Xela Retreat!

This past Sunday and Monday, I went on my first work retreat in Guatemala, the third retreat for the rest of the PDs. We went to Quetzaltenango, more commonly referred to as Xela, the Mayan name. We left early Sunday morning to catch a chicken bus, and after a swerving two-hour bus ride, we made it! After checking into the hotel, Nim Sut, we went to lunch at a restaurant that let us overlook the town square. 

The Square in Xela

After lunch, we walked around the square, where we were able to have a puppy fix.There the most adorable little puppy that we fawned over for a good thirty minutes. Ja, Nicole, and I are especially susceptible to the cuteness of puppies, and can't help but 'awwww' over them. 

Nicole with the puppy, Muñeca (Doll in English)

After lunch and puppy time, we headed to Las Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs, nestled in the mountains, just a short ride out of the city. It was absolutely beautiful there, a forest wonderland. 

 

Las Fuentes Georginas

We were able to relax for a few hours in one of the pools. It allowed us some time to catch up and enjoy each others company. 

One of the hot spring pools- Yes, that is steam from the pool! 

After coming back to our hotel, Ja was feeling a little under the weather, and Sarah was craving some pure American McDonalds, so Jess, Nicole, and I went in search of some dinner. We landed at Cafe Tecun, where Nicole discovered the most delicious caesar salad sandwich ever created. That night we also had a meeting over a survey that the previous PDs took last quarter about the site. 

Monday morning was a work day, starting with our weekly Monday meeting, where we discussed current programs and potential program progress. After a short break, we discussed the January Goals that were set back in December. There have been a number of changes that we discussed, especially regarding the Basico English at Central that Nicole and Ja are in charge of. This meeting wrapped up just in time for lunch. Since dinner from the previous night was so scrumptious, we decided to go back to the same place for lunch where all but Sarah ordered the caesar salad sandwich!  The perfect meal to end our relaxing and successful Xela retreat. We headed back to our beloved Sololá right after lunch. 

The group in Xela! 

-Julie