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Life at Lake Atitlan is behind me and now it is time for the next chapter. I am staying for nearly a week at the home of Dennis and Doris Rice in Quetzaltenango (known to everyone by it's Quiche Maya name Xelaju or simply Xela - pronounced Sha-lah). Dennis and Doris manage Vine International's warehouse operations in Xela, Guatemala (For more information on Vine International, see my past entry A Spiritual Recharge or visit www.vineinternational.org).

In the Home of Friends

Jeremy Curl
2006-08-28 16:06:58

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of meat and small portions, but the Rices are taking care of that problem. Later that day, I went to the local mall and walked around, and then I treated myself to a movie at the theater. The movie was actually in English with Spanish subtitles, so it was like going to a language class and enjoying a flick at the same time. The following day started out with more great food and conversation. I helped the Rices move some new beds and furniture into their house and next took the old stuff over to Roger's for his family to have. Later, I went to a local gym to get in a workout. I got to talking with one of the gym's trainers and he ended up giving me a bunch of protein bars for my travels. I felt bad though b/c at first I thought he was actually trying to sale me product when really he was only being generous (that teaches me not to pre-judge). On my walk home, I stopped off and watched some Papi futbol games at the local courts. Papi futbol is just like soccer, except it is played on a miniature field and goals. Back at the house, I spend a lot of time talking to the Rices about life, religion, and just general information (Dennis is like talking to a dictionary; he has all sorts of good information).

Thursday, we took a road trip down South near the coast to a city called Retalhuleu to visit a local clinic. On our drive down, the road we took crossed through 24 different microclimates; which is basically a distinct type climate for a small-scale area. According to Dennis' friend, there are only 27 types of microclimates in the world and we just passed through 24 of them. We started out in the Xela valley, made our way through the highland coffee plantations, then down through various types of jungle, until we finished up in the coastal region with palm, coconut, and banana trees all around. One quick tid bit; did you know that coffee grown at higher altitudes has more flavor and acidity, but less aroma than coffee grown at low altitude, so this ...