San Andres church 1
I feel it´s high time for an update as I´ve been rather neglecting my blog during another extremely enjoyable but very full week in Xela. After I decided not yet to take on the Tajamulco volcano trip last weekend , Saturday and Sunday were pretty relaxed and it was good to have some time to explore a bit more of the city ... just wandering around the parque central plaza , various interesting buildings , the markets , and taking a look at the Xelaju Superchivos football stadium. I completed my second week of Spanish classes at Celas Maya , this time with a different teacher Karen ... I think we really cracked through quite a lot of stuff given that I was still only in my second week learning , but unfortunately most of it I´m afraid to say I haven´t really fully remembered this week so I will need to go over it again to try and make it stick in my brain.
San Andres church 2
Outside of the Spanish classes last week was another busy timetable of "extracurricular activities" , including Guatemalan cooking classes (making "empanadas") , visits to a couple of rather quirky museums (the "natural history" museum being somewhat bizarre bordering on hilarious with its collection of stuffed animals) , a look around the really extraordinary Xela cemetery , a chicken bus trip to San Andres Xecul (an indigenous village most famous for a remarkably colourful church) , and a hike up to Santaguito , which is a live volcano - unfortunately we didn´t actually see an eruption on the morning we went up , which is supposed to be quite spectacular , so we had to make do with the wonderful views and hearing the volcano rumble if not actually spurt out ash and lava.
San Andres church 3
Just like the week before I had really fun nights out in Xela pretty much all week , drinking in the bars and clubs with friends from the school , but I would pick one highlight as a live Guatemalan band this Friday night in one of the clubs , which everyone really enjoyed. All in all I´m really loving my time here in Xela - its met & surpassed all my high expectations and it´s very easy to see why you meet quite a few travellers here who seem to be staying for months on end. This weekend we're definately doing the hike up Tajamulco Volcano , which is the highest peak in Central America at 4220m, so stay tuned for an update and pictures of this incredible hike!!!
