To travel is to take a journey into yourself...

I don’t think this city could ever get old. Today was another amazing day in Copan. I’m beginning to think that I never want to leave this beautiful land. This morning Monique walked us into the city, where we met the man who would be taking us horseback riding for the next 3 hours. Ruben, our guide owns 8 horses at his home here in Copan, and gives guided tours up the mountain to make money to support his family. He was a great guide, however, he only spoke Spanish . So Alisha spent the day translating for us. Elizabeth and I were very thankful to have Alisha there with us today, or there would have been a very good probability that we would have fallen off our horses. Keep in mind that it’s been like 10 years since I’ve ridden a horse, and for Elizabeth it was her first time ever even sitting on horse. Let’s just say it made the trip up the very steep hillside quite interesting. When the horse began to gallop at a faster speed than just walking I for sure thought I was done for! I don’t regret the experience at all though. The adrenaline I had as the horse flew up the mountainside, as I held on for dear life, was amazing. I’d do it again in a heartbeat…..or maybe not until after my thighs no longer hurt from that awkward position you are in while riding a horse. My legs, groin, butt (the list goes on and one) are pretty sore today.

When we reached the top of the hill we were welcomed into an indigenous Mayan village. These people were lovely. If you want an example of living off the land then I would recommend visiting this village (and taking a horse with Ruben to get there haha). Ruben first took us into the jungle, which surrounds the village, where he told us, or Alisha and then she translated, about different plants that the Mayan people used as holistic medicine. He showed us a plant that these people would soak in boiling water and then drink to help with intestinal pain. He also showed us a plant that woman would eat straight from the stem if they no longer wanted to have children; the plant making them infertile. It was all very interesting. Again, we were thankful to have Alisha to translate for, or Elizabeth and I wouldn’t have learned very much on this adventure.

Ruben also showed us ruins in the jungle that have not been excavated due to not having the funds to pay for this expensive process. There was one area where they were visible, however, and the reason they have not moved these ruins into a more protected area is because the Mayan people believe that they should be left in their original location. According to the Mayan calendar that location was where these specific ruins were supposed to be, so why move then? The ruins that were visible is where woman gave birth to their children. Ruben sat right on the same stone where woman laid when they were giving birth. He told us that the midwife was the person who actually delivered the baby, while the doctor meditated just outside this area, praying for good health for the child and recovery for the mother.

Ruben was very knowledgeable about these ruins. He actually told us that the reason he knew all this extra information was because people would ask him all these questions about the ruins, and when he didn’t know the answers it inspired him to research more about the topic. Smart guy, and what a great way to learn. We have been very blessed so far on this trip when it comes to having educated guides.

After visiting these hidden ruins we went back into the village where Ruben showed us around. During this time we were able to go to a shop where woman earn a living by making a selling scarves. We were even able to watch one of the women during the process of making a scarf. The machine they use is called a loom (if you don’t know what that is I would suggest looking it up). It was amazing the talent that goes into making these beautiful scarves, and the earnings go straight to the women to feed their families, so on top of it being awesome it is also an amazing reason to support these woman. Ruben also walked us through the school area, where all the children in this village go to school. We were blessed enough to have a group of young girls sing the National song of Honduras for us in Chorti, which is their native language. These girls are all so beautiful and I wanted to take them all home with me. I fell in love with 2 small children specifically, one boy and one girl, named Junior and Negli. These 2 children stole my heart with their dark skin and bright little smiles. I wanted to pack them up and take them home with me.

The view on the way down the mountainside was breathtaking…..in more than one way. First because riding a very fast horse straight down a hill literally leaves you breathless, but secondly because the sight of looking over Copan from that elevation is simply just beautiful! On our way down Ruben asked if we wanted to stop at Hacienda San Luca, which is a hotel, restaurant, and also an absolutely gorgeous meditation and yoga sanctuary. We had wanted to visit this center and take a class, but the yoga instructor is actually out of the country currently. She did however offer the location to us when we emailed her, if we wanted to use the space without taking a class. You could say we jumped all over that. Because we only had a short time there with Ruben (he was more just showing us around the grounds) Elizabeth and I took a tuk tuk back up there later that afternoon and spent around 4 hours cleansing and just taking in everything around us, connecting with oneself and focusing on what is important in life.

If it were possible I would describe the beauty of this place in words, but there simply aren’t words meaningful enough to give enough credit to the magnificence of this place. And again I sat there breathless looking over the city of Copan from above. I believe that one truly needs to experience this place for oneself. So for your next travel experience keep Copan, and specifically this sanctuary in mind. I would highly recommend it! 100% guaranteed bliss. Until next time….

#honduras