It's June in Copán!
If you think that the price of oil has not affected us way down here in the tropics, well think again. We are at $4 a gallon just like the States but here the minimum for monthly wages is about $185…YIKES, obviously not many of us own or drive cars, but the public buses cabs and taxis are all being affected. So when you get here, throw away that little travel guide everyone likes to refer to and relax, its worldwide people. Prices here are fluctuating as wildly as they are in the rest of the world.

 

 

But the great news is, you can walk anywhere here, you can walk to the ruins, the bird park, the market, the restaurants, hotels, it’s such a short distance to everything, and the weather right now is so cool, but bring an umbrella, we are getting a bit of rain, and a flashlight, because the power does go off, hasn’t changed in 18 years, why would it change now!

We were rocking and rolling on May 31 to a group called Revolution, they paid homage to the Beatles, they sounded exactly like them, and were great. It was the first cultural event held at the newly inaugurated Fuerte Cabañas which houses the Children´s Museum Casa Kínich. It was a sit-down concert and we had to be under tents because of the rain but it was probably the first thing I have attended here that was not Maya based. It was nice to see people enjoying music from another culture and it was a wonderful pleasant evening, thank you Camara de Comercio, Copan Association, and everyone else for helping to sponsor this event.
When you do get here, and June is the big month for travellers, school is out, hopefully someone is planning a vacation, the Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa is closed for a few repairs and will reopen probably in September. San Pedro Sula has a lot of flights coming in every day so be patient, but I have not heard anything negative. Coming directly into San Pedro Sula, which is better because you can get on a bus and be here in Copan Ruinas in about three hours. And then you can enjoy all the great things going on. There is an Andean flute player in the park every weekend, there are some really great tours going on and the very best thing is that you can enjoy some different food.

The food here is incredible. Everyone wants fresh, here it has to be, and we never really know what’s going to be in the market. Although I do not eat typical food as they call it here every day, I do enjoy it occasionally. A typical Honduran plate usually consists of sitting down to a plate of fried eggs, refried beans, rice, sour crème and on on top of that, a side of carne asada and a slice of fresh cheese, add a few corn tortillas and a half an avocado and you have got Heaven on a plate.

I love it and allow myself this usually on a Sunday Morning, when I won’t be eating for the rest of the day. There are so many restaurants you can try out, many advertise with us, but almost everyone here has their version of the Plato Tipico. An important part of this plate is the cheese, and here in Copan there is fresh cheese made daily by many locals. One of my favourites is a woman who carries it to me on the top of her head, it’s wrapped in cheesecloth still draining. These are not aged of course, if you want that you have to go to Europe, but these creamy fresh milk cheeses are so good.

Forget about the diet, forget about low fat, this is the real deal, and after all you are trying to experience foods from different cultures. I use the fresh cheeses here on pizza, sprinkled in salads, folded in an omelette, arranged with fresh fruit and they lend a wonderful flavor. The local cheeses range from a gritty salty version that crumbles (great on a bowl of beans as the beans are bland and they add a wonderful flavour, as a matter of fact they call it queso de frijole or cheese for beans) or crumbled inside a baleada (look that one up, it´s a great food, a fresh handmade flour tortilla covered with refried beans and sprinkled with cheese and a spoonful of sour cream, the late night junk food, and anytime meal).
There is also a creamy ricosón (resembles ricotta but a little saltier, not as much curd) which is usually sold by the half pound, I like that crumbled on a pizza sprinkled with chicken and a little wild basil (yes it grows wild here, the flavour is intense and it’s a little drier than what you’re used to). FABULOUS!!!!Also there is fresh crème, which is a sour crème, what to do with that, besides pour it on bread and eat it like by husband. However, it makes a delicious creamy dressing if you crumble some of the dry cheese into it, put a lot of fresh ground pepper in it and then thin it with a little olive oil. Add a little cilantro and it is also a great dip.
Try dipping tajadas, or fried green bananas, in that, it’s delicious. The green bananas are sliced thin then deep fried. You can also buy them ready in the stores, just look for the clear cellophane bags. Open one of the local beers and it´s a great appetizer.

A walk through a Sunday market on the square will reveal a myriad of wonderful fresh foods. Walk through the vegetables to the back of the market and you will see women with large tubs covered in dishtowels, they are proud to uncover and explain to you what they have. There are ticucos an artfully wrapped corn masa and bean concoction that resembles a tamale, but it’s wrapped so beautifully and tied like a little gift.

You put it on a plate and pour crème over it, delicious. There is also another version that they call chepes, which is the same as a tucuco but a longer more beautifully wrapped version. These wrapped foods can be traced way back, people would wrap their food and cook it then it´s portable.

An anafre, the pots which are sold in the market and the preparation is beans, cheese and crème served with fresh corn tortillas, sometimes they add Chorizo, which I love. Anafres are like little Mayan fondus but with tortillas instead of forks.

I recently bought 12 bottles of honey, wildflower honey, a liter size, I sell it in my shop but I also keep it at the house, great cough syrup and although you may or may not advocate it the Mayas used honey to put on wounds and it would heal them. There is a bacterium that actually sanitizes the cut. I think I’ll just stick to putting it on my waffles perhaps in my tea but definitely on a bagel, thank you very much.

Tamales here are steamed in banana leaves, which make them about twice as large as the cornhusk variety that you find in the states in Mexican food restaurant. They are stuffed with green olives, garbanzos, pork or chicken or sometimes just with potatoes and served with lime wedges. They are delicious.

You could gather up the ingredients for a gourmet meal in one fell swoop. Tacucos, covered with fresh crème, chepes on the side. Steamed tamales with a tart squeeze of lemon juice, a bubbling piping hot anafre with quesillo melted into it, steamy fresh tortillas on the side, add a little encurtido which is the local chile usually consisting of marinated jalapenos, onions, not too hot, but not too tame.

Hungry Yet! Well, come join us, welcome to Copan, we’re so glad you’re here! OH! I forgot to tell you about the papusas……………………

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