Xela (shell-a)

Quetzaltenango is the name of the town on the map, but the locals call it Xela.

This is going to be a long one guys...with lots of photos. I´ve been here for a week and I´m just now getting to the blogging. I have done so much this week, so i´ll try to just hit the highlights. I met two awesome girls (Sarah and Rachel) on the chicken bus from San Pedro to Xela. They happened already know some people who were taking spanish classes in town, so it has been really nice to have a big group of people to hang out with. Oh...and for those of you reading Nicole's blog and wondering about the toilets in Guatemala...nothing special going on here....just normal toilets...with a trash can for you to put your used toilet paper in. Don't clog the toilet with the paper....

Alright...so about Xela

We arrived on Wednesday evening and quickly picked up the Xela Who? to see what was going on in town. Free Salsa lessons that night...we were in! Went to a place to eat dinner and while sitting there Dave, friend to the girls, happened to come into the restuarante we were eating at. Said we would meet him later at the La Paranda for Salsa. Turns out the salsa lessons are more like Salsa line dancing. It´s just the really good guys showing off their fancy foot work and everyone else trying to copy what they are doing. After that was done it was obvious that the salsa guys stood off to the side watching all the girls moved and carefully picking out their future dance partners. There was this one guy who was crazy good...he moved so fast and had so much energy. I still wasn´t feeling very well and had to take many breaks. I started turning down dance offers because I just didn´t have the energy. I turned down two guys, but then the crazy good guy asked me to dance and you just can´t say no to that. I told him to take it slow with me because I wasn´t feeling well. I´m sure it was slow for him, but oh man I felt like I could barely keep up and after one song i needed to catch my breath big time. He said I was pretty good, but I told him it all depends on who´s leading.

On thursday I went to Las Fuentes Gorginas. It is a natural hot spring. Way warmer than the ones in Ojai. It´s also built up a lot more. You have to pay to get in and they made the pools so its not so natural looking, but it is a lot cleaner. Sorry hippies, you must wear a suit at all times!

On Friday I went to the faria that was outside of town. The fair is for indepence day. We met up with Sarah and Rachel´s teachers from San Pedro and had a blast. went on rides and played some games. Ate some chocolate covered grapes...odd but very good! More Salsa dancing that night!!!

Sunday we went to a soccer game. The town has its own team, Xelaju (shell-a-who) The soccer game was awesome. I bought a jersey and we started pre partying at 11 am. Game started at 12...we stood with the fan club, known as the Anarchists. It was great...we were pretty much standing and jumping and singing and chanting for 90 minutes straight. After the game, they let us out on the field. We took pictures and kicked a ball around for a little bit...Awesome!!! After we went to a bar and I made friends with the security guard for a bar La Rumba...he said hé´d get all my friends and I in there for free for the big party night. All that day drinking...ended up in bed by 10 pm. Oh yeah...Xelaju won 1-0!!! I have my favorite chant and the winning goal on video...but for some reason they just don't want to load. Damn the video thing!!

Monday we saved up our energy all day for the big Indepence party. It started around six. Went to Septima Avenida (its a street) and started off by each of us drinking a litro of Cabro(not the national beer). There was a concert on a big stage and got in the crowd and started dancing around to the music. Everyone seemed to know the words to all the songs except us, so we figured this must be a pretty good band. More drinking, more people met up with us and then more drinking and dancing to the music. Around midnight we walked back to Parque Central for fireworks and dancing Salsa in the streets to another band on a stage. At about 1 we went to La Rumba, saw my friend Jose and we all walked in free of charged as promised. After 5 minutes the power went out (people assume that it was the municipales who turned it off to try to get people to go home), but that didn´t stop us. The bartenders brought out some candels and people started singing and dancing to their own music. We hung out for a while and off we went to another bar, Ojala...the power was on there! More salsa dancing and drinking and fun making....then off to another bar...this was a private party from the two guatemalans we were hanging otut with all night. More dancing...water for me this time! and next thing I knew it was 5 am and I was ready for bed. My friends stayed there til 7...some even went for food after that...Rachel and Stuart were the last awake....they went to bed at noon!

Today I spent my time recoving from the late night, getting pictures from Sarah and Rachel and thinking about all of you! Miss you all! Tomorrow I´m off to a new town! Staying with my Couchsurfing friends in Guatemala city for one night then heading off to Coban to see some of the prettiest places in Guatemala!!! Can't wait to tell you more!

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Part of trip: Guatemala and Belize

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