observations from the second time through...

It seems like I’ve been on the go since I started this little adventure, but Xela (pronounced ‘Shay-la’) is beginning to feel like home base and I really like it here.

Life is funny, a few years back when my little brother Mark and Dan Marx were in Mexico we decided to take a road trip down to southern Mexico and perhaps see a bit of Guatemala. Due to a number of unexpected turns in the road we actually ended up on a chicken bus that brought us right here to Xela. When I rode back into town two weeks ago, our van turned the corner and we headed toward a hotel across the street from the hostel I stayed in 2.5 years ago. It gave me this sensation that life is much more cyclical than I realize; and I’m not a big believer in ‘fate’, but I was also overcome by the feeling that I’m back here to learn something that I didn’t pick then. We pulled into the hotel and I felt resigned – in the best possible way – to keep myself open to whatever it was I missed the first time around.

So maybe my spirit was ‘pre-warmed’ to this place, but I feel at peace here. It’s the second largest city in Guatemala, but it’s nestled in the mountains and the people are very friendly. We’ve stayed mostly in the center, but around here I feel like I know my way around, I can be independent when I need to get thins done, but we’re all close enough to each other that people are accessible. And the climate is, in my opinion, pretty close to ideal for the time being: chilly (fall chilly, not MN winter chilly) in the mornings and warm/hot in the afternoon with occasional rain.