Quetzaltenango, Guatemala Travel Blogs

Tajumulco Trudge
Apr 10, 2006 (10 photos)

Just after we wrote our last entry, we went to pick up our clothes at the laundromat. When we opened the package in our room, we discovered my pants on top with a note (in Spanish) that basically said "these were dirty when they came in", and my favorite ...

San Simon Revisited
Nov 28, 2007 (13 photos)

... ;   I had asked for the focus of the ceremony to be to help me become emotionally stronger - I knew I'd be leaving Guatemala in a few days, and I didn't want to spend too much time distraught over the separation with Nelson. Mapira suggested we also ...

A Few Observations
Nov 26, 2007 (20 photos)

             With all this talk about coffee, you may be wondering if I've been doing anything else! Indeed I have, and here I'll try to share a bit about some of the various ...

A typical day at the dinner table.
Oct 23, 2004 (3 photos)

So my graduation speech probably won't go down in history, other than for maybe being the shortest ever. I also think I impressed my Spanish teacher the other morning when he asked me.. "¿De donde eres?" (Where are you from?) Where I quickly replied ...

Those Colors are for Our Flag!!!
Mar 27, 2008

... me learn some español. I am hardly perfect, and all to aware of my positive and negative impact as a tourist in Guatemala. However, I would hope that I would never presume to be better than, more civilized than, more human than an entire culture, an ...

I LOVE CHICKEN BUSES
Dec 27, 2007 (1 photos)

... direction.  I love that passengers will lean over you and stand up to see the daily traffic jam.  I love that people are just as curious and oddly drawn to traffic difficulties in Guatemala as anywhere else I´ve been. I Love Chicken Buses!!!

Fog, fuentes, and fun
Oct 13, 2006 (4 photos)

Leaving Huehue, we took a crazy two-hour bus ride to the second-largest city in Guatemala, Quetzaltenango (more commonly known as Xela though). The bus quickly filled up with folks wearing traditional indigenous dress and it was fascinating to see the ...

The tallest point in Cental America
Oct 16, 2006 (10 photos)

Well the early start was not all that bad. We got the rest of the food for the hike and jumped in the back of a pickup truck for a ride to the bus terminal. Here our backpacks were thrown up on top of the chicken bus and we hopped on. Even this early, the ...

Back to school.
Oct 19, 2004 (4 photos)

... first proper sentence. Most gringos come to Xela either to attend a Spanish language school or to do volunteer work, and although it's Guatemala's second city there isn't actually much to do or see in the city itself. It's a place to study, drink beer, ...

Xela
Jun 26, 2006 (12 photos)

... crossed by land. We go from relatively modern and reasonably well organised Mexico, to much more chaotic, and noticeably poorer Guatemala, by simply walking across a bridge over the Suchiate river. We walk through the Guatemalan town of Tecun Uman, and ...

Semana Santa and the Wreath of Death
Mar 21, 2008 (22 photos)

... War reenactments but more religious (and more bloody sometimes).  To say the least it is a very important week in all of Guatemala and Mexico as well.  With this in mind my friend Johnny, his friend and I head to the ginormious Minerva Market to ...

Above the clouds...
May 9, 2004 (6 photos)

At 3700 meters (about 12,000 feet) Volcan Santa Maria looks down on Xela and offers a tough hike for those willing to take it on. The volcano is inactive but has incredible views from the top. I think the pics from the hike say more than I can write ... ...

"Pink Basket" - The Girl and the Photo Shoot
Jan 20, 2008 (6 photos)

I met these four my last week in San Pedro.  Playing with my camera, checking my photos in public, all the things you are supposedly not supposed to do with your camera in Central America (in reality it really depends on the place within a place, ...

Ex-Guerrilla Soldiers and Spanish School
Nov 27, 2007 (3 photos)

... Nelson and then find a place to volunteer for a couple of weeks, possibly taking Spanish classes as well. I came to Quetzaltenango on the recommendation of a friend who had studied here a few years before, and intended to work through her school. However, ...

Winter is here
May 18, 2004

... warm temperatures broken up by an afternoon rain. I am trying to figure out where to go next. There are a few more destinations in Guatemala I want to check out. In addition, I need to seek out a reputable clinic in a few weeks in a larger city to get ...

The art of being stupid (Vol. 1).
Oct 15, 2004

... history. Today I heard this funny story about a 35 year old Norwegian, possibly from the small town of Elverum, currently in Guatemala (just like me). This very morning, the Norwegian guy was in Panajachel down by Lake Atitlan. He ran out the door and ...

My Love of Xela Doors
Mar 27, 2008 (13 photos)

Something about the history of old, new, and tomorrow all combined together. Each door leads to a weaved history of people's lives. An elderly woman approached me one day and told me how her grandmother used to live behind one of these doors many ...

Quetzaltenango aka Xela
Mar 25, 2008 (30 photos)

Ahhh, the city with two names that has consistently evaded my friends and family.  Thus here is the jist: Quetzaltenango is the Spanish conquistador name for the city however, Xela (sheyla) is the Mayan name coming from Xelaju (sheylawho).  ...

Moving on soon...
May 21, 2004 (1 photos)

... In Mexico, his choice of words would have been fine, but thanks to some different interpretations and slang here in Guatemala, the student told everyone he had sex with a pig over the weekend. Next destination(s) - probably Huehuetenango, Todos Santos ...

Back to cold weather
Apr 23, 2004 (6 photos)

... Shay-la). I will refer to it as Xela since it's easier to type. Xela is the second largest city in Guatemala and is relatively clean, surprisingly safe, and has all the modern conveniences of any large city including crowing roosters that compete with ...

flying spew on an antiquated US school bus
Apr 22, 2006 (8 photos)

... taught us a few mayan words (lots of different dialects) - got very emotional when talking about the violence/corruption in guatemala... - clare sitting next to a couple of cuties - bus change at Chimaltenango, beef stew lunch, ride through the rain to ...

Yet Another Country!
Jul 21, 2006 (10 photos)

... and went in search of a bus the final 13km's to Xela. Total spent: $37. If our first experience of finding local transport in Guatemala is anything to go by then it's going to be a piece of cake. Local buses seem to run constantly all day and the second ...

Halloween in Xela
Nov 1, 2007 (2 photos)

On our way to Mexico we stopped in Quetzaltenango aka Xela which turned out to be the perfect pit stop especially since it was Halloween. The mountain town was charming and the people friendly. Our trip was brief but we would recommend it to anyone looking ...

The first week of school!
Mar 3, 2006 (8 photos)

... a bunch of spanish schools on the lake so, we plan on taking another 2 weeks to study spanish before traveling ALL around Guatemala. Jenna and I have been having a GREAT time exploring Xela and meeting new people. It is hard to believe we have only been ...

Hitting the books in Quetzaltenango
Mar 7, 2008 (28 photos)

So we have been in Quetzaltenango for 2 weeks now, studying like nerds to become the next Español spelling bee campions - we have no hope in English! It has been a hard 3 weeks... Katie has been sick since 2 days after we arrived in Guatemala with ...

Antigua to Xela
Dec 14, 2007 (10 photos)

... that are needed for the party. Here's how.... Make a donation on compassionfruit's Travelpod site. http://travelpod.com/z/compassionfruit/guatemala/1197485700 The donation button is on the opening page on the top right. It will take you to the PayPal ...

The Highland Fling
Mar 25, 2009

... ) managed to bend and twist my arm into going ziplining (again! wheeee so much fun) and then on to Quetzaltenango in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Well, it´s kind of near the border I suppose. What a great stop off it turned out to be! After ...

An unassuming mountain city
Mar 11, 2007 (4 photos)

I arrived in Xela yesterday morning by chicken bus from Panajachel. There is a significant amount of road construction on this stretch of highway and so the journey was quite slow. It was quite something to witness how vehicles, mostly notably ...

Primer semana de escuela
Mar 3, 2006 (10 photos)

Wow! What a week it's been! School has been overwhelming...a ton of information in a short period of time. I'm definitely progressing and it's only the first week so I'm happy! We practice a lot, at school, with other students, and at home with our family ...

First week into it.
Aug 12, 2007 (30 photos)

So we've got our first week in Guatemala successfully under our belt.  We've completed our first week of Spanish School which is an  intense and slow process.  We are studying when we can and participating in the school's after school ...