Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 10

We woke up around eight  after a much better night of sleep.  After lying around in the hammocks for a bit, we brushed teeth and packed up.  I had bought some more mangoes the night before, so we decided to head into town to find some bread to eat with our mangoes for breakfast.  We bought bread, sat on a street corner and ate, and then walked through the bustling Sunday market.  When we got to the other side, we were told the busses were back where we had come from, so we again had to push through the market, walking by veggies, chicken, chickens, clothing, fish, spices, you name it.  We found where the busses stopped, and asked about a direct bus back to Xela.  Since it was Sunday, there were fewer busses, and none went directly to Xela.  We got on the bus towards the capital, and waited fifteen minutes while it filled up, and then got underway.  We told the guy at the door that we wanted to get off where we’d find the bus to Xela, and though I was confident he’d tell us when we were there, I asked at a few stops if they were the right one.  After about an hour of going straight up the mountain on a badly paved road with very tight switchbacks, we got off, and the bus to Xela was already at the stop.  We ran across the road and onto the very crowded bus.  We all sat down, with half our butts in the isle, as there were three people to every seat.  The first hour of that ride was rough, trying to stay on the seat and not smush anyone as we went around the switchbacks.  Then, the bus emptied out a bit, and we got full seats.  The ride back was quick and easy, and we got back to Xela by about 12:30.  We walked through the market, and got on a bus that took us most of the way home.  We were hoping to eat at the fried chicken chain that is all around the city, but we didn’t pass any that were open on our way back.  After painfully walking through Xela, our legs sore from the hike we got to Daniel’s house, exhausted, and played with Jose until Daniel’s grandma offered us lunch. We all sat down for rice and empanadas.  After lunch, Maggie and I walked home, and I passed out until six.  I wrested myself from bed, showered, and went upstairs to watch TV with my host parents. The Golden Globes are even less exciting when they are half dubbed over in Spanish.  At around eight, we sat down for dinner, and ate chuchittos and beans and a vegetable dipped in egg and fried that was somewhere between green beans and ocra.  We talked about drinking all of dinner.  We talked about different drinks and recounted many drunken nights.  Manuel has been sober for fifteen years, so Sonya drinks for him whenever they go to parties; and their stories of going to Mayan parties and Christmases in Mexico were hilarious.  After dinner, I did my homework, wrote this, and now it is back to bed. 

2 comments:

  1. David,
    Thanks so much for sharing your adventures. What an amazing weekend. We love reading your posts - you make us feel like we are there with you. Give Daniel a hug for me.
    Linda

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  2. Happy Happy Birthday!

    Thanks for the updates and we'll celebrate when you return.

    Josh

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