Day 15 - Gracias to Copan Ruinas

Only John and Andrew decide to do the whole route today - they are the only 2 of the group to have ridden every km and not taken the van at any point. Catharine intends to take the van to mile 80km so she can see Autumn Statement and react if there is a change to ISA rules, but there is no change so she gets dropped off 30km in and starts riding. It’s 25km to lunch riding alone but everyone is friendly - though the guys fixing the road are making provocative gestures it seems to be good natured. Arrived at lunch stop at about 10am and managed to get the first decent coffee in ages from the petrol station. John arrives shortly after - his tummy is feeling a bit dodgy.
Whilst at lunch we see a truck go by with 2 cows in the back and then the calf is in the passenger seat at the front ! Unfortunately we don’t manage to get a picture.
Then a reporter turns up and says he has been sent by the local mayor who saw us passing through the local town. He interviews Carolina (our Brazilian TDA tour guide) while Sally and Catharine stand grinning either side the entire time as he films us for the local news channel! John is later stopped when he is on the bike as apparently the mayor wants him to come back to the town and be shown round and have a coffee with the mayor! John manages to use his pigeon Spanish to explain he needs to keep riding so he doesn’t have enough time to stop.
We had been dreading the gravel section after lunch as we had been told it was worse than the worse gravel day in Nicaragua. However it turns out to be an amazing route through a rural but very hilly area. The scenery starts with pines and then becomes more jungle and rainforest. There are coffee plantations, horses carrying firewood, an old lady who walks barefooted on the gravel and various kids we interact with as we ride - as well as the usual dogs that run at the bikes barking vociferously. It threatens rain on and off but it never comes to anything and the temperature is really very pleasant. We manage to ride virtually the whole route only getting off on one rocky 21% uphill section and two treacherous bits of descent (one the road disappeared over the edge at the corner).
Sadly once on the paved roads (interspersed with sections that were completely unmade!) we saw 2 dogs (separate locations) that had obviously recently been killed by cars as the vultures were just starting on them.
The hotel is very nice and we are given cocktails by the pool before we head into town for a steak. The streets are cobbled stone and very quaint. We take all the leftover meat and feed it to the stray dogs on the way home.Read more