December
15, 2000
Carnachos in Copan
The
Casa de Cafe is quite nice and is run by an American expat,
Howard Rosenweig and his Honduran wife. The rooms are small,
but clean, and each has it's own bathroom with shower. A
wonderful breakfast was included. The hotel sits on the
edge of a small hill at the far end of town and has fantastic
views of the mountains in Guatemala, the border to which
is only 6 miles away. The rooms face this vista as does
the wonderful back patio/sitting area where we would breakfast
every morning or sit in the afternoons.
Copan
is one of those wonderful towns where travelers seems to
gravitate and stay. The town has a charm that is missing
from many of the other towns we passed through; cobblestone
streets, whitewashed buildings and a central plaza. It also
has many of the things travelers are looking for; internet
access, laundry, good food, and a small nightlife mixed
in with the local ex-pat community. Add all that together
with the cultural draw of the fantastic ruins and it becomes
one of those spots on every long term travelers must see
list. We met a few other Americans there, some just visiting,
some working as teachers in various "international"
or private schools. We also met a man from Zimbabwe and
his Guatemalan wife who are graduate students in Arizona,
a couple from Holland and a Belgian man who just bought
a local restaurant.
After
we arrived we went for walk so we wouldn't sleep just yet.
A nap at that point would have completely thrown off our
body clocks. Better to stay awake just a little longer.
We had snack at Via Via, the restaurant just bought by the
Belgian man mentioned above. When we asked, he explained
that it was customary to tip about 10% as long as service
hadn't already been added to the check. While there, we
sampled the local beer, Salva Vida, and had a snack of Carnachos,
which were small tortillas topped with seasoned ground beef.
Total bill, 54Lempiras, with an exchange rate of 15 Lempiras
to 1 US Dollar) . The owner swears he will be revising the
menu and raising prices soon.
From there, we had dinner at the famous Bar Tunkel, known
for its happy hour and as a haven for archeologists and
ex-pats alike. I think we were there too early for any such
fun. We did, however, get to sample a Honduran specialty
called anafre, which is essentially a bean and cheese "fondue"
served with tortilla chips in a clay pot over hot coals.
This was quite tasty as were the chiliquilis David had.
All this and a couple of beers, 120L. A short walk back
to our room and, exhausted, we fell into bed at 7:30 after
being awake 36 hours.
Part 4: Mayan
Ruins
