Xela A.K.A Quetzaltenango
Time spent: 36 days
Elevation: 7,644 feet (2,330 meters)
Currency: Quetzal
Lodging Cost: $16.92 per night at Airbnb
Arriving in Xela
While it's officially listed as Quetzaltenango on the map, almost everyone from the area calls it Xela, the Mayan name. It is the second biggest city in Guatemala. Before COVID they had pretty nice tourism sector built on eco-tourism. There are a lot of hikes to volcanoes and lakes. One of the most popular was Volcan Santa Maria, it's a really tough hike up a volcano and from the top you can see down into an active smoking volcano. The other tour that I wanted to check out was Laguna Chicabal, a crater lake where they hold Mayan ceremonies and I heard has a nice hike. The problem for me was that I was by myself and the groups wouldn't book it for just one person. As I said, it doesn't have the thriving industry it used to have and I couldn't find any tours with people already booked.
The chicken buses, these brightly colored, refurbished school buses are all over. While calling it a "chicken bus" isn't really offensive, the locals don't call it that so don't try to translate it to "bus de pollo" but they all know the term tourists use and generally think it is cute.
Guatemala was the only country I have seen so far that uses these and I thought they were pretty cool. Ecofilters. It is pretty much a clay pot. You pour the water in the top and it slowly filters the water. It works great. Makes it just as good as bottled water.
The view of the town from atop a nearby hill
Where I stayed
I stayed in the south end of town and I think I picked the right spot. It was very close to Cementerio General, the largest cemetery in the city. This meant I was also in walking distance from Parque Centro America, a nice park that is probably the central tourist hub in the city. There are some higher end restaurants circling this park.
I especially enjoyed this area on November 1st. They don't do much for Halloween in Guatemala but I did see some teenagers dressed up in the park, but the 1st is Dia de Todos los Santos, All Saints Day. They all go to the cemetery and visit their loved ones and make huge kites. Thousands of people gather in the area around the cemetery, but it is a day of joy and not sorrow.
If you are there for that time don't miss getting a plate of fiambre. It is really the only day it is available due to it being such a bear to make. Each family really has their own recipe but it's pretty much a salad with about 50-100 ingredients. In the restaurants they will usually have either fiambre rojo or fiambre blanco. That just means red or white, with or without beets
Parque Centro America
Monumento a Justo Rufino Barrios. It is dedicated to a former president of Guatemala
A pic of Volcan Santa Maria from the outskirts of town. The clouds aren't coming from Santa Maria but from Santiaguito, the extremely active smaller volcano behind her
Want to learn Spanish?
One last thing I do want to mention about Xela, if you want to learn Spanish it is supposed to be one of the best places in the world to go.
Apparently they have a much slower dialect so it is easier to understand. There are many schools around just for it. You can even sign up for programs that are for full immersion and you actually live with a local family.
Not doing this was probably my biggest regret of my trip. It was pretty close to the same price I paid for an AirBnb.
I didn't have a great time in Xela just because I couldn't find much to do and having this experience would have been great
No, this isn't one of the schools. This is the Teatro Municipal de Quetzaltenango.
Final thoughts on Xela and getting to Guatemala City
I never had a bad time anywhere I've been but for most people I can't say I would really recommend it. But if you are a digital nomad looking for a quiet spot to pass through, doing like I did and coming from San Cristobal, it's not bad. It's a bit colder than the rest of the country due to its elevation and has a lot of places on the street to buy some of the best ceviche I have ever had (sorry Peru).
Antigua and Lake Atitlan are the biggest hotspots in Guatemala and I didn't see either of them. I do want to see Lake Atitlan one day but from what I have seen of Antigua it just never appealed to me.
My next stop was a 4 hour bus ride to Guatemala City. For this I'd recommend the Alamo Bus Terminal on 14 Avenida. They don't have a website so you need to buy your ticket in person. I bought mine a few days in advance just to know the times. They have 4 or 5 buses a day heading to Guatemala City so don't stress it too much. Cost about Q90 ($12). When I was there they only accepted cash. Nice ride, no complaints. Uber is in both Xela and Guatemala City so getting to the bus station and your final destination in Guatemala is a breeze.