Honduras: The Ruins of Copan

Since many people have asked me to write my blog in English I took the opportunity to do so after I was (brutally) robbed of my dear Lenovo laptop, and am now stuck with a Spanish speaking laptop. Sometimes it speaks Spanglish as well, if I am lucky, but basically now I HAVE to learn how to read Spanish with its technical terms.

The film that is above is where I am going in the next couple of days, and I am really hopeing that this trip will snap me out of the my deep crisis after what happend! It is not that I am not fine! Even if the thought of going to Honduras seems more dangerous now, because Honduras is a country that has seen a rise in violence through 2009 /2010, than before, when the whole world was my safe Disneyland, if one can use this kind of expression. Now I am faceing some existential questions, and I think the only thing keeping me on this wnow is stubbornness. But I know that I want to come back to Latin America when I leave here one day. So dangerous and so beautiful, this se two expressions go hand in hand most places I have been on this planet, and I guess that I, reluctantly or not, fall in love with just that.

I will come back with photos and info on Honduras and Copan. Photos if I find out how my Spanglish speaking camera works. It even has a touch screen! It sounded so hip that I had to have it. It is cheap however, and will have to do for the rest of my travel. The Republic of Honduras is south of Guatemala, bordering El Salvador in the west and Nicaragua in the south. Before the Spanish came in 1524  it was home to many native tribes, among others the Maya. The main interest of the Sapniards were silver mining, and the natives were used to do the job. The natives, however died of disease brought from Europe, so slaves were brought from Africa to replace them. The decendants of the slaves now form the Garifuna culture along the Carribian coast, with their own constructed language, food and colourful garments and festivals. Like all countries in Latin America Honduras has had a lot of problems. One of the reasons of the violence and poverty is that it was made one of USA bananastates in the 20th century, with little economical growth for Honduras, but with US fruit companies controlling substantial land and infrastructure in the north. In addition the hurricane Fifi 1974 and Mitch in 1998 both caused destruction in the country. Especially Mitch that caused 50 years of progress to reverse, according to president Carlos Roberto Flores, with its massive and widespread destruction of nearly all bridges and secondary roads, 70 % of all crops and 33 000 houses.      5 000 people were killed.

More on Honduras next blog.