A friend of Dani’s was visiting from Minnesoooooota so, of course, anytime there is a vistitor, we go to the ruins. I never fail at having a good time while in Copan Ruinas. In fact, I almost always excel wonderfully. This time was no exception. Abby, our friend Molly, and I bused it to Copan Friday after school, definitely catching a pretty typical Honduras bus there. We were standing about half of the time during our trip, and then- and this ALWAYS happens- some random person always pulls out a random stool or chair thing from God knows where. They may not be safe or organized, but they always seem to be prepared with extra seating. I don't even begin to second guess it anymore. These buses are so funny. I know I’ve explained them before, but I don’t even think about the ridiculousness of them now. Same with riding in the back of a pick up truck- doesn’t even phase me. Abby always talks about how she loves riding in pickup trucks. I gotta agree. I wasn’t really a fan prior to living in Central America, probably because I’d never really done it. But it’s just the wind in your hair, fresh air, and I’m without a care. (At first I put ‘and good times’ but clearly I had to make it rhyme. Ah! I did it again!) It’s also especially nice in Santa Rosa. We have cobble stone streets as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, so people really can’t drive too fast. Eases this safety nut’s mind a little.
Annnnnyyyywwwaaaayyy…there I go, tangenting… So, us three girls met up with Dani and her friend, Brenna. We stayed at Manzana Verde hostel.
Side note: The names of Central American hostels are taaannn predictable. They usually involve a color and or animal and are always two words. See below:
Manzana Verde -- Green Apple, Copan Ruinas
Iguana Azul – Blue Iguana, Copan Ruinas
Gato Negro – Black Cat, Antigua, Guatemala
Mono Barbado – Bearded Monkey, Granada, Nicaragua
Funny.
Manzana Verde was lovely, though it only had 3 bathrooms…for like 25 people. Wah wah. That night we had dinner and indulged in some fabulous and much needed girl talk. 5 American Girls in Par- I mean Copan. Naturally, after our dinner we headed over to our regular spot- The Red Frog. Owner Dan and his partner in crime, Rob greeted us happily, helping us start out our night with some beers and some pong. As the other foreigners shuffled in throughout the night, we met some nice folks from Denmark, New Zealand, Holland, and the U.S. Once again- the coolest thing about traveling is meeting people from all over the world and hearing their stories...of which mine are quite tame in comparison. I really hope I can come back down here one day and just travel with no sense of responsibility. We’re always on these weekend trips with school coming up on us in a couple of days. These folks are just living life, going wherever the wind takes them.
Our beer pong games were a hit, though I just observed most of the time. Foreigners learning to play beer pong is classic, there was definitely a 6-8 person game going on at one point. Balls were sunk, beer was drank, and the night was merry. Next came our favorite walk to Papa Changos. When all the bars are closed, Papa Changos is the place to be. If you will recall, the last time we were at PC’s was for the crazy Peace Corps Halloween party. Not only was it a crazy fun time, but there were SWINGS as bar stools. I am sure I made a very big deal of this in my blog post of that weekend, because it was so cool. Well, I think it is safe to say that Papa Changos has committed business suicide as they have gotten rid of their bar stool swings. Disappointment is an understatement. Lame dumb lame lame dumb. Regardless though, there was music, and I was dancing, so the night definitely came to a fun close. After we left the bar, we returned to the pitch black hostel. Abby gave me her headlamp to brush my teeth. It was ridiculously amusing...but probably only to us, so I'll spare you the details.
4-person team beer pong...this is a great picture.
Outside of Papa Changos rubbin the monkey for good luck?
The next day we awoke and had an excellent tipica breakfast. I am really going to miss that tipica food. Mmmhmmm. It sure is yummy. Over that same Halloween weekend, Dani and some friends ventured to this very out of the way waterfall outside of Copan. Usually people go with a guide, but it’s not really necessary if you know where you are going. However, knowing where you are going isn’t like finding Toon Town in Disneyland. No maps, no signs, no people to ask on the way. In fact, these are the directions that Cid gave Dani the first time…
"Get off the bus at the gas station, across the street there is a dirt road, hike the road for about 20ish minutes, then you'll see some pillars and a pasture, walk through the pasture a little ways, then look for some rocks with a bridge nearby, cross the bridge, climb over some rocks, swim in the river, and there's your waterfall!"
Somehow, she found it. Twice in fact. The hike wasn’t too bad and once we got to the pasture we just had to search for a rickety bridge to cross. We finally found it and went over one at a time…seemed (and was) a smart idea. After the bridge the sound of the waterfall was very close and we knew we were almost there.
Scary bridge...it just screams Central America.
At this point, we stripped down to our bathing suits and very apprehensively got into the FREEZING water. It was so cold and unfortunately the day was not that hot. Had it been a few weeks later when I was dying from the heat in Copan with my parents, it would have been really refreshing. So we get into the water and climb over some rocks and low and behold we are legitimately in the waterfall. What was especially cool is that Dani said the first time she went, the water was so high that they couldn’t get very close. This time, we were all up in that waterfall’s business, I tell you what. Abby, being the stud she was, even waded the entire time with her hands above her head in order to take some awesome pictures of us. Her skills were quite impressive.
The girls at the base of the waterfall!
La Cascada
The waterfall was beautiful and so strong. We tried to swim underneath it but the current was way too fuerte. Afterwards we just sat on a big rock and sort of talked, sort of didn’t. I think we were all kind of thinking, wow, our lives are pretty damn cool. Of course I have my hard days where I just want to go home, but then I do something like that and I know I've made the right decision.
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