XelaMap » Number 3

Excursion: Volcán Santa María

Sean — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:29:13 +0000

Volcán Santa María can be seen to the south from most everywhere in Xela, or at least it can be when the skies are clear. It’s a very popular hike, and on cloudless days provides great views of many of the other volcanos, the ocean, and it’s active neighbor, Volcán Santiaguito. The bus ride from Xela is around 15 minutes (2Q each way), the ascent takes between three and four hours, and the descent a little bit less. To top things off, there are cows on the peak. Weird!!!

You want to catch a bus to Llanos del Pinal, the town at the base of the volcano. It should cost 2 Quetzales. Some of the buses pass through Parque El Calvario.
Many more buses go along Avenida Las Americas. To get there, walk along the edge of the cemetary from El Calvario and up the hill to the crossroads.
About 15 minutes later you will arrive in Llanos del Pinal. Ride the bus until it is about to turn left. You can also ask the ayudante to tell you where to get off for the volcano.
Walk up the hill! Eventually you’ll get to a place with the official “Welcome to the Volcano” sign, and have to turn right. It’s obvious which way to go: up!
So you made it, check out Santiaguito from up here and look around a lot.

Festivals: October-December 2009

Sean — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:19:18 +0000

The following festivals can be found in or around Xela in the months of October, November and December:

San Francisco de Asis	San Francisco la Unión	October 4
La Virgen del Rosario	Quetzaltenango	October 6
San Martin de Tour	San Martín Sacatepéquez	November 11
San Carlos Barreondo	San Carlos Sija	November 15
Santa Catarina de Alejandria	Zunil	November 25
Virgen de Concepción	Concepción Chiquirichapa	December 8
Virgen de Concepción	Génova	December 8
Natividad del Señor	Huitán	December 24

Map: October – December 2009

Sean — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:27:19 +0000

Full-page version.

Back of the Map: October-December 2009

Sean — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:26:59 +0000

This information is mostly available as separate posts, but we figure you might want to see what the back of the map actually looks like. Here it is:

Full-page version.