On Thursday we said our good-byes to the ancient city of Antigua and headed towards Xela. Before we got to our final destination though, we stopped at Iximche, the remnants of the Kaqchiquel's 15th-century capital.
While Iximche doesn't pack the punch of Tikal or other, more famous ruins, it is no less significant.
We spent some time learning about the Mayan culture from our friend Jaime. He talked to the students about the significance of the Mayan calendar and a bit about the history of Iximche.
The students were given an hour or so to roam through the ruins. The sky was perfectly blue and it was so quiet in the ruins (even with 13 teenagers there) that you could hear the wind whistling through the trees.
After our time at Iximche, we boarded the bus and headed to our final destination and our home for the next few weeks Xela. We arrived around 5pm and the students were introduced to their families. The families were super happy to meeting the new, temporary members of their families. Most of the students live within a block or two of each other and this year we were very fortunate to be able to have an adult in almost every house. The students all had their first meals with their families, which everyone claimed to like and then the whole group met up in Parque Central for a quick night tour of Xela and then it was off to bed because the real work was set to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
1 comment:
So glad to hear everything is going well! Blog has me feeling nostalgic! Tell the troops the first haute games are the toughest as they get used to the style of play, the thin air, and the refs.
Please pass on my warmest la utz' awash to Jaime, Tito and the rest of the crew.
I also need to have a talk with whoever is staying with Mama Carmen and whoever is going up to Xejuyup. They gotta represent!
Keep the posts coming!
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