Our world trip ended five years ago. We spent the following summer on Victoria Island, and then the pandemic came… This summer, Ethan spent a few weeks hanging out in Mexico City, and Logan and I are now in Xela, Guatemala. Matthew, sadly for us, decided to stay home due to not wanting to bleed out while traveling in developing nations on blood thinners. Given my multiple paranoias, I support his concern. Also, on our first day of class, my teacher’s daughter was in a bus accident on the highway, and her head broke the window glass. So, probably a good decision on his part.
Thirty years ago, I stayed in Xela for seven months. Marco, a friend from that time, picked us up at the airport. I was thrilled that the windy mountain highway had been increased from two lanes to four since I was last here. But we were still frightened at times by the speed of his driving and the fact that he did not sleep the night before and had to stop for a nap on the side of the highway. However, I learned that if I said I was going to vomit, he would slow down.
We took the long way to Xela and passed by Antigua for lunch.
Where Marco took many photos of us…
I thought we would arrive in Xela around noon, but we pulled up after sundown. The last time I was in Xela, I had a tiny, dark apartment with only a bed. This time, our apartment is the swankest place I’ve seen in Xela.
You can never tell what lies behind the walls on a street. Our street is an average street for the area.
And the house next to ours (view from our bedroom window), appears to be less swank.
