It was late afternoon by the time we were done with the border crossing, but we were told it was just over an hour to Xela. I decided we could make it.
It's pretty amazing how different Guatemala fells than Mexico. as soon as we crossed the border we started up a grade through very lush green mountains. After we made it up the small hill, the road opened up and straightened out a little, which is where the crazy driving started. If you've ever driven in Mexico, you will agree that it is a bit less civilized than in the US and you have to stay on your toes.
Guatemala is a whole new experiance. The lanes are just a little wider, and that gives everyone just enough room to be passing each other everywhere, all the time. Pretty soon passing on the right shoulder was commonplace and a couple times I found myself on teh left sholder passing a car that was passing a truck in our lane.
About the time we left CA-2 and started heading up into the highlands towards Xela, it started to get dark and cold. I actually had to zip the sleeves back on my jacket for the first time in quite a while.
Once we got to Xela, we checked into Casa Argentina, A huge hostel with offstreet parking for around $6 each. After a quick shower we went out to see what this place had to offer.
The full name of the city is Quetzaltenango, but I can't pronounce that, and everyone calls it Xela (shell-ah) both the locals and travelers alike. Xela is a large colonial city, and one of the largest citys in Guatemala. It is full of colonial archetecture, which I think I enjoy because there isn't a whole lot of it where I'm from in California.
It was our first night in Guatemala, and I was excited to try some Guatemalan street food. Shane wasn't feeling the street food, and convinced me to eat at McDonalds, he was very content. I don't even like McDonalds back home.
Not alot seemed to be going on around the plaza, but we saw lights in the distance and decided to check it out. As we got closer we started to hear the music.
It turns out there was a very big concert going on in the stadium, and had a huge street fair around it. We got some beers and walked around all the crazyness that was going on near the stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment