Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A popular day trip from Xela with locals as well as visitors, the Fuentes Georginas hot
springs (tel. 5704-2959, 8 A.M.-6:30 P.M. Mon.-Sat., 7 A.M.-5 P.M. Sun., $2.75) were hit
hard by Hurricanes Mitch and Stan in the past few years. The first of these wiped out a
Hellenicstatuethatoncegazeduponthepoolsandthesecondhurricanefilleditsmainpool
with mud and debris. It's all up and running, however, and in addition to the wonderfully
warm thermal pools you can enjoy a fairly decent restaurant serving cocktails overlooking
theemerald-greenwaterssurroundedbytropicalfernsandflowers.Therearealsosheltered
picnic areas with barbecue pits for which you'll need to bring your own fuel. Trails lead to
the Zunil and Santo Tomás Volcanoes with guides available at the restaurant for about $10.
The hikes require about 3-5 hours one-way. There are accommodations available but they
arenotrecommendable.Themanagementassuresmethereareplanstoinvestsomemoney
into upgrading the accommodations once they've fully recovered financially from the last
hurricane.
Togethere,youcanfirsttakeabustoZunilleavingfrequentlyfromXela'sMinervabus
terminal and then take a pickup the rest of the way (eight kilometers) to the hot springs.
You can also walk from Zunil in about two hours. Head out from the plaza going uphill to
the Cantel road (about 60 meters), turning right, and then going downhill to where you'll
see a sign for the hot springs indicating their distance eight kilometers away. The easy way
togethereistobookatripthroughanyofthelocalguidecompanies,includingAdrenalina
Tours, which runs transfers to the site at 8 A.M. and 2 P.M. for $10.
Cantel
Along an alternate route heading from Xela to Zunil via Las Rosas junction and bypassing
Almolonga,Cantel lies10kilometers eastofXelaandaboutthreekilometers eastofZunil.
It became an industrial suburb and one of the principal economic engines behind Xela's
late 19th-century prosperity with the establishment of the Fábrica de Hilados y Tejidos
de Cantel, which was somewhat like a modern-day sweatshop providing European tech-
nology and production methods to an already established weaving tradition. It began op-
erations in 1883 and once employed 500 workers from Xela's total population of 30,000
inhabitants. The textile factory closed in 2008.
Today the town is better known as the site of the Copavic Glass Factory (Carretera al
Pacífico, Km. 217.5, Cantón Pasac II, tel. 7763-8038, www.copavic.com ), found along the
roadtoZunilandproducingoutstandinghand-blownglassmadeexclusivelyfromrecycled
materials and exported around the world. The factory is open for tours 10:30 A.M.- 1:30
P.M. Monday-Friday and 10:30 A.M.- 12:30 P.M. on Saturday. The sales floor is open 9
A.M.-6 P.M. Monday-Friday and 9 A.M.-1 P.M. Saturday.
Salcajá
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