Bruce Northam: Hi, I’m Bruce Northam and welcome to American Detour in Honduras.
In Honduras’s western highlands I focused on the nice lifestyle simplicity. Ruins built by people who didn’t know what a wheel was routinely exposes most 1960’s architecture as crap. The stone sculpted messages wrapping Copan’s structures embold in a personal philosophy.
On any journey of our lifetime first thing we pack is ourselves, right? At least that’s true in a spiritual sense, but you still have to pack your other bag—backpacks choice gear of contemporary nomads seems tied to my mode.
The real treasures in the Honduras are still being in on Earth—1500 year old graffiti.
The Mayan Ruins at Copan a patrimony to humankind designed for cosmic worshiping is a progression of ruler ordered structures built upon one another starting in 385 A.D. until it was abandoned in early 1800 A.D.
The ceremonial compound is at the southeast corner of the nestle American Empire. Archeological wonders continue being on Earth by Honduran scientist and several US universities.
The constant digging and tunneling under Copan continues revealing the personality and wit of 500 years of different Mayan rulers and reminded me of a modern American construction reincarnation and archeological hotspot that’s rebuilding on the shoulders of history—New York’s World Trade Center.
A 980 by 500-foot crater nearly 11.5 acres or four city blocks was excavated in lower Manhattan beginning in 1966 to create the Twin Tower’s foundation. The rubble excavated from the site in the 1960s was used as landfill adding 23 acres along the Hudson River and creating Battery Parks City—a plan community. Also a plan community by a river in its hay day, 30,000 Mayans lived in Copan. The ruins of Copan are like intact wreck of Roman city sharing a keen sense of Mayan village life.
The Great Plaza, their Central Park, is a collection of monuments and steles at area the size of two football fields. This town square features a 72 step hieroglyphic stairway, an ascending stone collage and drawn in sculptures, messages and over 2500 glyphs. It’s the longest hieroglyphic inscription found anywhere in the Americas.
The Copan ruins are loaded with hieroglyphics—some depicting people carrying backpacks.
Copan has dozens of steles—large keystone shaft reminiscing totem poles. These portraits of different rulers involved in various rituals use hieroglyphic text carved on their sides and back telling of historical events—here and elsewhere during the life of the rulers.
Standing before stele is beholding a Central American kingpin’s journal etched while Europe was still suffering the dark ages. Near the solar plaza, a stele hieroglyphic text reveals possible proof that the original first American luggages were backpacks. Lift images to pick local totem vultures, macaws and frogs on their backs. Mayan sport sack worship couldn’t have been far off with their empire disbanded in the early 9th century.
I know, I know man packs, purse, hip sack, to me it’s my camera holster. Quick and easy they work. You and your fancy gear with your backpack, you miss the shot.
Honduras population of 7.5 million is 90% Mestiza – a mixture of Ameri-Indian native and European ancestry mostly Spanish settlers who also shipped in horses. Today, Copan’s Mestizo dude uniforms are white cowboy hat toping the colorful button down shirt, blue jeans and boots. Honduras is 80% mountains with narrow coastal plains and undeveloped lowland jungles.
Mountainous cowboy country teams with coffee plantations that double as agri-tourism hiking opportunities. Hondurans favor red beans while nearby Guatemala favors black beans. This boarder area grows both. Arabica growers discuss coffee as elaborately as one on cellar talks grapes.
Grow in elevation determines quality and acidity. The higher the better. Better yet, as growing elevation increases there’s less plant diseases and less fertilizer required.
Birds, especially the Macaw, were Mayan gods. I interviewed several gods at Macaw Mountain a rescued bird zoo including the Scarlet Macaw, Honduras national bird. Macaws can weigh up to 15 pounds, live 35 to 50 years in the wild or up to 100 years in captivity.
Mayan rulers took bird names because Maya cosmology considers birds as messengers from their gods. Acting as middle men indicating ability to mediate between the didi’s and the Earth on behalf of his subjects, head ruler performs rituals and costumes covered with feathers.
“Do you believe in a god?” Ask one Macaw of another. “Not very much.” the Macaw answered. “But not very little either” she added in a smarter accent.
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