We want to leave by 7:00 A.M. to begin another scenic mountainous drive of about 175 miles. By the way, you will always double check to see your bags at the side of the bus before it is loaded - make sure they are there! Later this morning we arrive at the newly uncovered ruins of Copan in Honduras. It will open your eyes to the past. Paco will collect our passports and entry documents and take care of the border formalities. An early afternoon visit to the Site Museum reveals that much of Copan is post Book of Mormon time. However, Echoes of Semitic Influence can be seen as we look into a near-perfect Mayan Ball Court from the "Star of David" pyramid. The ball game was a very physical and sometimes even a grotesque sport. The ball was not allowed to hit the ground. It could be hit only with the body. In one version of the game, the winner would die by being decapitated in front of the crowd. This became a means of creating "hyper" excitement, a form of Gladiators. Royal participants would run ragged thorned reeds through their tongues and other body parts, acting in a very crude and base manner. It helps us perceive what the Book of Mormon called the lust for blood that became a norm for the Lamanites and later the Nephites.

Copan is where we Learn More about the Mayan Culture through their astonishing Calendar and numerous Stelae (pillars with writing). Copan is a pristine excavation and includes a temple inside a temple, inside a temple. Like Israel’s archaeology, things are built on top of and on top of that. One of Daniel’s favorite expressions can be visualized, "What you see today can be a memory of what was there before." This is where we will see a Star of David design among the ruins, again, an echo of who was there before and a link to their origins. There is a little Museum that shows a caricature of the Temple on a Temple, etc. Many echoes of gospel truths linger in the Mayan culture, reflecting patterns of the Book of Mormon peoples. The Movie "Testaments" handles the cultural contrasts quite well. It is very worthwhile Walking Through the Ruins with a Local Guide, Antonio. He has been touring since the excavations were made. He reminds us that he toured President Spencer W. Kimball; therefore, he "knows" the Mormons and their "book." Paco enters into the conversation jovially as we hear the guide say there was no metal until the Mayans (100's of years after the Book of Mormon people – who used metal)!

Copan is a 29-acre site and home to about 25,000 people in the surrounding area. Agriculture is diminishing today, echoing its ancient decline. Again, today is a great day to open your eyes to the past as we drive along . . . by seeing living villages very similar to what existed anciently.

Lodging tonight is at the Hotel Marina, a Charming Hotel. If you find some peeling paint or disintegrating plaster . . . it’s the jungle environment! But, the Marina is clean and gives you a feeling of being in the magnificence of nature’s flowers and trees. There is a wonderful Marimba Band Playing Cheerful Music, endlessly by "old guys" who have been doing this music and loving it for a very long time. They have fun and we have fun! The central plaza of Copan Town is just outside the Marina hotel. More often than not, the town’s folk gather and get to be Entertained by Our Own Paco, a Wonderful Folk-singing Musician! Many local families come every evening, hanging around, eating ice cream and enjoying the cooler night air in their little town.