Guate to Xela

Sunday morning we went downtown to find a decent place for breakfast, and we ended up eating from street vendors in the Parque Central while we watched a Catholic procession pass by. It was reminiscent of Holy week in Colombia.

Sadly, XT and I said adios to the stuff-laden Eli who had to catch a plane back to the states while we rode on a very boring bus to Xela. No movie, no food vendors, no more reading material, no Eli to play the dot game. Boring. Getting on the bus, however, was anything but. 25 minutes before the bus was to leave, Christie remembered that she needed to get her suitcase of toothpaste from a different bus company that was storing it for her. She flew there and back, arriving no more than 20 seconds after the bus pulled away. The jerk at the front desk not only didn´t have the bus wait ONE minute after she called him, but he didn´t tell me either that she told him to tell me she was close. So into the taxi we piled and chased down that bus about 2 miles away! Of all the things in this country that happen on Latino time, buses are not one of them!

For a more elaborate and emotion-filled telling of this tale, check out Christie´s blog at christieinca.blogspot.com

We arrived just fine, met my host family again, and then went out for Indian food with the two volunteer directors (and friends of Christie), Steve and Jenna. It was good, but probably the most expensive food I´ll buy here. Food and services are cheap (I found a 1-hour massage for $14 and will go soon!), but gas is ridiculously expensive. Here and in all of central america gas is about $4.5 per gallon! While that is what we pay in the states, these are developing countries, so imagine how hard it is hitting them! And though I´m sympathetic, it´s annoying that taxi drivers just use it as another excuse to rip you off. Arrrg.