So far, Guatemala has a completely different feel than Mexico. After crossing over, the first place I went was Quetzaltenango. Everybody just calls it Xela. As slow as the pace is here, even they don’t have time for some of the tongue-twisting names of places. Xela is a perfectly nice place to get a taste of this country. I stayed in a really nice, friendly, family oriented hostel and had no trouble chilling out there. I figure to chill at least as much as usual, as I am basically waiting for Myung to get to Guadalajara Aug 29. Guatemala is only the size of Louisiana, so I could see most of what 95% of the tourists see in a month, but I think I’ll just save a lot of it for later.
Xela isn’t particularly interesting. The grand architecture of Mexican cities is not here. A block from my hostel is the main plaza. Here are the views from the northwest and the southeast. It’s nice enough.
Most of Xela is very plain. Here’s a wide boulevard near one of the so-called malls. Really, there isn’t much to take pictures of there.
With a population of about 250,000, it was small enough for me to walk around much of it. Just walking around in a normal place teaches you a lot when you first arrive. Besides observing the basics, like Guatemala’s level of development, the manners of the people, the general looks and vibe and, last but not least, the basics of how to function as a tourist, you get some surprises. I went to the most modern mall, which was actually at least half as nice as a Mexican mall, and felt like a bite to eat at the food court. Lo and behold, there was a Taco Bell. I said before that I never expected Latin Americans to go for a Taco Bell when even the street food is so much better and cheaper, but there it was. Before noon there was hardly anyone at the other establishments (which included Domino’s and Burger King), but Taco Bell had a big line. Who’da thunk it.
The Sunday I was there, An women’s organization set up some canopies in the central plaza and had local food. It was pretty good for a mass production. You could choose from about 20 things, all for less than 4 dollars. I had this. Those mild green peppers and broccoli were good, too.
It was also my first good opportunity to photograph some of the colorfully dressed women. Unlike Mexico, most of the people here are indigenous Mayans of various sorts.
Right now, I’m staying in Panajachel (Pana) on beautiful Lago Atitlan. Tomorrow, I’ll move to a village on the other side of the lake. I’ll post all about that in the next blog entry. Today, I went to the famous all over Guatemala Thursday market in Chichicastenango (Chichi). It’s billed as the biggest market in Central America. I don’t know if that’s true. It is big, especially if you measure big by crowded. I’ve posted so many market places before, but this warrants posting if only to look at the people. Lots of women in these pics, I know, but the guys just aren’t as interesting. I’m just going to put a bunch of the pics here and let them speak for themselves. As usual, I wish I was a good photographer. The first pics are of the flower sellers on the church steps. Then come some high angle shots from the steps. The rest are down in the market.
I came back from there by about 1 o’clock, bought some stuff to make in the kitchen here, and hung out with my computer. Tomorrow, as I said, I’m going to go check out a village on the other side of the lake, then the next day or so, go to another, then maybe another. Talk to you later.