The Chicken Bus- an interesting read.

Here in Guatemala, public transportation is quite haphazard and consequently, quite the adventure.


There are Tuk-Tuks (Golfcart-esque small town taxis)


Mico-buses (What we would call a mini van in the States, for larger cities. I would equate it to a trolley.) These Micro-Buses pack people in so tightly it is a little frightening... 


People stand in what would have been your "leg space",  squat near the opening of the door, and hang with their bodies outside of the van. I've had a strange man sit in my lap, and I've had to sit on a woman's lap.... Don't worry, this is completely normal. Then, to top it off, everything gets interesting when the elderly and infants are involved... just trust me. It's a sight.


Anyways, another form of transport is the chicken bus.


Here's a pic of one: 

Be advised, this is a CONSERVATIVELY colored one. They are basically school buses from the States, tricked out with bright colors, then packed for the making of money. They travel longer distances,  as in from city to city.


I have a notebook I take around with me everywhere I go in case I see things that I want to write and remember.


I took many notes on my trip from Xela to Panajachel.


 I wrote a list of the things people boarded the bus and offered me to buy while I waited in the "terminal" in Xela. This all happened over a course of approximately 23 minutes.


Here's my list.


1) Cheese and/or Pepperoni Pizza
2) Guatemala Key Chains
3) Trident Gum
4) Herbal remedy that will not only fix liver irritation, but will also cure uterine cysts
5) News papers (from three different publishers)
6) Water
7) Soda
8) Mango Juice
9) Candy of every type you can imagine
10) Packaged cookies
11) Notebooks
12) Mints
13) Ice cream
14) Pens
15) Watermelon
16) Mango
17) Sherbet
18) Freshly baked bread
19) Chips
20) Fried Plantains
21) Biscuits
22) Magazines
23) Chile Rellano
24) Jello
25) Hamburgers
26) Radishes
27) Limes
28) Peanuts/ Cashews
29) Bananas


Can you say sensory overload?


Here are some notes I wrote down while actually on the three hour bus ride back to Panajachel:

" I have never sat this close to a window in my life. The guy in front of me (who is fast asleep) has his window down all the way, and the wind is coming straight back and hitting me in the face.  I think my face is almost completely numb now. If I could move my arms, I would close it without him even noticing..."


" I smell like BO... and it's definitely not my own...this is the pits... See what I just did there?" (I make myself laugh sometimes)


"I just realized a Guatemalan trick. Here's the secret to how we have 6 people packed into our four person row. This is a two seater chair. Across the isle, there is an identical two seater. It goes me, then the guy next to me, then a man who has one butt cheek wedged onto our two seater. In the row right across from us, they have the same set up... There are literally two people with one butt cheek on a seat and the other free floating in the middle of the isle with nothing but counter pressure from the next person holding them in...I repeat we have 5 cheeks in each chair and two cheeks in the isle... I don't even know if I'm explaining this right..."

Oh, Guatemala...




PS- 


Lemme play catch up on some pics:

As a good Southern woman should, I made greens!!! I am going to search and search some more for this specific type of green, leafy vegetable. It's called Acelga here... I have no idea what it would be called in the States.

This is a picture a friend of mine from the first group took. My shadow and I were attempting to salsa dance, but he was a little shy. Instead, we decided  this would be just as fun, lol.