Xela days

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Hola amigos

I have been back travelling for about a month now, although I am not really travelling because I have been in the one place for the entire time. I started back at the Spanish school which had more students this time, which is good socially but affects my Spanish learning, killing a couple of brain cells here & there. I have also started helping in a organisation that looks after women that have had domestic violence against them. I basically go there to help the kids make jigsaw puzzles of painting paper animals or what ever is necessary. As it turns out I am just a jumping castle for the kids which is a lot of fun but I always win the tickling competitions. I have another two weeks here in Xela so I am looking forward to more Spanish & more volunteer work.



On my way to Spanish lessons I have to pass through booze alley, where there seems to be an endless supply of Guatemalans the have been celebrating too much. I usually pass them at 8 o'clock in the morning & sometimes see them still passed out when I return home at 1 o'clock. It is not really a pleasant thing to see but seems to be a part of the culture in this part.



During the last 4 weeks I have learned how to play texas holdem poker, played football a few times, played basketball, seen a couple of live footbal matches & climbed the highest volcano in Central America. We have played poker 4 times so far, I have come second three times, it is a lot of fun, we play for about $3.50 each per night. There have been up to twelve of us some nights, which makes for a healthy prize for the winner. Our school has played another school in 6 a side football, the Guatemalans think they can actually play well, but a few americans, one japanese, one swiss & one Aussie do OK against them, It is 1 win each & a draw, so far.



Three of us went to see a top of the table clash in Guatemalan footbal, Xela versus Communicationes, from Guatemal city. I don´t think I have ever heard such bad language before this match, but I guess it is a good learning experience, finding out what these words mean. The other two blokes are from the US & from Switzerland, when one of the locals asked where we were from he was happy with Australia & Switzerland but when he heard Mike was from the US he went into a rambling rage & used the word ´Gringo´ many times, amongst others. Unfortunately Xela lost 2-1 but we had an interesting time to say the least.



Last weekend I set out with 17 other travellers & 3 guides to climb Volcan Tajamulco, the night before we went we were distributed with gear that we needed for the trip. I took the big pot & tent poles, 6 litres of water, sleeping back, pack, clothes, camera, and a couple of other nick nacks. It was a hell of a lot to carry, I now feel even more for the porters on the Inca trail & the Sherpas in the Himalayas. The plan was simple climb from 3000m to 4000m base camp & then camp overnight & wake up at 4am to climb the last 200m & see the sunrise at the top. Unfortunately 3 people didn´t make it to the top, one with altitude sickness & one with asthma who went back with her boyfriend. I struggled for a lot of the trip, but happy to say I made it to the top, the view was worth every drop of sweat to make it to the top.



The students have had a couple of nights out which has been a blast, all the pubs here close at 1am, which is good & bad, you get home at a reasonable hour & make the most of the next day. Except for one night, one of the students lives with a family that owns a bar & he has the keys to get in, so we had a couple extra on Friday night.



Thats about it from me now, I am looking forward to starting to travel again soon.



Bye for now



Mark



If you want to send me an email just send it to genista@ihug.com.au not through the travelblog website.

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