Day 4.

I got up early at dawn on Sunday morning. The Copán archaeological site was quite close to town so I went to check it out.


The large number of trees around and on the ancient ruins reminded me of Ta Prohm in Cambodia.


Looking down on Temple 16 at the main Acropolis, dating from the mid 5th century.


The nearby Rio Copán which was diverted to preserve the Copán ruins.


The East court in the Acropolis below with the town of Copán Ruinas in the background.


Parque Central below as I headed back to town.


And the desayuno típico and café negro at Hotel Calle Real after the early-morning excursion.


After breakfast we all metup to head to visit Copán via a small convoy of tuk-tuks.


A scale model of the Mayan Ruins of Copán. Built between 400 and 800 A.D. until it suddenly was abandoned, Copán was rediscovered by the Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio in 1570 and is considered to be one of the most important cities of ancient Mayan civilization.


Walking with our guide for this morning, Obed, through the sun-dappled forest to the ruins.


Some of the resident Scarlet macaws at one of the feeding stations. The macaws were released at the ruins as part of the Guaras en Libertad (Macaws in Freedom) program to rescue, breed and release rare birds like the macaws back to the Copan Valley.


There is macaw imagery all around the Copan Ruins from the carved macaw heads to feathers in the headdresses of the gods.

The colourful and strikingly beautiful macaws are also the national bird of Honduras.


One of the Mayan stela. The stone stelae were three to five meters tall and were carved with the portraits of the historical rulers of the city. On one side was a figure of the ruler and on the other a series of hieroglyphs that described their power and politics.


Obed pointing out the mouth of a serpent statue in the Great Plaza.


Bruce at the base of the Hieroglyphic Stairway. Originally commissioned by the 14th governor of Copán, K’ak Joplaj Chan K’awiil, it was eventually completed around 755 CE. Covered in around 2,000 glyphs, researchers were first stumped by the hieroglyphs, but gradualy realized that the stairway was a record of the royal history of Copán.


The stairs document the rule of 16 Copán kings, beginning with Yax K’uk Moh at the bottom step and ending with the death of a ruler known as “18 Rabbit” at the top. This understanding was achieved despite attempts by earlier archaeologists in the 1930's to liberally rearrange the stone blocks in a clumsy attempt at reconstruction.

A carved stone statue at the ballcourt dedicated to the great macaw deity.


Looking down on the ballcourt from the top of the West Court.


And a 1000+ year old smiley emoji!