View from the bus from La Ceiba to Copan. I think every dead school bus from the U.S. finds itself to Central America. On one trip our bus brakes overheated and the driver stopped, got out and poured a bucket of water on the brakes then got back in and drove for the remainder of the trip. At this bus station Marietta and I had the most wonderful homemade tortillas, avocados and fried chicken for breakfast. Of course my coffee was made with a filter that looked like an old sock, but it tasted great!

Gentleman walking to work under a blaze of flowers in Honduras.

Men stopping for a morning chat in a public plaza. In Honduras many men wear white woven cowboy hats and carry machetes (some in very nice cases as in this photo).

Street scene in the town of Copan Honduras where the streets hilly and paved with cobblestones. Note the pink bookpacks carried by the young girls in their school uniforms. Hello Kitty and Winnie the Pooh were very popular on girls purses and bookpacks - just like in America.

Copan Mayan Ruins in Honduras. Built over several decades starting in 400 A.D. through 800 A.D. Stones were quarried locally and then hand carried to the site. Mayans were superstious about the use of objects in the shape of the sun and moon, and did not use wheels which reminded them of these celestial bodies.

Copan contains examples of structures relating to political, civic and religious life/ceremonies. This is a small pyramidal platform in the Great Plaza which was used for civic events for thousands of people. Copan was the center of a population during Mayan times of about 30,000 people. The site is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and contains the longest hieroglyphic (inscribed) text in the New World.

Scarlet Macaw, national bird of Honduras, and a resident of the Copan Ruins. Carvings of macaw feathers are seen as a decorative feature on many of the sculptures/carvings at Copan. The stonework was covered with plaster and then colored red by using volcanic pigments from Guatemala. The plaster has long since been washed away by the rains.

The ball court where players used their hips to hit 8 pound balls along the sloped sides of the court - to score the ball had to hit the stone Macaw 's heads at the top of the slope. The Great Plaza, thought to be used for large public events, is seen in the background.