Gary S.
Google
When B and I got to Xela, we were exhausted after a long day of travel, but we wanted to explore. "¡Van a la Parque a Centroamérica!" our house mother, Rosario recommended. We had 75% battery in our phones, more than enough to find the park. We set of on the narrow cobblestone roads and in 5 minutes we were there.
The park is a two block by one block oasis and was full of activity on the Sunday that we visited. There were older women in woven skirts that we learned had different patterns related to different locations in the country. Kids ran around. People greeted strangers with a warm, "Buenos Tardes" and friends with a hug.
There is a round stone structure in the center next to giant letters spelling out XELA. A puppeteer put his Michael Jackson puppet through the Billy Jean dance routine, complete with crotch grabs and moonwalking.
Around the edges of the park there are carts offering various fruits, toys and trinkets. We found a girl selling mangos and asked for one that would be ripe tomorrow. She felt a couple, then pulled out the perfect ripe tomorrow mango. She asked if we wanted it prepared. We agreed, wondering what we were getting into. She put the mango on a stick and expertly pealed it. Next she cut slices into it that made it open up like a flower. She offered all sorts of toppings, but we wanted the pure thing. She put the mango into a small bag and we were off to find the marimba we heard in the distance.
It turned out to be a recording of a marimba. We listened for a while and explored the market street next to the park. For such a small place there was plenty of things to explore. We returned there many times over the week.
