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| No, I assure you, it's not Indiana Jones on a quest for lost Mayan treasure deep the jungles of Honduras. This is really me, Dr. Anthony Hendrix, during the summer of 1998, on my trip to the Mayan Ruins at Copan, Honduras. |
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| No, I assure you, it's not Indiana Jones on a quest for lost Mayan treasure deep the jungles of Honduras. This is really me, Dr. Anthony Hendrix, during the summer of 1998, on my trip to the Mayan Ruins at Copan, Honduras. |
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| Honduras is located in Central America. Columbus in 1502 landed on the American mainland for the first time at Trujillo in Northern Honduras. Columbus named the land Honduras, which in Spanish means "depth," for the deep water found off the Carribean coast. Honduras was the original banana republic, and is still one of the least developed countries in Central America. Today the slow pace and beauty of the country make it appealing to tourists. |
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| During the summer of 1998, my wife, my son, and I took a trip to Honduras to visit relatives and to see as much of the country as possible. |
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| The Ruins at Copan once were part of the great Mayan Civilization. There is evidence of a Mayan settlement since at least 1000 BC at Copan in western Honduras, but like other Mayan city-states this was abandoned mysteriously around 900 AD. |
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| This is my son, Anthony, asking the guide a question about the sacrificial alter in the background. The victim was sacrificed on the slab and then their heart was placed on the round stone. The blood flowed down around the grooves in the stone. The alter and the stone still appear to be blood-stained. |
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| This once was the ball court. We were surprised to hear from our guide that the best player from the winning team was sacrificed to the gods and not the losing players. |
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| The first picture above shows one of the numerous stellas located around the ruins. The stella, or statue, was erected in honor of the king and the exploits and history of the king were written around the stella. The second picture is of a staircase on one of the pyramids. This staircase was called the Mayan bible because the hieroglyphics written on the steps told the history of the Mayan people. Only a small portion has been translated successfully. If you look very closely, in the middle of the steps are holes were statues once stood. We were told by our tour guide that archeologists from Harvard stole the statues and brought them back to the U.S. They are still at Harvard today. |
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| Here Anthony was taking a much needed rest. The ruins are vast and only 20% of the ruins have been uncovered. |
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| There is a temple buried inside this pyramid that archeologists from Honduras and the U.S. are just beginning to uncover. Once a new king came onto the throne, the whole city would be leveled and a new city would be built in the king's honor on top of the ruins. But in the case of this buried temple, the ancient Mayans did not want to desecrate the temple and anger the gods by destroying it, so they built a new pyramid around the existing temple. Archeologists do not know how many cities are buried beneath the present ruins. |
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| This was another pyramid that was being excavated. We asked the workers if we could go inside, but they would not allow us. |
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| Today the town of Copan is a picturesque, friendly tourist center. This is my wife, Dina. Copan is her home town and her father used to be the Manager of the Copan Ruins and the Mayor of Copan. |
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| While in Copan, we stayed at the Hotel Marina. As you can see, the country is very green and beautiful with mountains everywhere. |
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| It took me awhile to get used to the sight of heavily armed guards and policemen everywhere. These two armed guards are outside the bank in Copan. Usually there were at least two heavily armed guards outside every bank. Every supermarket we visited had an armed guard, carrying a shotgun, patrolling the parking lot. Most restaurants or fast food establishments we visited, such as Pizza Hut, had an armed guard in the parking lot. |
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| Our relatives took us to see where the rich Americans lived in San Pedro Sula. Only 30 % of the people have wealth. The other 70% are poor. Being rich in Honduras can be dangerous. That is why most rich people live in walled or fenced compounds, like the one above. And they all have armed guards on the grounds. Look very closely on the left and you can just see the white shirt of the armed guard who was watching me as I took this picture. |
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| Our relatives said that this was the home of the richest person in Honduras, a plantation owner, living in San Pedro Sula. Again you can see the fenced compound and there were armed guards and attack dogs patrolling the grounds. It's ironic, but look closely on the top of the hill to the left and you will see the tin and cardboard shacks of the poor people. |
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| While staying with our relatives in San Pedro Sula, Anthony was given a birthday party. The clowns were from New Jersey and spoke both Spanish and English. They had moved to Honduras with their parents. When we were told that Anthony would have a piñata, we thought they meant a small one, like the ones in Walmart. We were astonished to see the life-sized Batman. |
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| The children enjoyed playing with colored eggs filled with confetti. In the first picture, they are enjoying a free-for-all egg fight. The second picture shows them playing a game similiar to hot potato. They would sit in a circle and when the clown would start singing, they would start passing the egg around When the clown stopped singing, the one holding the egg would have it broken over his/her head. Here Anthony breaks the egg over the head of his cousin, Carolina. |
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| Dina also was glad to see her family for the first time in twelve years. She has three brothers and three sisters. Above are her sister, Loli, their mother, Anthony, Dina, her sister, Mirium, and her brother, Regoberto. While in San Pedro Sula, we were guests at Loli and her husband, Maugro's home. They made us feel welcomed and exceptionally comfortable. Loli is a dentist. Maugro is a neurologist. Mirium's husband owned a construction company. And Regoberto is a major in the military. |
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Above are Dina, Mirium, Regoberto, and their mother. |
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| Honduras seemed to be a beautiful, friendly place to visit. I did not feel threatened or endangered dispite the display of guns and scenes of poverty. I hope that does not mean that as an American I have developed a false sense of security and that I take for granted the freedom and blessings of the United States. |
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| All photos were taken by me, except the first, which was taken by my son, and the second, which was taken by our guide. |
| The official homepage for Honduras is located here. For more information on the Copan Ruins, the official website is located here. For more information about Honduras, click here. |
