Day at Xetulul!

On Saturday, I went to a Guatemalan theme park named "Xetulul" (pronounce the "x" like "sh"). It was an incredibly long day. I have had a very long week, with 10-hour days each day this week, so I wasn't completely excited about another 10-hour day (it ended up being a 16-hour day). 

My host family waiting for the minibus at 5AM.

So I woke up at 4:45 yesterday and was ready to leave with my family at 5AM. My family had set up this trip with a church that my host mom’s family attends in the aldea of Paquip. We went to the center of town to wait for the van. We waited about 15 minutes in like 55-degree weather. I was quite chilly by the time the bus arrived. The van was completely full. There are five of us (including me), which were getting on the mini bus. The four rows were full and some people were sitting in the front. My first thought was "Oh no, 3 hours of crouched standing." The people who were in the front seats moved and my host mom, host sister, and myself climbed in. It was so warm; I thought the happiness might overwhelm me. (I would come to hate that warmth later.) And we were off! Yay! We went to Santa Maria (which is the muni maybe one kilometer from Santa Clara), and the minibus stopped. We waited; I am not sure what for. I went to relieve myself in the milpas, and finally (about 30 minutes later), we were leaving our part of Guatemala. It was 6AM now. 

Going down into Retalheleu. Look, you can see some of the coast!

I was sitting in the middle seat of the front. The driver was to my left, and my host mom with my host sister on her lap was on my right. I felt very tall, because the seat was raised. It also wasn't very comfortable, but I figured I would get used to it. My legs were squished to the side in the passenger side's area for legs. My seat didn't have a very long back; it met about 3/4 of the way up my back. We made it up the mountain that leads out of my town, and at this point I was starting to get really hot. I pulled up my sleeves. Didn't help. I took off my sweater, helped a little, but it was my legs and butt that were burning. I tried to sleep. I don't know how, but I ended up falling asleep, but I have no clue in what position, since there weren't many options. I woke up and we were passing Cantel, Quetzaltenago. I thought we were almost there. Just on to the next department, and we will be there, yay! Well after Xela, we went down the mountains of the department of Xela, into the department of Retalhuleu. We stopped on the road for a quick descanso, and I was so happy to be able to move my legs, and see the beautiful mountains of Xela. About 30 minutes down the road, we stopped in the town of San Felipe (I think). I wasn't sure why we were stopping, come to find out we had one hour for breakfast. One hour, really? Are we having a four-star meal? If my Dad was here, he would be outraged. And that part of me was kind of frustrated. I am all about enjoying the sites on the road, but not when we are on a day trip. 

Well we finished our breakfast of pancakes and cuchitos in about 20 minutes, and had plenty of time to spare. We sat in the park, and enjoyed the 90-degree weather. My family kept saying "mucho calor" (very hot), and it was hot, but I was just enjoying finally being able to sweat. I laid down on a bench in the sun, and tried to soak up as much sun as I could. It's as close to tanning as I can get, since I live in Santa Clara. We were finally able to leave, but not without a stop at Sarita for a helado (ice cream)! I got back in my hot seat, and we were off. Twenty minutes down the road we were stopped by some police. I think they wanted money, because we needed permission to enter Retalhuleu. Who knows? We waited for about 30 minutes, and then we were off again. Come to find out we were only another 5 minutes from the park, how frustrating! We parked, my host sisters changed, and we went to the entrance. It's 11AM now. 

Everything in Guatemala takes longer than it should. This day, a 3.5-hour trip took 6. Once we got in the park we sat and waited. I think we were waiting for other people, but then we got impatient, and went to another part of the park to wait. We didn't start riding any rides till about 12PM. We also came to find out that our admission, which was only Q10 per person, only came with 12 rides. We received this ticket, with 12 spaces on it. There were 5 of us, which meant about 2 a piece. What a rip. We then had another man join our group. He thought he knew all about the park, which always really bugs me when people think they know all. I just wanted to experience the park, and let things find me. He wanted to explain everything, and especially since I am a gringa; he really wanted to explain everything. I had just met him that day, but I was told he lives in Santa Clara. All day, he wanted to control things with machismo, and I wanted to challenge his view. So in my own little way, I challenged his view of machismo. He wanted to lead the group, so I walked faster and led. I didn't follow his heavenly advice, instead did what my family and I wanted. I challenged his advice, and questioned his knowledge. I was frustrated with how we were just walking around the park not doing anything, so I might have channeled my frustration there. 

Riding the coaster!

We finally got to ride some rides!!! My host sisters, Andrea and Vivian, rode the Carousel. To see the joy in their faces made me so happy! Then I rode a small roller coaster with them, and we all rode a train around the park. Then we were out of boxes for riding. It was like 12:45, and we were done. That isn't how a day at an adventure park is supposed to go. So I was nice, and went and bought 12 more rides for Q50. It was so worth it. I just wanted to see some more happy kids! So we went to ride some more rides, like the log flume (my favorite), a swirly thing, and a swinging ship. My host dad rode the big roller coaster, crazy. 

We were hungry. It was a big deal looking for a place to eat. They wanted to leave, but I suggested we stay, because I had seen some cheap places to eat in the park, and I wanted to continue to enjoy the park.  It was really only the stranger man who wanted to leave and go to Xela. We started to look for places to eat, which was really hard for them. I suggested we just look around, and find something, but they wanted everyone and their mother where a good place to eat was. This isn’t like normal adventure parks where you receive a colorful map on the way in. We found some places, eventually. So I had a cheap, almost crappy, cheeseburger with Andrea. It was pure joy. Everyone else had chuchitos. I am not sure why you would come to an amusement park, and eat the same thing you eat all the time, but people are different. 

Some decorations at the park!

Trying to get Vivian excited to take a picture, as we were leaving.

We left and went out to the car. More waiting. We got in the van, and more waiting. I decided to take off my leggings because I was already hot, and I knew the ride would be hotter. We finally left. And Oh My God, it was so hot in the van. I found out why I was so hot. My legs were by the motor, and I was sitting on another important piece of the car, which was also hot and not meant for sitting on. We stopped to get some fresh plantains, and on our way again. I fell asleep, somehow, and woke when we arrived at a gas station near Xela. I was sweating in every part of my body, but I was determined not to complain, at least not that much. Everyone was saying how it’s cold again, because we were back in the Highlands. I couldn't feel it. Still super hot. We were off again, and we stopped for another descanso at Cuatro Caminos. I had some Pollo Campero, which is fabulous as always. I got back into Hell, and we were on our way. It was about 6:30 when we left Cuatro Caminos, so it was pretty much dark. On the way back, my host mom and I talked about various things. I told her how dad died, and she shared with me that two of her siblings had passed away when she was younger. It was nice to be able to talk with her.

Once we arrived back in Xiprian, which is an aldea, about 3 km from Santa Clara. It was 8PM, and I was still sweating. I was starting to get crabby, I just wanted to get home and shower. Oh no, not yet, we needed to be in a parade. No joke, after the whole day of traveling and walking, we were going to be in a parade. Some kids were doing a torch run. I was actually really impressed, after a very long day, some kids were going to run the 5 miles pack to Paquip. So we followed them, very slowly. I felt like I was never going to get my shower. We finally got to Santa Clara, stopped for another 5 minutes, and back to the parade. I couldn’t take it, so I said that I was going to go to the back, and get out of the hell seat. It was so much more comfortable, and now I was just ready to get home. We finally were left off of the minibus, and we walked home. I took a cold shower, and because I was so sweaty and hot, I LOVED my cold shower. At 9PM, I had finished my shower, put some aloe on my sunburn from the day, and collapsed into bed.

It was a very fun, long day. I want to go back again, but maybe next time with some gringos, who know how to enjoy an amusement park. I will never sit in the front of a mini bus again for long trips, well not if I can help it. For the good and bad, it was a trip I will never forget.

Paz y Amor