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Published: April 25th 2008
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Fuentes Georginas
A Valley leading up to the springs So we recovered from the hike of doom, only to be faced with the journey of infinate peril, Pana to Xela.
It wasnt really, but it sounds good huh. It should be a simple journey, but construction is king in the dry season. They cant do anything during the rainy season, so (much like England) they start as many as they possibly can, and thus dont finish them. Organised chaos you see, i hear much like Saints' season thus far. Every 10 miles or so you have to wait for the diggers to finish, and this is where the fun starts. It is more like wacky races than wacky races. maybe its just my instilled sense of order and calm that comes with being British, who knows, but in a word, they are nuts.
Everyone pushes to get to the front, and the only winner will be the chicken buses, so they smog up the front of the grid with there belching fumes, then its each man for himself when the guard stands aside... the buses weave, avoiding pickups (if they can!) tarrying for the lead ala Senna and Prost. If your sensible, you hang back, if not, the bottom
Fuentes Georginas
The hot springs themselves, was bigger than it looks, hard to get a pic without all the tat around the edges in it! of a chasm may await, and there would be no ACME trampoline to save anyone. and the funny thing is, the buses are so dog ass slow anyway that within 2 minutes all the cars have to overtake them again. And so it goes on. Thankfully we werent in a chicken bus, as they are more than a test of endurance, they are a challenge against fate. By rights, upon entering slow music should play and photos of your life should be displayed along the windows!
So, Xela.
Immediately impressed. So friendly.
Its such a calm relaxed place compared to even some of the villages we have been to, its almost European .... which is funny as its full of fuax Greek columns and grand buildings, liek its trying to seek out some long lost grandeur. Its still a fairly nice place to look at too, narrow streets (not built for racing, but tell the locals that) houses washed in various stages of undercoat, whilst in various stages of disrepair. And at some places, you can see the immense Santa Maria volcano standing sentinal in the distance. Not as close as Antigua imperial gaurd, but close enough that if
Xela
I think you can see Volcan Santa Maria in the background. you know where it is you'd never get lost here.
Little bars dot the streets. Imagine england before the brands took over the running of drinking establishments and proceeded to line them up like some sort of drinking mall. On any one street you stumble across a little bar. Almost bohemian you could say. the only problem being we havent really been in any as we have been studying hard, although i am so tired i cant study at night, but i think its been money well spent....as long as people speak to me as slowly as Loyola my teached did! I am trying to think of a comparison to somewhere i have been, maybe /budapest a little bit, tho far smaller.... id imagine winchester could be like this place with the sort of dinero sloshing round there, but i guess its all about attitudes. As you can tell, i think Xela rules.
Oh, and before i go on, i am officailly addicted to Gatorade, Lime, so the sooner someone imports it the UK the better of everyone will be, honestly, no more ritalliin, prescribe Gatorade, the worlds cure all TM.
We did a little trip into
Xela
Have you been here before Malc?? the highlands to some hot springs...Fuentes Georginas.
The area surrounding it is the shopping trolley of Central America for fruit and veg. It exports its wares to C.R, Nica, Salvador, everywhere really, and judging from the size and lushness of the food on display alongside the main road, you could see why... ah, if only the supermarkets didnt sell such minimalist art for food hey!? We turned off the main road and started our assent, small holdings on impossibly steep hills tumbling down into small streams, clouds mixing with crops in a merry waltz, stone bridges like those in Dorset over gorgeously lush ravines allowing the passage of the Cornish esque roads. It turned suprisingly cold, but we were pretty much shut off from everything here.I can imagine the only weather is cloud.
The pools were amazing. Floating in a perpetually hot bath, looking up at the steam battling with cloud for bragging rights in the canopy above was quite a surreal experience. We are hoping to get to one in the east as well, which will be better as at this place it had mired abit by the development of a cafe and bungalows nearby, which i
Xela
Funky collection of buildings down the way from the hostel. doubt would be allowed now. It didnt take too much away from the experience though as we were there for the water - our showers are of the reliably unreliable sort so the change to get warm in water couldnt be missed!
Here in Xela for the weekend, then two 4/5 hour journeys to Rio dulce and the jungle, lakes and heat again.
Cant wait.
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Malc
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Busted!
Damn it....you discoverd the front for my secret South American drugs cartel!!!