Santa Rosa de Copan....bust

So far today has been a bit of a bust. We decided to leave Copan to keep it fresh for when our friends show up. We took a couple of buses to get to Santa Rosa de Copan. The book said that there is a cigar factory here that gives tours from 8-5 and its on the way to Gracias, another town not too far from here.

First, we took a cab from the bus station and the cab driver had no idea where the hotel that was recommended in lonely planet was. He drove around and around and finally I had to ask if he knew of a different hotel. He dropped us off here at the Hotel something de Jorge. Its really nice and the guy showed us a room that was just more than we wanted to spend. Its amazing what we can pull off when we are feeling cheap. The first room was HUGE and he finally showed us a smaller room with a queen sized bed he could tell we were ready to walk and finally lowered the price to what we were willing to spend....hot water shower, tv, free wifi and AIR CONDITIONING. This is the first AC we have been in since Texas besides lunch at the Pollo Camparo in Guatemala City. We havent actually been anywhere that required AC but this is a real treat.

We got some lunch at an American themed restaurant and had some really good burgers with the works. Then we caught a cab for the cigar factory. The cab driver dropped us off in front of the closed gates and drove off. I knocked on the gate and the guard explained that tours are only at 10am and 2pm so we walked to the nearest busy street and caught a cab back to the central park area near the hotel. What a bummer. If checkout is late enough, maybe we will try to catch the 10am tour or maybe just head out of town in the morning to Gracias.

Santa Rosa is just a city. Its bustling with lots of stores and restaurants and people but not really any character. Its got nice, busy street life and cobblestone streets but I think its kind of like Dallas in that it seems like a nice place to live but not really a place to visit as a tourist. The people speak very quickly. My spanish has gotten good enough that I can ask for or say almost anything that I need to but understanding the response is pretty difficult. In Guatemala, people were very patient and maybe even used to travelers with poor spanish because once they would realize that you didnt understand them, they would slow down to baby talk and start trying different words until something would register. I know that my spanish isnt good enough for them to think I'm fluent and the respond super fast. When I say that I dont understand, they just say more stuff just as fast as before. Eventually, they will either find someone who speaks English or will finally ask if we speak english and then will respond in perfect English. I need to memorize the phrase, "please speak slower", I think it will be useful in this country.