Habia una vez, I was once a slow walker, taking the time to look up and down at my surroundings and not get anywhere too fast. Two weeks in Xela, and contrary to almost everything else about the place, I am now a furious pacer. It may be because I have been incredibly busy or because every white knuckled 'Chapine' behind an extra tinted windshield is tryint to kill me. I'm certain of it.

I also still can't believe how wrong I was about the weather, like Jordan playing baseball. I can see my breath every morning when I slip out around 7:45, and it warms up quite nicely throughout the day, but I'm still not ambitious enough to give the shorts and flip flops another go-around until I'm certaom pf sweating at the mere sight of the sun.

The hot springs were an ideal destination, settled in a lush mountainside an hour outside of Xela. The sulfur oxidized water trickles down the warm rocks into three natural pools, each of which proved capable of transforming me into a rare breed of giant white prune. We hiked around a bit, but mostly just relaxed in the 7,500 ft high pools looking out over a luscious valley that had once housed one of the worlds oldest and most advanced civilizations.

I also recently had the chance to feel the heartbeat of Xela, pulsating with every vulgar word, hand clap, and foot stomp. Oh yes, I'm talking about the futbol game. The XelaJu (SHAY-LA-WHOO) Super Chivos took on the currently first place, inter-country rival, Jalapa this past Saturday. The conditions were ripe for an upset...packed stadium, home field, and as the gerat equalizer Mother Nature decided to unleash the first rain of the year on an unsuspecting audience. Needless to say, no one left, there was merely a short scramble for all scaps of plastic capable of redirecting a few unwelcome raindrops. And the band played on, literraly. Directly behind me were the musical ringleaders, conducting each anthem and chant with unwaving dedication. The bass, snare, and trumpet plasted away, and to some disappointment, the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Alas.