people and places

here are two main reasons why I love traveling. The first, and well, the most obvious is exploring new and exciting places in the world. The second and often over-looked, is meeting interesting people and hearing their stories. This past weekend, a few of us went to the Copan Ruins and the two reasons why I love traveling were most certainly reaffirmed.

Copan Ruins is a Mayan ruins site about 3 hours from Cofradia. Upon entering the park, there were beautiful engraved statues, pillars, thrones and staircases. It was quiet and calm, and yes filled with more gringos than I have seen in a while. It was a place that allowed time for reflection and appreciation of this incredible history. Situated in the mountains, the town of Copan was suited well/made for the tourists with its cobblestone streets and souvenir vendors around every corner. It was quaint and very different from the dusty streets and swelthering heat of Cofradia. Here is a shot of me posing as a Mayan warrior next to this Mayan warrior statue.

Now, point two. The meeting of interesting people. This weekend was full of this. We met a 23- year old from California who recently bought a bar/restaurant in Copan and is currently running it by himself. We met a lawyer from Canada who is on the last leg of his journey to visit all the Mayan ruins sites. We spoke with a man from London who is studying climate control and doing research here in Honduras. There were a few faces in our hostel from Ireland who were part of an NGO working with Hurricane preparation. We met a couple from Texas that started a non-profit to provide medical care to poor villages in the mountains. There was a guy from Israel who was traveling around Latin America until he ran out of money.

Everyone had a story. And all the stories allowed for new and exciting conversation, an understanding of some amazing work that is being done in impoverished nations and a really beautiful combination of culture and experience.

I sure do love people and places.