Xela & San Francisco El Alto

The animal market at San Franciso El Alto
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Xela is often described as being akin to an grim industrial town in the north of England, which is maybe why I felt so at home in Xela.  Despite the bitter cold at night I really did feel that Xela was more friendly than Antigua, and a damn site cheaper as well.

The market at San Francisco El Alto was pretty much everything that I had been looking for at Chichi but hadn't been able to find.  It genuinely felt like an authentic market set up to serve locals rather than a giant tourist trap.  Pretty much everything under the sun was available for sale, from agricultural machinery to bath plugs.  But my favourite section has to have been the live stock market.  Where under the baking sun pigs, chickens, turkeys, cows, goats, sheep and horses were available for sale.

A non vegetarian market

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These animals were all either being led around on leashes, were staked to the ground or were jammed into tiny baskets or plastic bags.  It was utter pandemonium and the air was filled with the thick smell of animals and the sound of a hundred animals being poked and prodded.  Probably not somewhere for an ardent PETA supported, but I loved it.