Home » Guatemala » Guatemala, week 3

Feb - Mar 2002: My friend Priscilla and I took a trip to Guatemala (and briefly into Honduras).

Guatemala, week 3

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-11 11:49:41

Displayed times (last time: )

like such a long time - now it seems too short! I'm also enjoying my time here much more. The first 2 weeks were spent adjusting to my new surroundings. The culture here, and the newness of the rawness of it all surprised me. It took me a while to really gain an appreciation of what I was experiencing. I couldn't help but compare everything to Dubai and Muscat, since I went so recently and they are still fresh in my mind. I also couldn't help but compare it to what I've seen of Mexico as well. Took me a while to get into a state of openness with my surroundings, to learn and appreciate Guatemala's uniqueness. I can see why people say that a few weeks or a month aren't long enough to travel. There is definately a period of adjustment that takes place. To really experience a place, time is needed.

Xela Market and Fuentes Georginas

Today we walked from the Central Park in Xela to the Minerva temple. The temple resembled a much smaller version of the exterior of the Acropolis. The Xela market started there and stretched all the way north to the bus station. The market was very colorful and bustling, and it's my favorite market that we vistited on this trip.

We boarded our bus to Zunil and it was a slow and bumpy ride. When we finally made it, we got dropped off in the center of town in front of the church, and we walked back up the hill to the main road and and started our 8.5 km trek to the hotsprings at Fuentes Georginas. By the time the first pickup truck came by, we were disillusioned with our trek and stuck our thumbs out, and luckily he picked us up. Otherwise it would have been dark by the time we got there. The ride was great - we ascended through lush verdant hills, and fog hung low in every direction. Every thing felt clean, fresh, and dripping with life. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned they didn't have any more bungalows for the night. They offered for us to sleep in the kitchen on the floor, and we'll get a bungalow tomorrow. Small bummer.

Fog, hot springs, and strange birds

We lucked out - last night we met two girls from Massachusetts and they offered to share their room with us when they heard that we were going to be sleeping on the floor of the kitchen. Muy bien!

I spent the better part of last night in the hottest pool, gazing at the stars. Not long after I entered the water, I had a cute Guatemalan guy come and sit with me and give me a kiss on the cheek - mucho gusto! he said. Gotta watch out for these Latin men! We conversed in makeshift Spanish (luckily he was very patient with me) and we learned a little bit about eachother. We talked for a while and I got the chance to practice my Spanish. He was very good company.

Despite the fog that greeted us when we got here, we had a clear night and morning. The fog started creeping back in around 10 or 11am, and it's hanging low all around us now. Gives a misty, peaceful feel to the place. This place has some really odd birds in the morning. As I woke up, I heard the strangest bird call. I wish I had a tape recorder. It was so surreal.