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The founder of our school, Graciela, and her daughter, Vanessa (she is a teacher at the school and the one who recruited us and helped us with all our needs), invited us to join them and some others on a trip to Copan. They knew a bus owner who was driving a group so it would be direct and free. We instantly agreed. We were told to meet them Saturday morning in the central park at 6:00am to get on the bus.
We knew the bus would never leave on time so we woke up, ate breakfast, packed, and got to the park at 6:15am. Of course we were the first ones to arrive. The others slowly trickled in and we boarded the bus at 7:30am. The people we knew were Graciela, Vanessa, her adorable 3 year old son Anthony, the P.E. teacher from our school and his wife, the high school principal and her husband, and the others were strangers, mostly 20-something men and women.
(In the photo left to right: Christina, Graciela, Anthony, Vanessa, me) 
I spent the ride alternating between sleep (which was difficult since the driver was blaring music the entire ride. Quite a varied selection: reggaeton, Kenny Rodgers, CCR, John Fogerty, Bob Marley, Shakira, George Jones, R.E.M., UB40, etc.) and absorbing the breathtaking landscape of grass fields, lush mountains, pine forests, farms, and small villages. We stopped once to use the restrooms and eat a snack. After about 6 hours we reached Copan. It is right on the Guatemalan border.
Copan is an adorable little town with cobblestone streets, red tile roofs, Honduran handicrafts, and three-wheeled scooter taxis. 
It is protected by the government so only certain vehicles are allowed to drive on the roads. Our bus had to park outside town. Christina and I walked around exploring all the artisan shops. I bought a few Christmas gifts.
We went to a restaurant stuffed with antiques: records, sewing machines, typewriters, etc. Very much to my liking. On the way out, I discovered this old movie projector.
It was very nice though and pretty cheap 150 lemps each (about $8). It was freezing at night though because all the hotel gave us was sheets and no blankets (very common in Honduras. Most hotels also do not provide towels, you have to bring your own. This is due to the fact that they usually have to hand wash and air dry everything). I slept in long pants, socks, and a thermal long sleeve shirt. In the middle of the night my feet were so cold I pulled my sweatshirt on over my feet and wore it as pants. (This was the same experience we had freezing at the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito). I slept curled up in a ball with the blanket over my head trying to trap in as much heat as possible. I hate being cold! 
Christina and I went to dinner and strolled around town. We met a business owner from Chico, California. He had never been to Honduras before but somehow heard about a tavern for sale. He came down to check it out and immediately bought it and moved here. It was now a year and a half later and he seemed very happy with his decision so far. The boy's got guts.
We were told to meet downstairs at 8:00am to leave for the Mayan ruins. So of course Sunday morning when we walked downstairs at 8:00am only one person was there and they told us we would leave at 9:30am. So we went and got breakfast and walked around town. We met back at 9:30am and waited awhile. People finally began walking to the bus. We left promptly at 10:30am.
The Copan Mayan ruins are just outside the center of town so the bus ride was only 5 minutes. Because the cost of living and income in Honduras is so much lower than the U.S., most tourist places have different prices for Hondurans and for foreigners. The ruins is no exception. The rate for Hondurans is 80 lemps ($4) and for foreigners is 280 lemps ($15). Christina and I were hoping since we were with a large group of Hondurans we would be able to get in for the cheaper rate because we couldn't afford 280 lemps. The principal had us stay in the back and told us not to speak (to hide our limited Spanish abilities). Unfortunately they asked my citizenship and I was charged the foreigner rate (Graciela luckily offered to split it with me because she did not want me to miss the ruins). Due to Christina's dark skin and eye color, she was able to slip in with the Honduran rate (She also generously offered to split the difference of her and my entrance fees). At the entrance there were many macaws, the national bird of Honduras.
There were also a few of these rodent-like creatures. It is most likely an agouti (thanks sharky).
The ruin grounds were fairly large.
They have guides you can hire to give you more information and history but it costs extra and we didn't have that much time anyway. They also have tunnels you can explore but they also cost extra.
We got to see some intricate statues. 
There was a larger than life head.
There was a soccer stadium where we were told that it was the Mayan custom to offer the losing team as a human sacrifice to the gods. I think you would quickly run out of soccer players. There were many other buildings also. 
You could climb on top of some and get a good view of the surrounding countryside.
These stones had inscriptions which tell the entire history of the Mayan civilization. They are so important to the Mayan people, one guide was heard comparing them to the Bible.
We headed back to the bus at noon for the ride to the soccer game (this was the main purpose of the trip for the other passengers). At 2:30pm we arrived in Santa Rosa de Copan. Everyone on the bus were huge fans of the Tegucigalpa soccer team, Olimpia. The majority donned soccer jerseys in support. We parked an walked up the dirt road to the stadium. The street was packed with people selling tickets "por sol o por sombra" (for sun or for shade), people begging for money so they could watch the game, and vendors selling jerseys, hats, scarves, etc. We bought the tickets for sun as they were cheaper, 120 lemps ($6). We got inside the gate, our purses were searched by police, and tried to find seats. 
The stands were already packed, mostly with men. At one point we passed a group of fans from the opposing team and they squirted water on us. We found seats in the first row of the bleachers. 
I don't think I would have liked being squished in rows further back. It seemed impossible to escape and very claustrophobic. And the back row had no railing so you could just fall right off. 
In front of the bleachers was a small walkway where vendors continually passed selling peanuts, soda, ice cream, water, chips, and team paraphernalia. Then there was a high, barbed wire fence surrounding the field. Many people we pushed up against it to watch. 
Some people even climbed it to get a better view. A few people set off fireworks which were illegal. Apparently Olympia has a large, dedicated group of super fans that travel to every game to watch them. These super fans consisted of 18-24 year old gutter punks. They were the only cheerleaders around and tirelessly chanted songs throughout the entire game. The hung flags from the fence. I liked them immediately. 
At one point they even sprayed a fire extinguisher towards the stands...
which caused the police in their riot gear to appear. 
There was some pushing and shoving amongst fans but no real fights broke out. Behind the stands you could buy freshly made pupusas and soda and beer. Unlike in the states, no one here was really drinking. I am sure this helped stem the violence. I think the game would have been a lot scarier if they were all drunk.
As I am not really much of a sports fan, Christina, Vanessa, and I all decided to leave after the first half. We walked to the gate and found ourselves locked inside. The police explained that they always lock the gate until the second half starts. Then they unlock it and anyone can come in for free. So we waited about 5 minutes and they opened up the gate. If you notice, Hondurans seem to have an obsession with confetti. 
We went back to the bus. While waiting for the others, I walked across the street to a building and asked the guard to use the restroom. I forgot to mention earlier that the stadium had no restroom (and we were locked in remember. The men just went wherever they wanted but what were the ladies to do? There wasn't even a bush or wall to hide behind). The guard led me to his office, which he apparently sleeps in. Here was his bedroom: 
And here was his bathroom (which he allowed me to use. No toilet seat, but I had toilet paper in my purse since I make a habit of carrying some with me everywhere here):
Once the game ended, all the others returned to the bus. We headed back to Tela at 5:00pm. Yet again, the bus driver blared his random assortment of music the entire ride. The boys in the back of the bus got a bit rowdy, yelling, farting, dancing with each other, tossing around a prophylactic balloon, and other generally annoying behavior. They continued in this fashion most of the ride.
We stopped in Progresso for food. Unfortunately, they stopped at Burger King. Yuck, if they only knew what they were eating! A little after 10:00pm we reached Tela. The weekend was very fun and jam-packed. I couldn't believe we had only left the day before and accomplished all that.
Oh, and if you notice, it was nice and sunny all weekend...the next day in Tela it was raining and it hasn't stopped since. It is more flooded here than ever. My homemade rock walkway is fully covered with water drenching our feet when leaving and returning. The water has been shut off again also. We'll see how long it is off for. We wanted to go to Roatan, one of the bay islands, for Thanksgiving weekend but it is raining there also. We may head inland to Tegucigalpa, the capital, and hope for drier weather. Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and save a turkey's life.
Even though nothing very exciting has happened, I wanted to give you an update. It is still raining here almost everyday but luckily the water has been not been shut off again. The electricity went out one night so we had to cook and eat by candlelight. In the middle of my candlelit "shower", the electricity came back on.
One day I rode my bike around exploring new parts of our barrio. Only the main road here is paved and all side streets are dirt. I rode down a side street until the road turned into a lake and then I turned around and headed down another street. I repeated this until finally a young man stopped me and asked if I was lost. I explained that I was just out exploring. We began chatting and he seemed to be very friendly and harmless. Since he only speaks Spanish, I decided hanging out with him would be a great way for Christina and I to practice more. I showed him where we lived and he has come by a few times to chat with us. Christina and I are both happy to get more time to practice conversational Spanish. Hopefully we will meet more people to practice with also. Here are some houses and building along the way.
This one always make me think of pirates. 
Now that I have been able to teach for a string of days in a row, my students are making some real progress. They have been finishing up their letters to their pen pals in San Diego. It has really motivated them to improve their English writing skills so their pen pal can understand them. We also are just finishing a math unit on subtraction which everyone seemed successful at. In science we have been learning about animals needs, adaptations, and classifications. Even with limited resources, I have been able to create a few games for math and science that they enjoyed. Reading is progressing but slower. It is hard to have small group reading time when I only have one copy of each book. I just set it on the floor and have the reading group crowd around it. We don't even have a rug or carpet. I did bring a box with a series of books that starts very basic (on, in, the, a, etc.) and each successive book scaffolds on the previous, reviewing previous words and adding new ones. It is great with my really low ones.
Since next week is Thanksgiving, Christina and I were asked to have our classes perform a song. We found some song about giving thanks and have been teaching it to our students. Next week the students need to make a costume for it which will be a headband with colored, paper feathers going round. I am still unsure as to why our school is celebrating an American holiday. I had to teach a really cheesy, generic lesson as the kids didn't even know what Thanksgiving was about.
Our school also had some more frustrating teaching news. When our week-long roommate, James, left in September, the school had to settle for two 17 year olds to take over his 7th - 11th grade literature and grammar classes. Granted they are fluent in English but they know nothing about teaching. One of the girl-teachers hates to read and is teaching literature. How motivating. Well... one of these girls is quitting Monday and the other in December. Now the only other volunteer, Kim, who has been teaching here 3 years has decided to quit and take a non-teaching job at a hotel. She had been teaching science, philosophy, and psychology to the junior high and high schoolers. The school is very desperate for teachers. The school now has no one to teach 7th - 11th grade literature, grammar, science, philosophy, or psychology. The founder and principal are trying to convince Christina and I to do some of it but we don't want to. It would be way too much work and we would have no time to run errands or just to enjoy our time here. The school posted job opportunities on the internet (same way I found out about it) but no one has been responding. It is really sad. Even with the frustrating situations the school puts us in sometimes, they are deep-down trying to do a good thing for these kids. If you know anyone looking for an adventure, send them down here.
The school's founder, Graciela, and some other teachers and staff have invited Christina and I to a soccer game this weekend. Apparently they are all huge fans of a big Honduran team, Olympia. So on Saturday we are all going to get on the bus, bright and early at 6:00am, and go to Copan. It is about a 6 hour bus ride away. The city, Copan, is supposedly very cute with cobblestone streets. They said the soccer games get really crazy. It should be fun. As usual, I will write all about it next week.
Oh, and some men came and fixed our leaky, moldy ceiling. As they were working I realized the white slabs on the ceiling are only pressboard. When he took down the moldy ones to replace them, I could see above them is only a big space and then a corrugated aluminum roof. We were surprised to learn we don't have a real roof. Only corrugated aluminum above pressboard. The men climbed on the roof and replaced the leaking aluminum pieces with new ones.
What a fabulous weekend. So you want to know what it is like to live in Honduras? This weekend was a good example.
We got back from Pico Bonito on Sunday and it rained off and on all week. One cool side note: Last Monday, the high school kids learned how to weave hammocks! Oh, and we actually got to teach real lessons the whole week! Weeks like this remind me why I am here and I begin to get really excited and feel like the kids are making progress...until the next "holiday".
Also last week, in honor of Halloween (which no one here celebrates and they all think it is bad), I read scary stories to my class and had them write their own. They even illustrated them. The stories came out surprisingly well considering only 3 kids said they had ever written a story before. All the rest of the 18 kids had never written a story before!!! The teachers never have them write, they only use the workbooks. How truly depressing. I am so glad I am here. We also got our pen pal letters from Mrs. Miller's class in San Diego. My students were so excited. They began reading theirs to friends and writing back immediately!
So anyway, back to our rainy weekend...On Friday morning I needed to go to the post office and it was a sprinkling a little. I knew it would probably rain more so I put on some beach clothes (shorts and a tank top) that I wouldn't mind getting wet. I rode my bike the 20 minutes to the post office. And of course they were out of the 15 lemp ($0.80) postcard stamps and I had to buy the 25 lemp ($1.30) stamps instead or wait until whenever they might get more. When I finished, I turned to walk out of the post office and it began pouring. So I biked home while getting soaked. The rain would occasionally get in my eyes and obscure my vision. At least it wasn't cold out and now I no longer needed to avoid puddles...I just rode right through them. Along the way, some guy rode his bike along with me trying to become my new friend. Great. I got home, towelled off, hung my clothes to try, and went to work.
It was still pouring rain when we got home. I washed the dishes in cold water, as usual, since we do not have hot water. (The only place you will get hot water in Honduras is in a fancy hotel or if you boil some). While eating, we noticed the dining room ceiling was beginning to leak and turn a little moldy. It was only dripping a little though. Then we watched a movie and went to bed. We tried to sleep as the rain pounded down the entire night.
When I awoke Saturday morning, Christina and I found the water in the whole house had been shut off (not all that unusual, it probably happens once a week, but usually the faucet in the shower works...not this time). We couldn't go out because it was still raining so we were trapped in the house. We read, watched movies, read, ate...etc. Meanwhile the ceiling in the living room was getting worse. There was a good-sized puddle forming on the floor and the mold was spreading. Now there was a wet spot forming on my bedroom ceiling also. Luckily that one was not dripping. I moved my bed over just in case. (FYI: this photo is the dining room, not my bedroom.)
That night the water had still not come back on. Just to clarify, this means we could not fill our bucket to shower with, we could not flush the toilet, we could only wash dishes using a pitcher to rinse them, we couldn't even wash our hands or faces. So I decided to put buckets and bowls outside to catch some rain water. 
It got a little chilly so I put on some socks but all I really have for shoes are flip-flops so I looked like a little geisha walking around the house. We went to sleep to the sound of thundering rain yet again.
Sunday morning, the water was still shut off. It was also still raining so we were trapped in the house for another day. Argh!!! We were beginning to go stir crazy. I mean, how many hours can you just sit on your bed and read or watch movies or go check to see if the water had been turned on yet. That night, we used the rain water to shower with and flush the toilet. Since it has been colder (about 65 degrees F, the coldest it will ever get here), we have been boiling a pot of water to add to the water in our shower bucket. This makes the water just warm enough to "shower" with but I still have goosebumps the entire time.
On Monday morning, the water finally was turned back on. It was still raining but we had to go to town to pay the internet bill. We decided to fork out the 15 lemps ($0.80) for the cab ride there and back so we could stay dry (or drier than riding our bikes anyway). During the cab ride home, we had to drive over a dirt road, a good stretch of which had been transformed into a lake. The water reached up to the bottom of the car doors. Luckily we stayed dry inside.
Then we got ready to go to work only there was one problem...flooding. Our front walk was just a giant puddle. A few weeks ago when it flooded I put wooden boards down to walk on (like a gangplank...arrgh matey!) but someone stole them...Why? They were all rotted! This time I tried putting some big rocks there. They were wobbly but we made it across without getting soaked. Then we had to balance on the curb and jump over the puddle to the middle of the street. (Improving my acrobat skills so I can join the circus and save all the animals.)
At work we mentioned the leaking ceiling and they came and looked at it. They said they would check it out when it stopped raining. Great idea, fix it when it's dry out. And when will it stop raining? They all said not until December.
After work, we came home and the water was shut off again. Ahh... the joys of living in Honduras. Isn't it a bit ironic that they shut off the water when there is so much supply (rain). My only conclusion was that it must be contaminated...except we often turn on the faucet to find brown water with things floating in it so who knows. The soccer (football) players never let the rain bother them. They play in the field next to our house almost everyday, mud or not. Oh, and if you look close, they are not wearing any shoes. They always play barefoot, ouch!
By the way, Monday we had parent conferences but we weren't allowed to show the parents the report cards unless they showed us their receipt proving they paid October's tuition. Nice. The meetings went well otherwise. I had about half the parents come and it was raining so that seemed like a good turnout. Tuesday we got to teach all day (yippee!) and Wednesday school was canceled because of too much rain. Unfortunately the teachers still had to go in and make a new bulletin board featuring famous Hondurans. Oh how fun. Hopefully we will get to teach Thursday and Friday. Oh, and for each Friday of November, some lady comes to each class for 40 minutes and reads Bible stories and talks about God and Jesus with the kids. No pretense of separation of church and state here.
At least we have running water again...for now. Here is the lovely murky water I am about to shower with. Well, we haven't developed any weird rashes yet.
On Thursday evening, Christina and I grabbed our bags and hopped on the bus for Pico Bonito National Park. Luckily, we made the last bus at 6:30pm. It is about a 2 hour bus ride to La Ceiba and then we took a taxi to the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito (about 20 minutes down a bumpy, gravel road). (I visited this same place in January with my sister and 2 friends). We decided to stay in a private room (as opposed to the dorm room that you share with up to 6 other people and has a shared bathroom outside). Our room had private bathroom and a full bed with another full bed in a loft above. It was late so we ate dinner and went to sleep.
On Friday, we woke up and went to breakfast. The lodge is situated right in the jungle perched on the edge of the Rio Congrejal.
The dining area/bar has the best view of the river and jungle and has a pool and adventure equipment stored below. As in most of Honduras, it doesn't really get too cold here so everything is open air. The window in our rooms only have screens. 
The view is so amazing it almost seems like a painting.
The lodge offers a few different adventure day trips: white water river rafting, kayaking, jungle hiking to waterfalls, treetop canopy tour, and mountain biking. I had hurt my foot fairly bad during the UN day and was worried about hiking. Some people mentioned the rafting was fun so we decided to try it.
Neither of us had done it before so we were a little nervous. The guides, Darwin and Elias, gave us life jackets and helmets and then led us up the river. They taught us how to row forward and backward, how to get on the floor in rough rapids, how to ride on the side of the raft, and what the commands are for each action. They also had us practice floating on our backs with the current and grabbing the rope in case we fall in and missed the handles on the raft.
Then we hopped in the raft and headed down the river. Overall, we rafted through Class I - Class IV rapids. Not too shabby. The water was cold and it was raining out but with the adrenaline pumping through us we barely noticed. It was a rush of excitement. The end of the river was calm and we got to just lazily float by and take in all the gorgeous scenery and wildlife.
Afterward, we dried off and changed into warm clothes. We then walked up the dirt road to a suspension bridge that crossed the river. Those afraid of heights would not want to attempt crossing this. The view from the middle was great though. 
We headed back to the lodge to read, eat dinner, and talk with the other guests. We met people from places like: Texas, Russia, Germany, Boston, and Washinton D.C. One girl from Germany had been working and living at the lodge for 7 months and she had to go back to Germany on Sunday for an unplanned reason. She didn't want to leave and it was a sad weekend. We spent a lot of time with her and the guides and owner (all Honduran). We quickly were included into their family. They even have two macaws that will occasionally talk to you. 
On Saturday at breakfast we discussed which adventure to try (I had already been on the hike back in January and my foot was still recovering so that was out). Somehow, unexpectedly, we both decided to do the treetop canopy adventure. Neither of us had done this before and we were once again a little frightened. We had the same main guide, Darwin, as the day before. We were strapped into our harnesses and donned our helmets yet again. We were led through the jungle to the first platform. On the way we learned about some plants you can use for soap, for stomach aches, and for good dreams.
There are 9 ziplines altogether, the first and last go over the river and the rest are through the jungle. Basically, your harness has two cords with a clip attached to the end of each one and those are attached to a trolley which attaches to the top of the zipline cable. With thick gloves on, one hand holds onto your harness cords and the other holds onto the cable so you can keep yourself straight and you can slow down when needed. As you fly across the zipline cable, you lay back, put your feet up, and enjoy the quick ride. It was very relaxing and fun and not the least bit frightening. My only complaint is it didn't last long enough.
Check out the videos of us:
Here is a link to me flying over the river:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiGgoqxNZvA
Here is a link to Christina zipping over the jungle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkSGjZyyvGY
Afterward, we walked up the dirt road to a small nearby village, El Naranjo. There was a sign for a tourist center with local handicrafts for sell but we couldn't find the building. We asked a boy and he led us to a woman's house. She brought out a plastic bag and proceeded to take out some jewelery and carvings one-by-one for us to admire while chickens and ducks pecked around our feet. The "store" consisted of about 15 items total. It was lovely. Oh, and the woman had gold stars on her teeth.
Since Christina and I already went on 2 adventures and were running out of money, we decided we were going to head back to Tela that night. We informed the lodge we would need a ride to La Ceiba before 5:00pm to get the last bus back to Tela. They said it would be fine. Then at about 4:00pm the owner decided they all like us so much they want us to stay another night. We explained that we had no money to pay for a room or eat and he said it would all be on him. How could we say no to that? So we stayed another night hanging out with the owner, Oscar, the guides and the German girl, Roma, who sadly was getting ready to leave. We slept in the bunkhouse that night with 5 other people. Everyone was very quiet and respected the other peoples right to sleep.
On Sunday we woke and ate breakfast, pancakes and cereal, and basically relaxed with the others until our ride came at about 1:30pm. Our ride, by the way, was a huge army vehicle. The back had bus seats.
I was sad to say goodbye. Although I had only been there for 4 days, I spent a lot of time getting to know all the people and relaxing in the natural beauty of the area. It was all very welcoming. I will come back again.
For United Nations Day, each class was assigned a country to represent. 3rd grade (my class) was assigned the United States of America and 2nd grade (Christina's class) was given the Philippines. Each class needed to make a large banner to carry in the parade that showed the highlights of their respective country. They also had to learn and song or dance and wear clothing or a costume representative of their country.
We spent most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday practicing our routines and making the banner. They was almost no teaching of actual lessons (unfortunately). The parade was on Thursday.
Christina and I arrived on Thursday at 11:00am as instructed and, of course, no other administrators or teachers arrived until noon. We set up tents and chairs for the parents and students. At about 1:00pm, all the classes lined up for the parade. We marched down the street, to the end of our barrio, and back again. We were even escorted by an ambulance with siren blaring. It all went very smoothly. (Notice the hamburger, hot dog, Statue of Liberty, and dollars on our poster. By the way, unlike other classes, my poster was all student created). 
Back at the school, we all took our seats to watch the student performances. The principal discussed the meaning of today and began to introduce the first class. Right then, the electricity was shut off. The city turns off the electricity at least once a week so we were not surprised. The problem is most classes had music on CD's to dance to and now they couldn't. The school didn't really know what to do. They had the parents go eat some food they had for sale and then we waited. And waited. 
Cuba is waiting (a Cuban rockstar guarded by Fidel Castro & Che Guevara):
We waited 2 hours. Finally, the principal had my class and another class perform since we didn't need musical accompaniment. My class performed "This Land is Your Land" with body movements. 
The other class (representing Brazil) performed a little Capoeira. One of the boys could play a unique wooden instrument. 
Then we continued waiting. Finally someone got the idea to locate a generator. A few cellphone calls later and the show was back on. Unfortunately by that time, many parents and students had already given up and went home. The cute kindergarteners and 1st graders didn't perform because not enough were left
but Christina's class got to go on. The performed a typical Filipino dance called Tinkling. The kids were great. Click on the link to see a sample of their dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2SakVoVuq0
Japan demonstrated a little dancing and karate:
Except for the electrical problems and waiting, it was a very enjoyable day. The kids had a lot of fun performing and dressing up. Plus, Friday we had no school for the holiday so after it was all over, Christina and I grabbed our bags and hopped on the bus for Pico Bonito National Park.
I spent the ride alternating between sleep (which was difficult since the driver was blaring music the entire ride. Quite a varied selection: reggaeton, Kenny Rodgers, CCR, John Fogerty, Bob Marley, Shakira, George Jones, R.E.M., UB40, etc.) and absorbing the breathtaking landscape of grass fields, lush mountains, pine forests, farms, and small villages. We stopped once to use the restrooms and eat a snack. After about 6 hours we reached Copan. It is right on the Guatemalan border.
Copan is an adorable little town with cobblestone streets, red tile roofs, Honduran handicrafts, and three-wheeled scooter taxis. 
It is protected by the government so only certain vehicles are allowed to drive on the roads. Our bus had to park outside town. Christina and I walked around exploring all the artisan shops. I bought a few Christmas gifts.
We went to a restaurant stuffed with antiques: records, sewing machines, typewriters, etc. Very much to my liking. On the way out, I discovered this old movie projector.
It was very nice though and pretty cheap 150 lemps each (about $8). It was freezing at night though because all the hotel gave us was sheets and no blankets (very common in Honduras. Most hotels also do not provide towels, you have to bring your own. This is due to the fact that they usually have to hand wash and air dry everything). I slept in long pants, socks, and a thermal long sleeve shirt. In the middle of the night my feet were so cold I pulled my sweatshirt on over my feet and wore it as pants. (This was the same experience we had freezing at the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito). I slept curled up in a ball with the blanket over my head trying to trap in as much heat as possible. I hate being cold! 
Christina and I went to dinner and strolled around town. We met a business owner from Chico, California. He had never been to Honduras before but somehow heard about a tavern for sale. He came down to check it out and immediately bought it and moved here. It was now a year and a half later and he seemed very happy with his decision so far. The boy's got guts.
We were told to meet downstairs at 8:00am to leave for the Mayan ruins. So of course Sunday morning when we walked downstairs at 8:00am only one person was there and they told us we would leave at 9:30am. So we went and got breakfast and walked around town. We met back at 9:30am and waited awhile. People finally began walking to the bus. We left promptly at 10:30am.
There were also a few of these rodent-like creatures. It is most likely an agouti (thanks sharky).
The ruin grounds were fairly large.
They have guides you can hire to give you more information and history but it costs extra and we didn't have that much time anyway. They also have tunnels you can explore but they also cost extra.
We got to see some intricate statues. 
There was a larger than life head.
There was a soccer stadium where we were told that it was the Mayan custom to offer the losing team as a human sacrifice to the gods. I think you would quickly run out of soccer players. There were many other buildings also. 
You could climb on top of some and get a good view of the surrounding countryside.
These stones had inscriptions which tell the entire history of the Mayan civilization. They are so important to the Mayan people, one guide was heard comparing them to the Bible.
We headed back to the bus at noon for the ride to the soccer game (this was the main purpose of the trip for the other passengers). At 2:30pm we arrived in Santa Rosa de Copan. Everyone on the bus were huge fans of the Tegucigalpa soccer team, Olimpia. The majority donned soccer jerseys in support. We parked an walked up the dirt road to the stadium. The street was packed with people selling tickets "por sol o por sombra" (for sun or for shade), people begging for money so they could watch the game, and vendors selling jerseys, hats, scarves, etc. We bought the tickets for sun as they were cheaper, 120 lemps ($6). We got inside the gate, our purses were searched by police, and tried to find seats. 
The stands were already packed, mostly with men. At one point we passed a group of fans from the opposing team and they squirted water on us. We found seats in the first row of the bleachers. 
I don't think I would have liked being squished in rows further back. It seemed impossible to escape and very claustrophobic. And the back row had no railing so you could just fall right off. 
In front of the bleachers was a small walkway where vendors continually passed selling peanuts, soda, ice cream, water, chips, and team paraphernalia. Then there was a high, barbed wire fence surrounding the field. Many people we pushed up against it to watch. 
Some people even climbed it to get a better view. A few people set off fireworks which were illegal. Apparently Olympia has a large, dedicated group of super fans that travel to every game to watch them. These super fans consisted of 18-24 year old gutter punks. They were the only cheerleaders around and tirelessly chanted songs throughout the entire game. The hung flags from the fence. I liked them immediately. 
At one point they even sprayed a fire extinguisher towards the stands...
which caused the police in their riot gear to appear. 
There was some pushing and shoving amongst fans but no real fights broke out. Behind the stands you could buy freshly made pupusas and soda and beer. Unlike in the states, no one here was really drinking. I am sure this helped stem the violence. I think the game would have been a lot scarier if they were all drunk.
As I am not really much of a sports fan, Christina, Vanessa, and I all decided to leave after the first half. We walked to the gate and found ourselves locked inside. The police explained that they always lock the gate until the second half starts. Then they unlock it and anyone can come in for free. So we waited about 5 minutes and they opened up the gate. If you notice, Hondurans seem to have an obsession with confetti. 
We went back to the bus. While waiting for the others, I walked across the street to a building and asked the guard to use the restroom. I forgot to mention earlier that the stadium had no restroom (and we were locked in remember. The men just went wherever they wanted but what were the ladies to do? There wasn't even a bush or wall to hide behind). The guard led me to his office, which he apparently sleeps in. Here was his bedroom: 
And here was his bathroom (which he allowed me to use. No toilet seat, but I had toilet paper in my purse since I make a habit of carrying some with me everywhere here):
Once the game ended, all the others returned to the bus. We headed back to Tela at 5:00pm. Yet again, the bus driver blared his random assortment of music the entire ride. The boys in the back of the bus got a bit rowdy, yelling, farting, dancing with each other, tossing around a prophylactic balloon, and other generally annoying behavior. They continued in this fashion most of the ride.
