Quetzaltenango (xela) guatemala

Trip Start Jan 30, 2008

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Guatemala Quetzaltenango, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We have been here in Quetzeltenango, or Xela as it is more commonly known for just over 2 weeks now and tomorrow we finish our intensive Spanish school experience. We spent a week living with a lovely local family which was excellent and gave us a better idea of the local culture and a chance to practice muchos espanol con ellos. Simon is a much faster learner and is now onto the continuous subjunctive with bells on however Linz is (still) consolidating the present, future and past tenses. All in all we feel much more comfortable speaking and being understood as proved by a rapido 15 min conversation in espanol with a french couple we met who had exactly the same van - yes that makes three Betsy-a-likes travelling through central america as we speak! Muy bueno!

xela is the 2nd biggest city in guatemala, but it is not especially touristy which has helped make it relaxing for us

hot springs near xela

. The city has a really nice vibe with lots of indigenous culture, freindly locals and there is lots of nightlife and places to hang out. All in all a good choice for anyone considering learning Spanish. We have managed to do a few activities in the afternoons and have made tortillas and chocolate by hand and linz visited some gorgeous hot springs at the weekend. It was great to sit in a natural pond as hot as bathwater in the cloud forest whilst being rained on.

It is good that Xela is a biggish place though as a couple of tropical storms in the carribean have brought us quite a bit more rain this week than we were originally anticipating. rivers have flooded many of the lower streets and i have been told that the bus station is a half metre under water. we are told that all this should calm down by the weekend and we anticipate an onward voyage as soon as this happens. lake atitlan beckons!