Quetzeltenango Not What I Expected

Sunday, Apr. 3, 2011--Quetzaltenango

My hotel is wonderful.  I slept so well last night without using my earplugs until early this morning when I heard the help getting up and fireworks going off.  (One of the unique things about Guatemala is that fireworks are sold all year around, and it is common to set off strings of firecrackers, especially in the early mornings and evenings.)

The hotel offers 5 different breakfasts.  I chose the one that included a blended strawberry water, coffee, omelet with ham and picante, refried black beans, and bread.  After eating it around 8:30, I remained in my room or out on the deck chair reading and/or using the computer until noon.

The Central Plaza was alive with a Sunday market when I arrived.  Many of the stalls were operated by people in native costume from surrounding communities.  I enjoyed looking more than I usually do at such markets.  But even if I had wanted to buy, I still had no money.

I returned to two of the ATMs from yesterday and still was unable to withdraw currency.  Therefore, I decided the best way to spend my day was walking to see places around town.  I went to the Municipal Theater first.  From there, I took a long walk northwestward toward a large city park that includes a zoo which my guidebook said was free.  About halfway there, I found another ATM.  I went inside the booth and tried again.  This time it made the usually flurry sounds and pushed out 2000 Quetzals!  I have money!!  The problem downtown must have been that they didn't have enough cash left in them after a busy Saturday.

The Minerva Zoo was not much, but it was more than I expected.  Most of the animals were ones native to Guatemala, although they did have one African lion in a pitifully small (maybe 10 m x 10 m) cage.  There were some beautiful birds and some interesting local animals, including a local jaguar.  The park had some nice flowers, but overall it was not well kept.

Leaving the park taking a different route, I passed the big market in the city--Xela Market.  I tried to visit the art museum, but it was closed.  I stopped at a mall and bought some supplies to have in my room and while traveling.  Then I headed back to the Central Plaza.  Feeling tired and hungry, I bought another frozen banana dipped in chocolate and covered in nuts and returned to my room.

I went back out in the evening.  The plaza was alive with people.  I walked around it several times watching everyone.  Then I headed to the pupusa stand where I ate last night.  I was happy to see it had the biggest crowds of all the similar stands; this let me know I had chosen well last night.  I stood in a long line and eventually got my pupusa con queso con enchilada picante  (although the image is missing the pickled cabbage, carrots, jalepeno, and onions).  The lady was cooking them as fast as she could on a big griddle.  It was as good as last night.  A great treat.  Now that I know it is normal to put the pickled vegetables on top of the pupusas, I will do that when I order them in the future at La Playa in San Antonio.

I didn't write much about the city of Quetzaltenango yesterday.  That's because I was a bit surprised by it.  I guess I had expected something like Campeche or San Cristobal.  Those cities are beautifully restored and have large central areas that have existed for 300-400 years.  Xela, however, suffered both a major earthquake and a major volcano eruption in the same year in the early 1900s that destroyed the city.  What has resulted is more of a hodge-podge of buildings--some rather impressive and many just simple.  Also, nothing has been done to restore the city as it has aged.  The cobblestone streets are the originals with unevenly cut stones and lots of loose dust settled among them.  Whereas, people were constantly cleaning in the Mexican cities, here there is trash everywhere--LOTS of trash that is obviously old and has been there for a long time.  My first reaction on arrival is that I should have stayed in San Cristobal another day and that I had scheduled too many days for here.  The sad thing is that this is probably rather typical of all of Guatemala.  In fact, my guidebook calls Xela the quintessential Guatemalan city--representative of the rest of the country without being too small or too big.  This seems to be a much poorer country than Mexico and one where the cities are not as pretty.

Before closing, I should mention the big news story in Guatemala right now.  The First Lady is trying to divorce her husband so that she can run for office at the end of his second and last available term in office.  Students have petitioned the courts not to allow the divorce saying that it is only a way to try to circumvent the constitution.  The courts have delayed their decision based on the petition.  Here are related stories:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12857325

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12948675