Xela Weekend

As I've mentioned before, volunteers get one Friday afternoon off every month, which is an excellent opportunity (and excuse) for a quick weekend trip. My half day in January was no different. With some of my best volunteer amigas, I headed a few hours away to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala's second largest city. "Quetzaltenango" is a bit of a mouthful to say though, so locals and tourists alike refer to the city by its shorter indigenous name of Xela (pronounced Shay-la). We arrived late Friday afternoon. My first impression of Xela was how city it actually was. In shocking contrast to my Antigua that I know so well, Xela really didn't have too much of a touristy feel to it. We checked into our hostel and headed out to start to explore Xela a bit.

Friday night brought some happy hour drinks in the hostel, delicious Chinese food for dinner, good talks, and an early bed time. We had quite the itinerary we wanted to accomplish the next day! We got up bright and early Saturday morning to hike La Muela, which means The Molar. It's a series of some jagged rocks that look like, well, molars! Soon after we started, our "hike" became more like boulder scrambling. The small dirt trail disappeared and there was suddenly just a heavily inclined wall of volcanic rock in front of us. We kept going and I had to laugh when one of the girls remarked, "I think this is maybe the most dangerous thing we've done so far." I was thinking it too!

Climbing con cuidado

Luckily, the hike wasn't long and we all made it to the top in one piece. We were definitely rewarded for our efforts. The view was BREATHTAKING! I also loved how alone we were. There was absolutely no one else there besides my two friends and me. (At NPHG, I spend a lot of time around other people, whether it's with employees at work, kids in the section, or other volunteers in my house. All that "group time" really makes me appreciate small numbers and quietness.) As I sat chilling on a giant volcanic boulder listening to the cool breeze whisper through the pine trees taking in the fantastic view, I felt incredibly at peace and happy. It's nice to be alone sometimes, and nature does good things for my soul. All in all, La Muela was a great start to our day! :)

not toooo shabby.

Appreciating the GLORIOUS solitude.

After our hike, we continued on to Fuentes Georginas, which was a natural hot spring probably about a half hour away from the city. I had never been to a hot spring before, so I really enjoyed the experience. BUT MAN, let me tell you, the main pool truly was HOT, like scalding. The water was gurgling out of this little whole in the side of the mountain and steaming. I could only handle a few minutes in the main pool until I scampered over like a wimp to the lower ones where the water was a little cooler. After an hour and a half, we headed back to Xela feeling superrrrr relaxed.

SO. HOT.

Even though we'd already done quite a lot in one day, we didn't stop after La Muela and Fuentes Georginas! During the evening on Saturday, we found ourselves at a XelaJu (the local team) soccer game. I'll be honest- soccer really isn't my sport and the game wasn't that exciting (0-0), but I enjoyed being in the stadium, watching the crowd, and just experiencing it one time. I'm glad I can finally check "attend a soccer game" off my Guatemala bucket list!

the captivated, cheering crowd

fuuuuutbol!!!

After a very full Saturday, we felt like we had done everything we wanted to during our quick stay. We slept hard that night, chowed down the delicious breakfast that came included with our hostel Sunday morning, and then hit the road. Before I knew it, I was back in NPHG unpacking my suitcase and getting ready for another week of work. Xela wasn't my favorite place that I've visited so far, but I'm still glad I went once and I had a great time while I was there. It was definitely worth it!

I'm so grateful for the ability to take these weekend trips. They are an opportunity to get to know different parts of Guatemala and at the same time to get a break from the NPH bubble. By Sunday morning of these weekends, I'm generally feeling satisfied with the trip and with my time away from the NPH home but at the same time ready to head back... aaand, let's be honest, to stop spending money too! ;) It's a good way to feel. Until the next weekend adventure! :)