Copán Ruinas is the site of the Copán  Ruins, a massive, magnificent Mayan ruin considered the cultural center of the Maya world.  It attracts 200,000 tourists a year, so although this community is somewhat remote, it is not isolated.  In the center of the village is a small apartment building named Horduras Escape that is managed by a North American couple who offer long-term rentals that are marketed to retirees.   The apartment suites are fully furnished and have a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The floors are tile, and the furniture is wicker, all locally manufactured.  While the suites are not luxurious, they are not austere and will comfortably accommodate two people.

The eat-in kitchen has a table and chairs, a refrigerator, a coffee maker, a stove and all utensils.   Two sets of linens and towels are supplied, and washers and dryers are available, although the apartment homes have full maid service.  Each suite comes decorated with Mayan objects and materials, and each has a mural painted by a local artist.  Best of all, rates start at $350 USD per month.  Call 503.543-5153 (U.S.) for more information.  There is no high-tech, 25,000 square foot state-of-the-art clubhouse, but there is a fresh-air reading room with books, cards and board games.  Two meals, breakfast and dinner, are prepared by the in-house chef and are served in the private, tropical garden.  Meals are not included in the monthly fee but are very inexpensive, as is everything in Honduras (although real estate prices around Copán are rising).

Copán is poor but considered very safe.  Its people are friendly (and they love celebrating holidays with firecrackers), and the village's charm is enhanced by  cobblestone streets and whitewashed buildings with red tile roofs.    The lush hills around Copán offer opportunities for caving, hiking and horseback riding, and there are restaurants, a general store, a bank and an English-speaking doctor in town.  Local transportation is provided by motorized rickshaws; shopping for local handicrafts, particularly jade and silver carvings, is worth a visit here in and of itself.  Spanish is the official language, but English is also spoken, and fully equipped hospitals are located 45 minutes away in Chiquimoula, Guatemala. 

This Latin American country has a maturing democratic government, is a U.S. ally and is less than two hours by air from the United States.  It is roughly the size of Tennessee and has 7 million inhabitants.  Residents and tourists alike here enjoy nearly 400 miles of pristine, powdery Caribbean coastline and turquoise waters (the northern coast is about 200 km away from Copán and the Bay Islands, wonderful spots for diving, are roughly 300 km northeast and another 40 km offshore), as well as unspoiled tropical forests, fierce rivers and undiscovered ruins.   The Copán region is one of the best in the world for growing coffee, and nothing quite measures up to sipping a delicious morning cup while gazing out across mysterious, mist-shrouded hills in a mountain Paradise and knowing that the stresses of modern, urban life are far, far away.   Living well here can be done on $500-$600 a month.  

The Copán climate is temperate.  The average January high is 75 degrees (winter temperatures do not dip much below 60 degrees) and the average July high temperature is 80 degrees.   The rainy season is from August to December.  The area is prone to earthquakes, but generally they are mild.  Hurricanes can strike (Hurricane Mitch caused great damage in 1998), but hurricanes also strike Florida.

Relocating to Honduras is not difficult.  Retirees must complete an application, best done at a Honduran Consulate, and be able to show $600 per month in income.  An applicant also needs a form from the Honduran Institute of Tourism stating that he or she is not a Communist, a letter from the applicant's local police department saying that he or she has not been arrested within 6 months, a letter from the applicant's doctor stating that he or she is in good health, a birth certificate, some other miscellaneous documents and fees and a passport.  An interview is required at the Consulate; usually at this point a six month visa is issued.  The application is then sent to a Honduran lawyer who sends it to the Institute of Tourism, and assuming nothing is amiss with the application, a 2-year visa is issued; its renewal is generally automatic.  Expatriate retirees, to maintain their resident status, must live in Honduras for a cumulative total of four months each year.