It also is just a short bus ride away from the popular Copan ruins; however, I didn't go to the ruins. I've been to a few of the famous indigenous ruins in the Americas - Tikal, Teotihuacan, Machu Picchu - and after a while they all just start running together in my mind. I'm more interested in what's going on right now in various communities than exploring the dead past. Don't get me wrong; I love history that informs us about the reasons for current situations. I'm just not interested in ancient history that has very little effect on us today.
Street in Gracias
Cathedral in Gracias
Old man in Gracias
View of Gracias from the roof of my hotel
The smaller towns in Latin America tend to be safer than the big cities. In the big cities, a person can go the entire day without seeing someone they know, often leading people to act more recklessly. But in smaller towns, the opposite is the case. A person knows the neighborhood baker or shopkeeper or boys who sit in the central park after school. When people know the people around them, they are much less likely to harass or act violently towards them. I felt very safe the entire time I was in Gracias. I would go out for a stroll each evening after the sun went down. I would eat dinner at a stall in the bustling central park and often talk with locals. Even though Gracias was in the center of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, I felt safer than I do at times in downtown Tucson.
Street in Gracias
Gracias' overall safety and location in a deeply socially and economically troubled country makes it a perfect spot for volunteer and medical opportunities and missionary work. While I was in town, there were plenty of events going on around town for gringos with a heart or people who just want a better chance at getting into heaven. One evening there was a festival on the center square put on by a missionary group from Dallas. The missionaries had come to town to help a local church. Just to get this out of the way, I don't agree with the whole missionary thing and felt like the missionaries could have better spent their money and time on other, more impactful projects. But, from what I saw, both the Hondurans and the Americans seemed to be having a decent cultural exchange. As the sun set over Gracias, there were a couple hundred people playing tug-of-war and dancing to music; many Hondurans were even being helped by two doctors who were a part of the missionary group.
Missionaries from Dallas, Texas in Gracias
View of Gracias from San Cristobal Fortress
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