been solo!

Our itinerary was bus to Copan Honduras, bus to Rio Dulce, boat to Livingston, Guatemala, boat to Punta Gorda Belize, bus and water taxi to Placencia, bus to San Ignacio, taxi/shuttle/bus/tuk-tuk to Flores, and bus back to Antigua. It seems all we did was travel form point A, to B to C and so forth without seeing many sights. Two of us took the expensive bus ride from Antigua to Copan while the other took the cheaper shuttle. My friend threw-up on the expensive Heddman Alas bus. I felt like we were in a 6-hour Disney Ride through the mountains. The bus was comfortable, but everyone kept there curtains closed and no one can look out. You couldn't even see out the front as it is blocked too. As with many buses in Guatemala, it was not maintained properly and the drivers go way too fast. We swayed from side to side and hit bottom on any speed bump.

Graditas Maya Hotel picked us up at the bus terminal when we arrived and we got checked in. The a/c worked well in the room and it was nice and large enough to fit three beds. My only complaint was it sounded like a discoteque was located below. Music blarred until after 1 am in the morning. And at night they would lock the gate and the doors to get in, but failed to notify anyone they do this. We cme home by 9 pm one night and didn't think we could get in the compound until we banged on the door a lot.

We visited Copan Honduras for the Mayan Ruins. I didn't care for the town but loved the ruins. The experts consider them the Paris of the Mayas. I think having an enthusiastic and knowledable guide makes the difference. Look for Juan at the entrance and expect to pay $25 USD. We visited some minor ruins about a kilometer away. For me it was not worth the effort to see more ruins. But what I also enjoyed was the photographical history of the excavation of the ruins located in a municipal bulding in the central park.

We stayed for 2-long nights and the heat started bothering me quickly. Llama de Bosque had good local food. Cafe Via Via was about average. My favorite was for breafast at Yat B'alam, a Boutique Hotel. The service was superb and the food just as good. My British friend finally got her bacon! I believe they have won awards on Tripadvisor. La Casa de Toda Restaurant had poor/slow service for lunch and the Chicken Caesar Salad was about average.

We used Cafe Via Via's travel agency to book our shuttle to Rio Dulce. The shuttle system throughout Guatemala and Honduras is adequate. But don't sit in the back of the van or you will get no a/c. They charged us $39. So the full van shuttle was bareable, but they dropped us out in the midddle of nowhere at Rio Hondo and said a bus would be there in 30-minutes. We didn't even have time to get water and visit the toilet before our public Pullman bus arrived. Then the 2-hour nightmare began! Mind you, we payed an additional $14 for this. It was a Fuente Del Norte Pullman. There was no airconditioning on the bus. For ventilation and to keep us from dying in the heat, they opened one emergency window in the roof and drilled holes in 2-emergency windows to hold them partially open for more ventilation. It was probably 90-degrees during the middle of the day. For over 2-hours there was 25-people standing in the full bus so air movement was impossible. I thought it was my time to throw up on this leg of the journey! I recommend you buy a ticket at the bus stop or on the bus and not use an agency. What a rip-off!

My overall impression of Copan Honduras is that it is extremely over priced for what you get and considering it to be a third world country! I didn't get the warm fuzzies like I get in Antigua. No one says hello or "buenos dias". The town is very rustic and not charming at all.