Semana Santa (part 1 of 2)

Blessing of the palms on Palm Sunday
 

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most celebrated times of the year in Honduras. The celebrations begin on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem for the final time. His arrival is reenacted through a series of processions, celebration of the Eucharist, and many other unique local traditions to commemorate the final days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 

My sister came to visit me during this time. We spent several days in Roatán and then traveled throughout the mainland of Honduras. I am excited to share with you our journey!



Palm Sunday mass at Sacred Heart of Mary Church

We attended Palm Sunday mass at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church in West End. It is a beautiful outdoor church that is surrounded by bamboo trees and a wooden cross draped in white lights and a red cloak; the color red signifies the coming Passion of Christ. The church is located in the backyard of a faithful parishioner and the mass has been celebrated there for nearly twenty years.

 

Early that next morning, Katie and I shared a taxi ride with a well-seasoned Canadian traveler. We made our way to the dock and ferried across the Caribbean with several hundred others to the mainland. We transferred to a bus in La Cieba, loaded up on some gas station food for the next means of transportation: a bus to Copan. We rode for several hours then transferred in San Pedro Sula and rode for several more hours. Katie likes to tease me ever since our cross-country road trip years ago that I have ‘traveler’s narcolepsy’. I have been known on numerous occasions to fall asleep almost immediately when traveling long distances by plane, car, bus, and now ferry. Needless to say, I slept almost the entire way to Copan. We arrived as the sun was setting; giving us enough daylight to walk uphill to our hostel rather than pay the few dollars to take a three-wheeled taxi, commonly known as a tuk tuk. Katie did a great job sporting our brother’s large red traveler's backpack- good work!
 

Our Copan hostel—Via Via—doubles as a restaurant/bar and is a hotspot for backpackers. We were forewarned about the noise level, but Katie was determined to stay there because it seemed cool and was the cheapest in town. I had to agree. I had no problem falling asleep thanks to the roosters and woodpeckers that I routinely ignore in the mornings on Roatán. Katie came prepared and planned her nightcap with a Benadryl, attempted to use wax earplugs and even resorted to wrapping her head in a towel. Haha. We were both really happy with our hostel despite the noise level.

Copan is a quaint Honduran town with an archeological site of the Mayan civilization. We spent several hours walking through the Mayan ruins. Katie and I met up with two of my CMMB nursing friends. Jenny works in a remote area of Honduras called Guimaca and Mary lives in the former capital of Honduras, Comayagua. Jenny was traveling with a few friends who are volunteering with her in Guimaca as teachers.

We traveled to a nearby village looking for an artisan shop. Along the way, we came upon Hacienda San Lucas. It overlooks the city of Copan and is a peaceful hideaway for groups and/or individuals. The girl who helps run the hacienda invited us to have breakfast the next morning and offered us the use of their outdoor yoga room. We woke up at 4:45 the next morning because the girls wanted to do yoga at sunrise, but I opted out and went for the hammock. :)

 

Helen, Me, Jenny, Mary, & Alicia

 

Mayan Ruins

 

Mayan Ruins

 

tuk-tuk!

 

outdoor yoga room