A brief interlude for artwork

At my hostel in Copan my first night a couple staying there started a mural on the rooftop wall.  It was fun seeing it almost to completion, though I wish I'd taken more pictures along the way of the progress.

It started in pencil and brown paint.

Then stuff got filled in, and I thought just the outline looked better. I should have known better than to doubt, once more detail and shading was added it looked great.

More macaws got started, and a background

And though I had to leave before seeing it completed in person, one of the hostel guys sent me pictures.  And it looks so good!

I especially like the lizard

So here's to beautiful artwork around the world and those who create it.

Copan Ruins, Honduras

April 12-14, 2016

So I find myself really not wanting to write a lot about the ruins.  I went with a guide and learned a bunch of facts about the timeline of all the kings, their names, what they built, etc.  But really the fun part was seeing all the structures and the carvings and stuff.  So have a photo blog, with some pertinent captions.

My guide, Virgilio.  Hired cheap because I forgot to put more money in my coinpurse before leaving the hostel, and literally only had that much to pay. Not exactly approved bartering methods, but works.

Crash course in Mayan writing. The lines with dots are their method of counting. Lines are 5, dots 1, so that's 17. Im learning about the 17th king.

Creepy skull carving

Drainage from the main plaza

All the carving was really fun to look at

Altar which has every king at Copan carved around the edges

He's got quetzal feathers on his head. I liked him

More skulls

Living spaces for the rich people at court

Some of the original red painted rocks are still hanging around

Ball court from way up high

Ceiba tree, about 200 years old

Lizard stone

Again with the really cool carvings

The big writing staircase. Each square has writing that covers a lot of their history, and tells about daily life things.  Its covered by a tarp now since the weather was wearing it down pretty fast, when they first discovered it the carvings were crisper.

Dieties in the middle

Side of the ball court

For the sun god

Macaw heads along the side were what they had to hit with the ball

The macaw was all picturesque sitting right next to the statue, but dove for cover when I got too close

Camera shy

Again with the carving. So cool.

2 km down the road, another area they found and excavated

It was a nice little stroll through the woods, with a lot of smaller buildings in groups

There was excavation happening on a temple near the entrance

And this helpful little graffiti on the back of a street sign.  Ruins.  That way.

Just one more set of ruins in Mexico, then you don't have to read about any more, promise.  And Chichen Itza in Mexico is really pretty, I promise!