Copan

Once again bird and jungle noises wake us and another day in Honduras begins. Today however, there will be no building for the team, instead we are heading off for 2 final days of R & R. We leave Agua Azul early in the morning as Rolando has several places he wants to show us on the way to Copan. He has been a wonderful tour guide, co-worker on the site and most definitely a friend. We head off on our usual route except at the fork in the road we go right instead of left. I am sure I am not the only one on the bus thinking of Julio, Alma and all our other friends in Santa Cruz and the day ahead for them.

The drive is spectacular. The lush hilly fields with their crops of pineapple, banana palms and yucca give way to dramatic slopes and valleys as we climb. We pass small villages and see women and children and many men with cowboy hats looking after their cattle and horses.

Our first stop is El Puente which was somewhat of an elite 'suburb' of Copan. Rolando challenged us to guess how many other tourists we would see there. Finally Bert guessed the magic number - 0! It was an interesting site and we enjoyed the quiet, if not the intense heat! After that we made a quick stop and several purchases at a coffee factory. There were men there sorting the beans by hand! Then it was off to the town of Copan Ruinas.

We spent the evening wandering the quaint town sampling roasted corn from a street vendor (thanks Bert!), shopping at craft markets, enjoying a fine dinner (nothing deep fried) and of course the odd cerveza. We relaxed, chatted and enjoyed not worrying about getting up in the morning for work. So much so in fact that it is rumored some team members had to employ covert manoeuvres to get back into the hotel courtyard later that evening!

Friday we spent the morning visiting the fascinating ruins of Copan. The Mayan people have an amazing culture and the artwork/carving here is superb. In fact, Copan is considered to be the Paris of Central America.

Later that afternoon a group of us went to visit a little Mayan village for some handmade crafts and a closer look at village life. Another group headed up into the jungle for a thrilling canopy zipline ride. There were 15 cables with the longest two being 1 km each! Wow - it was a rush!

All too soon we are heading back to San Pedro Sula and it will be time to say good bye. My thoughts return to Santa Cruz and I am so proud of the work we did there. I think about David M, Troy and Anthony and am impressed with the care and precision with which they laid each brick. I am grateful for Carol and all that she learned and shared with us through her conversations, which so enriched our relationships with our spanish speaking friends. Phoeby and her quiet, consistent work. She really was the quality control of the team. Don and his ability to be in just the right place at the right time to lend a hand, grab a tool or move something out of the way. Amanda certainly brought a warm, creative element to our work and Erin was the sunshine. I still can hear her asking Julio, Rolando and Alma if they needed 'agua' or 'jugo'. Corrine was always willing and eager to jump in and help with any task. And of course she made sure we were all on the bus, mostly on time! Bert who just never seemed to stop moving bricks, digging holes or mixing mezcla and provided such entertainment in his interactions with the children. And of course David C., for his musical interludes and making sure all ran smoothly behind the scenes. Combined with Julio, Rolando, Elias, Digna and Alma we made a truly awesome team.

When I think of all the joy, laughter and love that is now part of every brick, every bucket of mezcla and every shovel of dirt I know we built more than a house for Alma and Nestor. We laid the foundation for a home.

Jennifer