Feliz Año Nuevo from Guatemala!

Puebla
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Happy New Year from Guatemala!!

I had to catch 2 night buses from Puebla to Guatemala; one to Villahermosa (Mexico), then another to Tapachula (Mexico).

I hate night-buses! I am missing the gene that allows me to travel and sleep at the same time. So, dammit, night buses do not work for me. I managed about 1.5hrs sleep before the bus arrived into Villahermosa at 5.30am.

I had a day to kill in Villahermosa (VH) in my very tired state. Unfortunately, VH itself is nothing special so I spent the day walking drab streets and surfing the internet. I couldn’t wait for the next night-bus to leave at 6.30pm!

My first view of Guatemala
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Another night bus, another night of hardly any sleep, and I arrived into Tapachula at 5am. I caught the local bus to Hidalgo, a small town on the river-boarder with Guatemala.

I got to Hidalgo and asked for Guatemala. A local siglo rider (3-wheeled-bike-come-tuk-tuk) took me to the river, and put me on a raft (raft; 2 tractor inner tubes and 6 planks of wood!), where a raft-puller dragged me across to Tecún Uman, Guatemala. Not a deep river, but waist-high at 6am - brrrr!

I got off the raft to be greeted by the local network of people eager to help me on my way. I stood on the riverbank looking for something official, getting flustered because I speak no Spanish and these guys speak no English and thinking ‘this was not in the Lonely Planet Guide’. I pulled out my passport and sign-languaged a ‘stamp’ for Mexico, and a ‘stamp’ for Guatemala. They smiled and pointed back at Mexico, and said IMMIGRATION.

The PROPER way to enter Guatemala...
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Argh!! I lost it. I had been sleep-deprived for 2 days, hadn’t had a shower for 2 days, and now I had no small bills to pay the raft-puller to take me back to Mexico. I tried my best to keep it together but it was too late, the tears came.

The poor raft-puller didn’t know what was going on. He put me back on the raft and took me back to Mexico. He then accompanied me through Mexican immigration and walked with me over the bridge to Guatemala immigration (which WAS in the LPG), then around to a currency exchange place, and then to the bus stop and put me on the right bus! Bless him! I tried to tip him but he wouldn’t take it. Then he handed me his phone number and gestured the ‘call if you need help’ sign. Ah, there are some lovely people out there.

Xela (Quetzaltenango)
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At 8am I was on my way to Quetzaltenango, or as the locals call it, Xela (shay-lah), on my first Chicken Bus ride. I love Chicken Buses! Ok, not for the comfort - they are retired US school buses and they like to get 3 bums to a seat. But they are art-on-wheels! In a third world country where money is low, they have taken the time and effort to create these special buses of colour.

The Guatemalan countryside was beautiful. It was green forests and mountains - reminded me of NZ. It is different trees and vegetation to NZ, but after the dust and dryness of Mexico, it was nice to see so much green again.

The Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs
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The bus pulled into the large Minerva terminal in Xela at about 11.30am. I was exhausted and I desperately wanted a shower so didn’t bother trying to walk or catch a bus, I hailed a cab instead.

I took the LPG’s advice and headed for Casa Kaehler Guest House; ‘safe place for women travellers’. As I signed in the guest book I noticed that there was another kiwi staying there too. I checked into my room and resisted the temptation to sleep, and a long hot shower instead.

At 3pm I decided to head to Las Vahos (The Vapours) thinking I needed some hot springs. I hiked 2.3km uphill to discover they only had saunas (think about it Marina, ‘The Vapours’, not ‘The Hot Springs’…). I walked back down hill and couldn’t wait for the day to end!

Ebba and Anne-Marie
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The next day was sooooo much better! I woke early and caught a bus to Zunil, then a ‘pick-up’ up to Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs (FG). A ‘pick-up’ I soon discovered, was sitting on the back of a ute!

The ride up the 8km hill to FG was beautiful. It was a clear sunny day, I could see lush green forests, blue sky and volcanoes. The hillside was covered in radish fields; big, bright, shiny-red radishes being washed by the side of the road, really lovely.

I was relaxing in the delicious hot springs by 9.30am - it was fantastic! Very rewarding after the previous 2 days. There weren’t many other people in the pools at that time, and the peaceful forest setting was beautiful.

Traditional Clothing (worn by about 80% of the women in Xela)
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I returned to Xela about midday and munched on tacos pastor for lunch (I have turned into a Mexican). I walked around the streets and caught up with Ebba (the kiwi) and her friend Anne-Marie (from Canada). We headed to the local pub for dinner and beer. It was a good day!

The next couple of days were blob-out days; just chilling with Ebba and Anne-Marie, and taking in Xela. I found the best bakery and enjoyed donuts and banana-bread for lunch. Found good little eating places for dinner. Chilled in the Centro-America Parque. Bought a new bag and other hand-made pieces. It was nice to be on holiday and just relaxing.

Fut-bol
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On 31st December, Ebba, Anne-Marie and I headed to Momostenago for the weekly market, hoping to catch a blanket-making demonstration. What a waste of time! The caotic market was not set up for tourists, and we found a lot of polar-fleece blankets but no tradional blanket-making demonstrations. We were there less than an hour and returned to Xela.

In the Centro America Parque, the New Years Celebrations were under way with a band and dancing. Very interesting dancing; woman wearing masks and some very un-traditional looking costumes. We watched for a while, then I headed home.

Chicken Bus!
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New Years Eve in Xela was a big deal. I tried to sneak off to bed early but at midnight the entire city exploded with fireworks. There were colours and noises going off all over the place and sleep was impossible. I got up for 10mins to watch the sky, then went back to bed.

In the New Year, I enrolled myself into 4 days of Spanish School at Celas Maya Spanish School, with the home-stay option. My host family were Albina (mum), Eric (20 year old son) and Diego (16 year old son). I had my own room - up on the roof - with my own bathroom, and a great view of Xela.

Homestay was great! The family were really sweet, I had privacy, and all meals were included. Breakfasts were cornflakes with hot milk or pancakes, lunches were chicken or beef with rice, and dinner was light. The family helped me practice my Spanish but also spoke a little English if I got stuck.

The school was lovely. I met my teacher - José, and I asked him if we could sit in the sun. He replied, ‘no entiendo, no hablo Ingles’. Great I thought. But I soon discovered that was a load of bollics and we got along very well.

School ran from 8am to 1pm with a 30min break, in the centre courtyard. I managed to work on my tan for 5 hours a day as well as learn a new language (that is what you call ‘multi-tasking’).

Each day the school put on ‘after school activities’. I joined the salsa class on Wednesday, and the soccer game on Thursday, and farewelled my new friends Friday night at the weekly graduation ceremony.

My last night in Xela was a big one (at the pub all night, I got to bed at 5.30am!) Unfortunately I had to get up at 7.30am for breakfast and leaving Xela. But I did ok with my early rise and made my way to the bus terminal and headed back to Tecún Uman, and then Tapachula (no rafts or tears today), and then one night bus back to Mexico.

Guatemala was GREAT! I fully intended to see the whole country in 11-days but I got to Xela and met some nice people, and didn’t move on. That’s a good holiday!