Return To Xela

---

I had decided to return to Guatemala after 10 days in Utila. The diving had been a fantastic experience but I was starting to run out of hard cash. A Limpera, the currency in Honduras is worth 1/2 a Quetzal, the currency in Guatemala, a Quetzal at this time is worth about 8 pence (12c). I had 500 Limperas left, on this I had to leave the country, pay for accommodation for a night and eat. 500 Limperas is worth £20. The ferry from Utila to La Ceiba was 195 Limperas. Ok, 305 limperas left. 51 Limperas to San Pedro on the bus, 254 Limperas remain. On the ferry to La Cieba I met up with Jules from England, Helena and Pamela from France, they were all wanting to travel to Copan, Helena and Pamela then on to Xela, my plan had been to get to Antigua.

In San Pedro we splashed out on a few cokes and a snack, another 10 Limperas, starting to run low. By the time we arrived in San Pedro, just after 4pm we had missed the final bus to Copan Ruinas, San Pedro is not a city that I wanted to spend much time in let alone a night in a hotel. La Entrada is a town that serves as a cross roads for Northern Honduras, The Lonely Planet guide mentions a few hotels that would serve if we couldn't find a bus to Copan. We arrived in La Entrada, literally a crossroads, a few cafes, a hotel and petrol station. We were unceremoniously dumped once again at the side of the road. I spent a few brief moments discovering the LP didn't even have a map of the town. Arriving at around 8pm, it was already dark, it could have been any time of night, places tend to shut down as soon as the sun sets.

Asking locals if there were any buses to Copan revealed that we were way past the time that the buses stop, about 4.30pm. We discussed the options available ... erm stay at the towns one hotel, or eat and then stay at the towns one hotel. Whilst we were waiting a pickup truck stopped and asked if we wanted to go to Copan... I've seen movies like this. This is the point where we get in the back of the truck, 45mins later it stops and we get robbed, raped, murdered. OK lets give it a go. Pamela skilfully negotiated the fee down to 50 Limperas for all 4 of us. Another 12 Limperas gone... I might make this after all.

The journey in the pickup with my new friends was cold, but kind of adventurous, the stars the jungle and the stray dogs wandering along the highway. An hour later the pickup stopped and the other passengers, the ones who had experienced the luxury of the cab disembarked, without robbing or murdering anyone. Another 25mins later and we were in Copan. Nearly 10pm and we had to find a hotel, fortunately there was a guy waiting on the crossroads trying to fill the last room in his parents hotel. We got the room for 40 Limperas each. Finally we got to eat, well we thought we would except all the restaurants had stopped serving food. We ate on the street, the worst food I have bought yet, the stray dogs finished most of it. So with less than £20 I travelled the width of an entire country via two boats, two buses and one pickup. Stayed a night in a hotel, ate a really bad meal and went out for celebratory drinks with new friends. Adventure is cheap.

Jules decided to stay in Copan the next day, Helena and Pamela were keen to get to Xela as quickly as possible because their time was running out. Having already seen the Ruins I decided to accompany Helena and Pamela to Xela, I have friends in Xela and it's almost a home away from home for me.

Again, Copan Ruinas to Xela in one day is not an easy journey, especially on a limited budget. Collectivo Copan to the border, 10 Limps, border crossing, no Limps but 30 Quetzals, finally a currency I have some of. Chicken bus to Chiquimula, "luxury" bus to Guatemala City, a few brief moments in Guatemala, buying snacks and using the Internet and then the 5.30pm bus to Xela. We arrived in Xela at 9.30pm, checked into the Hostel Don Diego, and went out to eat, fortunately bar Tecun serves food all night and my bacon cheese burger was really good. My friends Lizette and Christian have an apartment in the city, both are doing voluntary work in Xela and so have been there and will be there for a while. So I dropped by to say a quick hello. Neither of them were expecting to see me again, least not in Guatemala so surprised the hell out of them and chatted for 10mins, and then ran back to the bar. Took Pamela and Helena to La Fratta danced some merengue for a while. The end of day two travelling and I was pretty much dead. Adventure is tiring.

So for a week I hung out in Xela, went to Zunil and Fuentes Georginas with Helena and Pamela. In Zunil there is an evil saint, a saint that the locals go to when they wish to pray for something. He smokes cigarettes, drinks lots of rum, charges 5 quetzals for a photo, looks like Michael Jackson, and wears a Pokémon towel. A combination of things more evil is hard to imagine. The locals apparently pray for things like, "please can my neighbour who is stealing my chickens break his leg".

It was nice to play guide for a few days, Helena and Pamela said they would show me around Paris, one day I will visit Paris. They left on the Monday, we had arrived on Thursday.

So for a week I worked on my web sites, London Office Jobs, and this site TravelBlog - pointless link time - just to prove I can, this is meant to be a blog after all. Well not a week solid, I had to ease myself back into working for more than a few minutes at a time slowly.

I made more friends in Xela - there is a photo and names somewhere on this page. We all planned to travel down to Antigua on Friday, being in Xela reminded me of the things I had both enjoyed and not enjoyed, my friends, the family I had stayed with, the clubs and bars - still haven't found a better wine bar than Baja La Luna. The thing that I didn't enjoy was the rain. A near week of solid rain and I was ready to go again. I sold Antigua to my Xelan friends as warmer, prettier and with more sun. I hope that my promises turn out to be true.

---

Photos

Pamela, Ali, Jules, Helene
After 12 hours travel finally a beer.

Saint Simon
The evil saint, only 5Q per photo.

Comments

[Colleen]

Information for Hostel Don Diego in Xela!
Hello! Could you please give me a phone number, email address, or website for Hostel Don Diego in Xela, Guatemala? I can't find any information on it and need to reserve spaces for about 15 people right away. Thank you for any help you can offer! Colleen

[Ali]

Unfortunately not
I suggest you have a look on; http://www.xelapages.com/ and post on the travelblog travel forum - see the links at the top of the page.