Photos of Copán Ruinas

Here are the long awaited photos!

To the right, this was a replica of a temple found at the site and reconstructed inside the museum. They really liked red paint, apparently. We think of the stoney colors that you see in the picture above, but because of paint flecks archeologists have found, we know that most of those buildings actually would have been brightly painted, many of them in this kind of bright red. It must have been really vibrant if you lived there, and really terrifying if you were a conquered visitor! We actually got to see those beautiful parrots (macaws). They were everywhere and with the ruins as a backdrop it made you feel like you were in a movie. The skulls below lined the bottom of where the king's throne would have been. A lot of the Mayan artwork we saw involved skulls.

 

 Finally, this is the coolest thing I think we saw. This stairway protected by a tarp is basically a giant history book. Engraved on those stones from left to right are the names and deeds of the Mayan kings from one of the dynasties. The stairway was like a stoney library. A carving of the ruler in the middle of the stair marks where his section begins. Though other nearby ruins are famous for more impressively large buildings, these are most famous for these stairs and the amazing artifact they are for researchers. Here's a little more info and a better picture. This is another really good picture of it.

Photos of Copán

This is the main square that was a social center of the town
 and and the white building is a church.

One of the Copán streets with a red mototaxi
driving off. (The mountains!!)

Another street that shows how steep some of them were!
A mototaxi or truck would tackle this hill without a problem
A few friends we met called it "El Diablo."

Me! With the Río de Copán and a pretty sunset.

¡Hasta pronto!