Honduras 2 UP GS - short ride - La Ceiba - Copan

[freeflow]

hola...just thought I'd post a bit of this few day ride we were able to have....with a ton of pictures BTW...

Background: my gal and I flew to Roatan (Bay Islands) Honduras for some much needed R&R, and some scuba. A buddy of mine who lives there suggested we go to the mainland Honduras and exercise his 96 R1100GS. A few years ago, me and a buddy rode 2 KLRs from Wisconsin area to Roatan.

that ride report is lost in the depths of klr650.net.....:(

then we left the bikes on the island for a winter rest....and then flew back in in March to ride em home....
ride report here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72219

anyway...this is the story of our little mini ride....3/24/07-

first of all...when we arrived on Roatan, I wanted to change out my buddy;s KLR doohickey (balancer lever)....he loved having our KLRs there for a few months in 05 , so he had one shipped down...an 06 with 2600 miles now...
doo job in paradise


sure enough good thing we did it...broken stock spring.... ..this is not a myth folks


not a bad setting to do a doo job....


Sheeba and Rocky kept an eye on us....


here are some other scene pics of our visit to the island...we love Roatan and visit often...
camp bay hill area...nice views


hummingbirds are abundant on this lush island


and lizards


the island was getting alot of rain daily...odd for this time of year


we spent the first week kicking back in our friend's beachhouse...all to ourselves...




our private secluded beach...this place is off the beaten path...


we lounged, we dove, we read, we ate..ADV loves food pics, so here ya go...we made shrimp with red beans and rice one night


I went snorkeling in the morning and grabbed a fresh conch ....with eggs in the morning...


ok on to the ride....
we came across this poor guy in the road...someone ran him over, but he seemed to be able to make it...a bit pissed off ...so I picked him up and moved him off the road....a boa constrictor...




we did a tourist canopy zip line gig that was fun...and ended on the beach....





then we hopped the new Galaxy ferry from the island over to the Honduras mainland in La Ceiba to get on the bike
leaving Roatan




the new ferry (Galaxy Wave) is deluxe.....about an 80-90 minute ride...40 miles...and 400 lempiras (about $21 each)

coming into La Ceiba harbor


we get into La Ceiba and locate where the bike is stashed...and get a local hotel for the night...


more to come....

[freeflow]

in the morning we are gonna bust it out and get moving to get to Copan at a decent time.....and take some side trips too...so we get moving at ooohhh...10:30.... ...say it with me..vacation!

I've done this route a few times before....but I didn;t have a very good map with us this time....but I did have a fancy pants GPS to get some track logs....this is about the only real use for GPS in Central America IMO, GPS Base maps are poor in this area yet...anyway..here is the route...thru San Pedro Sula to Copan (GPS sez a 230 mile ride)



the ride from La Ceiba is full of lush vegetation..


the pagvement is nice and the curves are too...wick it up


local farmer




Shelly is enjoying riding pillion and snapping pics ...usually she is on her own bike....but 2 up is fun once and awhile




we passed a few other bikes...most of the bikes in Honduras and CA and smaller 100-200 cc....but a few harleys around and a few sport bikes...

the harley wave feels different down here...more genuine...


a few areas of slash and burn....


the road past San Pedro Sula up to Copan has some nice twistys...but alot of bus and truck traffic too...





this is coming into the turn off in La Entrada

Shelly gets a break


a nice church around Santa Rita




the road has a few washouts...that can come by surprise..


along the Copan River


shortly after Santa Rita...I pulled the clutch lever and SNAP!....the cable broke right at the lever...oh well keep rolling and figure it out.....

what could possibly go wrong?....I have the hilly cobble stone streets of Copan to drive thru in traffic without a clutch while 2 up on a heavy GS...my favorite....no worries....we zigged and zagged and had to come to a stop finally at the zona centro...

boo hoo broken cable..no worries..goofy pic...repair mode on..


it just happened that I had a nice piece of 800 lb low stretch spectra line from a parachute repair I did years ago that I tied onto my backpack...it will be a donor for this repair...
pull cable housing onto the cross bar and tape/zip tie it in place...bend over and zip tie the broken cable...line to lever....enough to get the bike moving again..



we roll down the street to my favorite place here...Don Udo's...

some excellent dinner...and a restful night


awake to this and find a new cable and mechanico..I get the word out and he mets me at 8 am...



a few runs back to his shop...and we came up with a new cable...pulled the old one out and ran a new universal cable thru the housing ...snipped it off and bolted on and end and violla!........I snagged an extra cable for the ride home too just in case..BMW repair at KLR prices.150 lempiras..$8 with tipo


Cesar is a waiter at the hotel and he hooked us up..


sorry lotsa pics...but what the heck

[freeflow]

bike fixed up..time for some desayuno tipico...typical breakfast
eggs, crema, queso, fried plantains, torts..and coffee...oh my the coffee...shade grown Copan coffee....uh huh.

Don Udo's courtyard http://www.donudos.com/ (ask for the ADV discount)


copan is a charming and magical town...get here.

zona centro

we decide to take a day and tour the Copan ruins...

supporting the local taxis...


many other advers have been to the ruins and posted pics...they will speak for themselves....I could and will spend a few days just hanging out here and pondering life...

these Mayan ruins were recalimed by the jungle (see the 4-500 yr old trees) and Copan River...mucho mucho work has been done to restore them to present state for preservation....a magnificient and important site....all from around 1300-1600 years ago..over a period of 16 kings, and then the civilzation collapsed and was abandonded...


bromileads in the trees




the experts think this is what the structure looked like in above pic



the Copan River was tight against this wall and washed away some of the ruins..in the 1930s archeologists had the river moved back to preserve

here is an old pic from the 1930s




magical, powerful place...a good place to ponder all life


the view looking east



this city was home to about 25,000 people...we are walking in the area that only the elite were allowed....sadly there was a real class separation that is theorized to have a huge part in the fall of the city..and uprising took over the city and then abandoned the leader is one theory

ornate stelas around the complex..each commissioned by each king...one king trying to out do the previous king...this is why they would build over the top of the previous king's structures...to show power and being better...average life span was about 35-40 yrs back then BTW
this altar is showing the handing of the power from king #1 to king #16..#16 was loosing control over the people...this, they say was made to remind the people that he is the descendant of the first ruler...


they area has a sewer drainage system...very advanced for 1500 yrs ago...and still operational...




quality craftsmanship....they think much if this was covered with ornate and colorful stucco...using 4 primary colors...red, green, yellow and white...and much symbolic reference to the jaguars, macaws, crocodile and all powerful snake.


more later tonight...

[Gadget Boy]

ohh.. nice!!

[sandiegoland]

check-plus-plus!!

[Uzay the Barbarian Turk]

very cool, thanks for sharing

[tuumi]

Bad ass. Takes me back to my days traveling Cental America. Ran out of money before I made it to Costa Rica. Chiapas and Guatemala isn't tha much different though.


Thanks
Got rid of the scary clown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[freeflow]

thanks tuumi (the scary clown was scary LOL)

back to the Copan ruinas..

a display of the acropolis

..the archeologists excavate these tunnels into the ruins to learn more about the culture.....they were working and the tunnels were closed to us....but I got a peek





the trees overtaking the ruins are quite remarkable...Guanacaste and Ceiba trees......the root web of this one is 10-15 feet high


notice the large rock pinched and lifted in it's root...about the size of a suitcase....


off in the distance is where they mined or quarried the rock for building the structures andd stelas (totem pole rock carvings)...they knew that the stone would be soft enough to carve with obsidian tools only if the stone is kept wet...once dried it is cured like concrete...ponder the logistics of moving pickup truck sized rocks a few miles thru jungle and hills and keeping them wet


overlooking the grand ball court yard

quarry area in the hills just right of center




another stela....notice the intricacy...and 3 dimensional carving...in the upper left is visible...the corner pillar is carved away and carving behind it ...this is all one piece of stone...tedious work

snake symbols (open jaws each side)



this is the most archelogically famous piece at Copan and yet a huge mystery...the hieroglyphic stairway....each step face is made up of individual pictures or significance...and yet still unsolved meaning...this was a very special and revered place....it had the 16 kings along the stairway...much of the top of this collapsed...and they say it was covered by roof by a mayan arch like below...time has eroded the clarity of the stone...some preservation measures are in place

the mayan arch...rooftop for most of the buildings


in the ball court...and interesting story...

these sloped walls are on each side...better pic from google

the story/theory goes....there were some carving showing men and a ball....there are rubber trees nearby and they think the ball was made of this rubber....the 4 carvings at the top of the sloped walls are a symbolic macaw parrot head...they players must bounce the ball off of these heads with thier hip, head or shoulder to earn points....the tournaments go on often...and the grand champion gets the ultimate prize....the champion gets to be sacrificed and offered to the gods....the priests would open the chest on the small altar here and place the champions heart on the round hole in the round rock...

the blood would trickle down the carved grooves into a small fire/insence burning below....the Mayans often burned animal blood and flesh as an offering..and they say they have proof of this from dna remnants...this death/sacrifice was an honor to the champions and their family...
in today's society we give champions fame and endorsement contracts....would modern athletes strive to be champion if the mayans ways were still in place?....I can hear it now..."I let him win"...
a burinign pit under another stela

more stelas in the ball court

the trees add a real beauty to this site...but the experts say they removed all the trees during Mayan reign



exiting the ruins...a magical place.....I look forward to spending more time there....


wild macaws hang around here....and are tamed when feeding them oranges

[Meathead]

Good stuff, Jeff and Shelly.

[cavebiker]

What an opportunity and good going. How great is this! Those are some great shots of the ruins. Thanks much for posting them and super ride report.

[Jack Daniel]

One quick question...

Other than Miami and Tiajuana I've never been in a Spanish speakin' locale

And I haven't had Spanish since the 9th grade either

Do the residents in Roatan and the surrounding mainland understand English? Or do you have to be able to speak a little Spanish to converse?

[freeflow]

hola meatmark...BTW folks...meathead and Nomystery were great and grascious hosts ...on our flight down we had an overnighter in Atlanta, we have been wanting to meet them, so ADV pms hooked it up.....and had an excellent visit and meal with these fine people ...thanks again Mark & Michelle A#1



food?..ok...food pics...at Atlanta Fish Co. I had this great arctic char with mushroom sauce ...

Originally Posted by Jack Daniel

Do the residents in Roatan and the surrounding mainland understand English? Or do you have to be able to speak a little Spanish to converse?

a bit of spanish is helpful.....I seem to get by.....Roatan is many many expats....and alot of english....mainland..finding someone who speaks english is a bit harder...learning spanish is fun...

hola Cavebiker ...the ride gets interesting...and so does the scuba dive and visit to Utila....we were blessed witha visit from a big whale shark

ok..ruins done..on with the ride report !

after the ruins tour day, we had a few hours before sunset, so I wanted to check out the replacement clutch cable.....so why not take a ride north out of Copan to check out a hot springs (agua caliente)...
this road north out of Copan is also a smugglers route and unofficial border crossing into Guatemala....as they say, the smugglers, one day it may be coffee, another it may be cattle, another it may be narcotics....

a nice graded dirt potholed hilly road...only about 25 miles north of Copan...I didn;t take it all the way to the border...but I will someday...




mostly farms and livestock and nice hills

and adobe homes

and silt and sand and rocks and steep grades...nice 2up GS stuff...



the locals know of this place...the gov't is tryign to put it on the map as a tourist attraction...and a small spa is being built there....not open yet....
a few pools of warm water from the river and take a dip in the river...hot steamy water

refreshing


the GS takes a break

dont; get caught here at night ...doh! again...LOL


the next morning after having some great Pizza Copan....up for coffee and breakfast.
I doubt these ice skates at Don Udo's get much use in Copan..

..before heading back to the islands, we decided to take a quick ride to the Guatemala border at El Florido...there is a nice twisty short road from Copan..



Shelly reminded me she was on the back a few times with a few pokes...it felt good to exercise the GS in these twistys...




thsi is one of the favorite border crossings..low hassle factor (I've passed thru here in under 30 minutes)




:)


we get blasting back towards La Entrada to see what the fuss is about...we heard that the main road back is under a protest blockade for the 36 hrs or so...the locals are protesting telephone rates and poor gov't clinics...they shut down the highway and there was some reports of violence and burning cars and fights with police...sounds fun, let's go check it out..



this is the GPS track to the state border and into the blockade

as we get closer to the blockade, many many trucks pulled over..drivers waiting it out

and then we come to this...


I chat with a few people and figure to try to get thru it...they may allow motos and hikers thru

we squeezed thru....and as we got deeper into this...the tension was being felt...soon all the people had sticks and clubs and were obviously angry...

we chatted with a few locals here and decided not to pass...then they asked me for money...bribe.."refresca" as the cops say...I just stared them down and said "where is the boss?..you are not the boss"...and we turned around...



time to dig the maps and find plan B....I saw another route ..about a 250 mile detour...let's GO!...
this links to the other track...it ended up being a great dirt and gravel road/trail...we only saw a few other vehicle and passed thru 7,ooo feet ...and up into pines and such..but we had to do it...and didn't get many pics...(for once LOL)...we went thru Santa Rosa de Copan, and Gracias, and La Esperanza...
this is before Gracias...and a nice river valley...changing geology


and some nice rivers


some construction areas


we passed a few moto shops that were giving us the nod

we hit some construction around San Juan..I chatted with a local guy and he said we better to take the dirt trail route over the mountains in La Esperanza (about 30 miles and reminded me of the road to Batopilas, Mexico, but narrower)...this was the most challenging 2UP GS stuff I ever did...bring it on...and no pics..Shelly was being good and just hanging on....

once thru La Esperanza we were gifted a great paved twisty hilly road....fast sweepers....a road worth doing a rewind on...but the sun is setting and we are a long way from the barn..we came out to the main highway near Siguatepeque



we ended up getting caught in dark...sun was long gone by time we rolled past Lago de Yojoa.....we pushed on....I hate dark riding in central america and know we shouldn't do it...but we had to push on.....we pushed past San Pedro Sula and bypassed to the east to El Progresso for the night...

[freeflow]

next morn a quick run back to park the bike in La Ceiba....:(...at least we had a few days to ride and I made good ona promise that I;d bring Shelly to Copan ....

now it is back to La Ceiba, restash the bike, and hop the ferry over to another island, Utila to check it out....and get some dives in
retorno....


the odo sez we put on about 900 miles..the detour route around the political blockade was about 500 miles....and fun..ride done

...but more fun worth reporting here


the beaches in La Ceiba were getting fluffed up for the upcoming very busy semana santa week when all the local go to the beach


we toured La Ceiba a bit and then hopped the Utila Princess ferry (the smaller one here)...I think it was 220 lemps...about $12 each


the seas were rough and it felt good to exercise my sea legs


supervising the seasickness cleanup details..


Utila is a cool island and very different...very small...and most tourists are eurpoean backpackers on low budget..cheap hostels....and inexpensive scuba dives and classes...(Tom...I'd reccomend Utila over Roatan for a brief visit..cool vibe here)
arriving Utila


we find a funky Willy Wonka/DR Suess type place called the Jade Seahorse...we rent a cabin for a night...a bit pricey ($60 a nt)...but worth the extra for some fun and R&R...

a creative and trippy place


cool big banana spiders everywhere


we tool around the area, and hook up a dive operation for some scuba in the morning...then off to find dinner....we see many bikes on the island...smaller xt225s, honda tornado 250s...and I spy a few KLRs...and a super sherpa...



and a Ilmostro wannabee


even saw a liter sport bike...why I dont; know...there must be all of 2 miles of pavement on the island...and top speed maybe 40 mph...but if the dude feels cool, then whatever..

on dinner at the mangorve inn is great...and right near our table the bats were riading the humming bird feeder...cool stuff...fast lil buggers..persistence with the camera






ok..onto the food of Utila.. ....

tuna and shrimp cevechi..yum


tuna filet..and lobster pasta


all cooked here


another night...tuna, mushroom, garlic, onion, olive pizza


tuna a blue marlin cevechi



the morning we hooked up with a dive operation that was going around to the north and east end of the island...scuba is cheap here IMO...2 tank dive including all gear..$46 each...and fun english divemastere that summer in thailand / micronesia and the red sea....more dream seeds planted




ok scuba is scuba...but after our first dive, the boat captian want to take a ride further out into the rougher seas to have a look for some whale sharks...this is a life long dream to get to see these creatures...and even the dive masters that have been diving everyday for 3-4 month have yet to see some...but we give it a go...the captian...and I mean "thee" captins, nickname, Gringo...is da bomb on locating whale sharks...
he is ont he lookout while foot steering the boat


we look for a large area of the seas churned up..by what is called a fish 'boil'///small fish and flying sfish jumping everywhere turning a acre size of ocean surface forthy white....tuna darting in and out eating them....the whale sharks chase the fish to the surface and eat plankton and such...all feed off of it;s work....then we are soo damned luckyt ot see a dark sahdow...and we bail overboad with fin, mask and snorkel...and ge tto hang with this magnificent magical creature...it changed my life...(pics by a guy who was next to me with his digital camera)






I was swimming about 10 feet along side this huge fish...abut 8 - 10 meters in length..and 10 - 12 tons...a true blessing of an encounter...for a minute or 2...and then it dissappeared into the 1000 foot depths....

very lucky...and other's on the boat that have been diving all week hoping to see a whale shark were content and reminded us how lucky we were...first day of diving and got it done....very fortunate we feel...and the mood of everyone on the boat was immediately changed.....

what an addictive encounter....ready to do it again..

later in the day...kids getting fruit from the trees


we had excellent mangos and papayas here...
the next day we had some time to tour the island...in a golf cart....
thsi is the ferry dock and post office





school childern out on litter detail....


Utila was a pirate island...and some old 400 yr old bottle and such was found when they were buildign the cabins we stayed at..so the guy is building this museum...not open yet


here is the airport/runway



return to the ferry to hop back over to La Ceiba to hop to Roatan


back to roatan to fly out tomorrow

[Jack Daniel]

I see the power lines in town but...

Is there municipal water and electric throughout Utila?

I was thinking much of the island had to have cisterns and generators

[LaOutbackTrail]

I just friggan love Central America! 2 months until I'll be in Costa Rica for almost a month! I liked the brief time I was in honduras too.