From the Archives...

It did occur to me that I hadn't posted any photos of Xela. There are a few reasons for this. First, I didn't find all that much of Xela interesting (aesthetically). The second is the large indigenous population made me apprehensive about taking out my camera.

As I mentioned in an early post, many Mayans have a problem with photography. As a tourist you are supposed to ask before you photograph anyone who looks indigenous. I simply really didn't want to take the time to ask. I know, I know, that's probably not the best viewpoint to take, but I really didn't want to bother people. Plus, I think photos are much better when you develop a raport with the person(s). It's difficult to do that on the street.

So, the following photos are what I saw just about everyday in Xela. This is central park, the area around which are municipal buildings, banks, etc. I think this is the nicest looking area in the city.

Xela is located at about 7,000 ft. elevation. You can see the mountains in the background.


On thing Xela does have going for it is a lack of smog. Mornings tend to be very bright and sunny and you have a great view of the surrounding mountains.

In the photo above and to the left, if you look at the area of mountains in between the right column and the small white dome, that's where La Muela (from the 4th of July post) is located.