Slept well at the hotel... went for a walk with dad around the block... two gringos walking against the morning rush hour grain... interesting experience... we were waiting for the restraunt to open so we could eat before meeting Oscar.
Met Oscar who took us to a bus station and put us on a direct bus to Xela... got on the 8 a.m. bus just before it left... Oscar insisted we take first class... it was an old trailways bus... which meant that we had our own seats... not a seat to share with 3 or 4 other people like on the chicken busses! We rode for 4.5 hours to Xela.. the ride was intersting... we were stopped several times due to construction and while stopped... LOTs of vendors got on and off the bus selling everything from fresh fruit to drinks to candy to crafts....there are no where near enough jobs for everyone here... and this is one way they make money... these were mountain roads and the vendors had walked for miles to the place where the construction would stop the busses.
Very mountainous terrain with corn growing everywhere... we spent more time driving 55 mph on the wrong side of the road even passing other buses and cars on curves and going up hills.... Latin time goes out the window when they get behind a wheel!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... and when the person ahead isn´t going fast enough you blow your horn and pass... even when the road isn´t wide enough... playing chicken and blowing horns is the way it is done!
We arrived at Jose and Karolina´s house via taxi from the bus station... their street is dirt and rocks and ruts... see pic... their house is the pink one... My dad helped them build it. They insisted we stay with them in their kids room on the third floor... very comfortable accommodations! We ate lunch around 2 p.m. when the children came home from school and then went for a bus ride on a ´´chicken´´ bus... the center of town and walked around it all afternoon. Saw some gringos at language schools... feel a bit like I am on a silent retreat... since I don´t know the language.
The night was very loud... Sat. was Mothers Day here and they celebrate with fireworks... MANY MANY fireworks... they started at midnight and didn´t let up until 8 a.m. and then went all day and for several days... The fireworks stirred the roosters and dogs and it made for quite a ruckus!!! We even heard live music (a band) a few doors down around 2 a.m.!
You will notice that Xela doesn´t know what to do with trash... so they just drop it where ever it is.... you can see the evidence of the USAmerican marketing... and packaging everywhere.
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