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Fri, 3 Feb 2006 12:23:58 -0800 (PST) from Copan Ruinas

Iran-Contra (Nicaragua), Banana Republic (Honduras), Hello
fr. Copan Mayan Ruins

I am typing this from the Internet cafe next to Hostel Los
Gemelos in the town of Copan Ruinas (not from the ruins
themselves, which are 1km away), one of the best and
cheapest places to stay anywhere.  I am done with the
ruins, tomorrow (Jan. 4, Sat. at 1pm), I am taking the
direct bus to Antigua.  (Details below.)  First a few basic
info.  1) Dollars are readily accepted as second currency
in Central America, even by long-distance buses, etc.  2)
The USA T-Mobile cell works in Managua and Tegucigalpa. 3)
Both countries use USA 110V electricity, and you can use
your plugs as is.  4) $= about 17.5 local currency
(Cordobas) in Nicaragua (named after an old chief Nicarao
and his people by the same name), about 19 Lempiras (name
of an indigenous chief) in Honduras. 5) Time zone here is
same as USA CST (London-6 hours). 

0. Gangs, a bit of danger to be aware of.  In one of the
airline magazines there was an article about the gangs in
Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, with
branches all the way in USA.  The article also mentioned
that sociologists are at a loss as to why then there are no
gangs in Costa Rica and Panama.  I can suggest a few
explanations.  Poverty, especially in Nicaragua (2nd
poorest country in Latin America, after Haiti), their very
turbulent histories, including civil wars until very
recently, the USA involvement in their affairs, 50% plus
rates of unemployment...  But even in the case of Panama
all is not well. While there may be no gangs as such,
walking without a local driver-guide in the old town you
are inviting assault and robbery--though I was OK when I
walked there and from there about 5km to the new city. 
Indeed, when you reach a certain street, an invisible
boundary towards the water, shop owners and other locals
will warn you not to go there even during daylight.  As for
Costa Rica, it is safer than USA, but not crime-free.

To be sure, you can capture the same landscape in these
parts, except the Copan (Mayan) ruins in Honduras, in Costa
Rica, including cloud forests, volcanoes, the sea, and
mountainous landscape.  Yet, with some care, you can enjoy
much in these countries, and cheaper than in Costa Rica or
anywhere else in Latin America.  Since the cities of
Managua, Tegucigalpa, Guatemala City, and San Salvador are
nothing to write home about, I decided instead to visit the
old colonial cities that are also UN Heritage Sites, like
Leon and Granada in Nicaragua, the old capital Antigua in
Guatemala, Suchitoto in El Salvador.  The town of Copan
Ruinas, about 1km from the ruins, is one of the most
charming towns I have seen anywhere.

1.  Buses, big Cities, Hostels.  I did not like the very
spread-out layout of Managua or Tegucigalpa--pronounced
Tegusigalpa.  Both cities look like poor neighborhoods of
Miami, with endless semi-dead desolate sections, many shops
already closed at 4pm.  Indeed, there is not much life on
the streets after it gets dark, and locals will warn you
not to go this way or that even before it gets dark.  So
you are also constrained even in the neighborhood you are
staying.  There is no center as such to Managua;  actually
there is not much there even in the city.   Add to this the
problem that every long-distance bus line has its own
station, that is way out of the city center, you wonder how
you should go about being a tourist.

a) Managua, to Bus Station, Casa Venegas Hotel.  Here is my
solution.  Having decided that I would next take a bus to
Tegucigalpa, I took a taxi from Managua airport to the
(long-distance) TICA Bus Station.  The driver asked $17; I
said $7.  After some labor pains he agreed.  (NOTE:  The
Taxis right at the airport have sucker-rates; so exit the
airport, walk across the small parking lot to the street,
and flag down a cab there for 1/3rd price, or do as I did
and negotiate with one of the taxis parked in the lot,
drivers out looking for customers.)  It is about a
10-minute ride to the bus station.  Facing the Tica Bus
Station at the corner, to your left at the other corner is
Casa Venegas with $12 for a single room with shower and
99-channel TV.  (But the toilet is outside.)  Right across
from it there are several other hotels.

b) Tica Bus to Tegucigalpa.  This was a good choice, for
the Tica bus to Tegucigalpa leaves at 5am; you have to be
at the station at 4am for ticket and luggage check.  I did
not bother taking a taxi to the city center to see what is
there, for even the Lonely Planet mentions that there is
not much in Managua, as I confirmed coming from the
airport.  The grocery store between the Bus Station and
Hotel closes at 4pm.  So get what you need before then. 
There is a pastry shop nearby where you can get drinks too.
(From Hotel gate, look to the street straight ahead, 15m on
the right.)  The bus fare is $20.

It is a 7-hour ride thru very mountainous landscape clad in
semi-tropical flora.  The border crossing comes after 4
hours, 122km (but still 3 hours) from Tegucigalpa.  It is
pleasant in the mountains, Miami-hot at lower elevations. 
I also skipped Tegucigalpa city, except with what I saw
from the bus, though it is supposed to be nicer than
Managua, in this case because my bus to Copan was taking
off right away, and I did not feel a strong urge to get
ripped off by a taxi driver to and from the center just to
see a church.   I made up for this by seeing all the very
nice and scenic mountainous countryside and many neat
villages along the way, not to mention Copan Ruinas at the
end.

d) Sultana Bus, Tegucigalpa to Santa Rosa de Copan, Central
Hotel.  The Tica bus from Managua will drop you off at its
station on a narrow but vibrant street in Tegucigalpa.  To
find the bus to Santa Rosa de Copan (continuing to the 2nd
largest city San Pedro Sula which is still 3 hours to the
town of Copan de Ruinas), you must go to the Sultana line
of buses operating from Copaneca station.  To get there,
facing the station, turn left and walk up the slight hill
to the corner, turn right there and walk about 4 blocks,
until you see a large yellow sign (about 8ft, with
something on it) on the other side, cross the street and
turn left at the sign, walk 1.5 blocks up the street to
find the Copaneca Bus Station on your right.  I arrived
there just as a bus was about to depart.  Ticket is 158
(about $8) for the 7-hour ride; the bus left at 1:40pm and
dropped me off after Santa Rosa de Copan, along the street,
across from a dubious inn (with a large open courtyard)
that said Central Hotel.  I got a room there for 75 (less
than $4) for a single with bath and shower, clean towel &
sheets.  There were no restaurants or open shops when I
arrived at nearly 9pm. 

e) "Chicken Bus" to Copan Ruinas.  If you duplicate my
trip, get out from the hotel to the street, cross the
street, turn left, walk about 200m on that side until you
see buses along the road.  Ask for the one to Copan Ruinas.
 The fare is 25 local (about $1.25).  This is an excursion
in itself thru Honduran countryside.  The bus stops about a
dozen times to drop off and take in passengers.  My 9am bus
made it to Copan Ruinas by about 12 noon.  It stops right
after Parque Central, with the park on the right.

f) To Hostel Gemelos.  Walk back along the way you
came--next to the park, now on your left--at the corner,
cross the street and walk down the hill a block, look to
your left and see the hostel across.  It has rooms arranged
around a neat courtyard.  The spotless rooms start at 80
local ($4), including hot showers and toilets outside. 
There is a nice store right next to it (toward the corner
you came from), and the Internet cafe is across the narrow
street from it, which is also a neat restaurant, cafe, and
store.

g) To the ruins.  Exit Hotel Gemelos, turn right and walk
to the street corner, turn right (east, down hill), and
walk about 1km, or take a taxi (red or yellow motorcycle
with a cabin) for 5L (shared)\10L (single).

h) Shuttles. There is a 1pm shuttle from Copan, Honduras to the
old capital Antigua, Guatemala.  It is a small bus, so get your
ticket a day earlier if you can.  Buy ($10) the ticket at
any tourist office.  The bus takes off from the small lot
right next to Hotel Clasico diagonally across (to the left)
from Hotel Gemelos, then picks up passengers from various
hostels.  There are convenient buses and shuttles to many
other directions, including direct to San Salvador for $25.
 Most buses depart at noon or 1pm, so talk to any travel
office at least the day before.

i) Tourists. I saw more tourist in Copan than elsewhere, but
still it was not crowded.  Another tourist hub is at the 2nd
largest city, San Pedro Sula, north from Copan.  I am told the
city is dangerous and not very pretty.  But it is a gateway to
the wild--as in jaguar--forests, pristine parks and
highlands in northern Honduras, and, of course, to the
Carib coast.  The coastal region is populated largely by
the descendants of the black slaves brought from Jamaica to
attend the banana fields.  Some shipwrecked slaves ended
there too.  So people in those parts, referred to as the
GARIFUNA, speak mainly English, and they maintain their
traditions and dances, including Voodoo.  (For all things
to do with Voodoo, Haiti is the place to go, outside parts
of West Africa.)  Out into the Caribbean are also the Bay
Islands, said to be the cheapest place to learn diving,
etc.  This area has also the 2nd largest reef--extending
from Belize--in the world, the largest being the Great
Barrier Reef off Cairns and Townsville in northeast
Australia.

j) Mosquitoes. Copan town is free of mosquitoes, but if you
are wearing shorts to the ruins, better spray yourself liberally
with insect spray.  As with Palenque and Tikal, the ruins are
set in a dense and humid tropical jungle dotted with huge
Ceiba and other trees.  (There is also an enormous
cement-colored Ceiba tree with huge buttresses at ground
level near the entrance to Tikal.)  Here I was bitten all
over my legs (24 on left, 19 on right, only 1 bite on my
left arm).  They are very itchy and turn into solid ugly
lumps.  I dont think these babies were mosquitoes, but
could not ask.  They buzzed only in Spanish. 

k) Honduras has also a tiny coast--a bay--open to the
Pacific, as does (a bay) Nicaragua near Managua.

l) The Internet is 25P (about $1.25 per hour) in Copan,
Marlboro cigarettes about the same per pack, or as good,
Belmont about $1.10.

2) Copan Mayan Ruins.  Entry is $12 (at the Visitor Center,
where you enter the site), entry to the tunnels of Jaguar
(125m) and Roselila (25m), where archaeological work
continues, is another $10, or you can pay by local
currency. This is the 3rd and last of my major Mayan stops.
 The 1st was Palenque, near San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico,
the 2nd Tikal near Flores, (Northern) Guatemala.  Palenque
is famous for its limestone relief tablets, Tikal for the
height of its pyramids, Copan for its sculptures.  For the
1st 2, go to my web page:
http://sirman.net/celayirs/2003/mex05.html
There are other Mayan ruins, many of which I visited in
Mexico, such as the one at Tulum, the ruins striking right
at the sea and beach.  But the 3 I mentioned are said to be
the best Mayan ruins, complemented with the best Mayan
museum in Chetumal, Mexico, north of Belize.  I traversed
the entire site.  Alas the museum, which you enter thru a
serpent's mouth, was closed.  But I also visited (entry
$2)the museum in town, to at the southwest edge of Parque
Central.  I will have really nice photos to post, so wait
until my my images speak 1000 words about the place.

3. Iran-Contra Affair, Banana Republic... History of this
area--which may explain some of the anti-Americanism of
this region and much of Latin America.  Indigenous people
in Nicaragua date back some 6000 years.  First contact by
Westerners occurred in 1502 when Columbus said the Carib
coast of Nicaragua.  The Nicaraos, who spoke a form of
Aztec, were one of the tribes populating the area.  The
cities of Granada (conservative) and Leon (liberal) were
formed by Cordoba in 1524.  Though poorer than Granada,
Leon became the capital of the colonial province. 
Nicaragua gained its independence from Spain in 1821, but
was part of Mexico initially, then of central American
Union, until it became in dependent in 1838. Conflicts
between Granada and Leon cities raged to 1850s, until
Managua (in the middle) was made to the capital in 1857. 
With Spain out of the picture, USA and UK became interested
in the area.  In 1853, American William Walker declared
himself president of Baja and Sonora (Mexico).  In 1855,
Leon liberals asked him to help them to seize power from
conservative Granada. He prevailed and for a time became
president.  Intent to enlarge his empire to other parts of
Central America, he was driven out in 1857 and executed in
1860, when he tried again.  In 1893, Liberal general
deposed the Conservative president and became a dictator. 
He soon antagonized the USA by seeking a canal deal with
Germany and Japan, when the USA wanted the canal in Panama.
 In 1909, encouraged by USA, the Conservatives rebelled
against him and USA forced his resignation in 1912.  USA
involvement in Nicaraguan affairs increased 1912 to 1925. 
Liberal Rebels under General Sandino began to oppose USA
involvement in their affairs, but he was assassinated by
USA-backed Somoza in 1934.  Somoza became president and
started a dynasty that lasted 4 decades.  Meanwhile, USA
used Nicaragua to overthrow Guatemalan leader Guzman in
1954 and to invade Cuba in 1961.  The Sandinista Movement
came into being as opposition to the Somoza dynasty and
ended the latter in 1979.  In 1980, Jimmy Carter sent
financial aid to Sandinistas, until the USA became aware of
Russian and Cuban advisers on its side.  In 1981, Ronald
Reagan suspended all aid to the Sandinistas and began
funding the counterrevolutionary forces of the Contras
operating also from Honduras and Costa Rica.  In 1984,
Sandinistas under Daniel Ortega won 2/3rd of the seats in
the New National Assembly.  In 1985, when US Congress
rejected all aid to the Contras, the Iran-Contra Affair
blew up, whereby the USA began selling weapons to Iran at
inflated prices and using the proceeds illegally to fund
the Contras.  (Colonel Oliver North's fame dates from this
era, now the host of the War Stories on TV.)  The USA put a
trade embargo on Nicaragua for 5 years.  The country under
much duress, in 1996, the Sandinistas were soundly
defeated.  Ortega tried one more time in 2001, but did not
succeed.  Instead Bolano became president.  Today, the
Nicaraguans do not talk much of Sandinistas as such, but
the initial optimism and idealism of that movement still
continues today.

a)  Banana Republic, the term dating back to the USA
involvement in Honduras.  In 1850s, where William Walker
failed in his quest to acquire Central America, American
free enterprise system succeeded.  At the end of the 19th
Century, American traders took an interest in the banana
production of Northern Honduras and began buying lands. 
Several major enterprises emerged. The one controlled by
Vaccaro Brothers later became United Fruit, which in 1929
took over also of the Cuyamel Company, eventually
dominating 75% of the banana production of Honduras, which
in 1913 provided 66% of Honduran exports.  So the banana
companies became very powerful in Honduran internal
politics and affairs.  Guyamel Company allied itself with
the Liberal Party, the United Fruit with the National
Party.  Rivalries between the 2 companies shaped Honduran
politics.  And this involvement also opened door to USA
involvement in Honduran affairs.  In 1911 and 1912 when it
appeared that USA banana interests were threatened,
president Taft sent in the marines to defend USA interests.
 Unlike Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, Honduras
failed to develop a land-holding elite and thus its economy
and politics became controlled by banana interests, thus
the term Banana Republic.  Numerous elections and coups
happened since then, with the USA-backed military always
remaining as the real power.

b) The indigenous folks, the Maya.  Have suffered the most
thruout the Central American history, often killed and
tortured in masses during coups, rebellions and political
unrest.  They are also the least educated and poorest in
all Central America, largely disbursed to the countryside. 
Then again, the Indians in USA did not fare better, nor the
Aborigines in Australia--though better than Indians in USA.

Sirman