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Let them eat cake
Entry 5 of 6 | show all | print this entry |
"Chicken Buses". These are old Candian and US school buses that have found there way down to Guatemala and are the backbone of the public transport system here. Ian (my travelling companion for this leg) found out why they are called this when a beak suddenly appeared out of a cardboard box that a woman next to him was carrying and started pecking his finger, which resulted in some fowl language, I can tell you.
In the Welsh language, the word "dial" means "revenge" so when a Welsh "speaker" (spitter is more accurate) goes to an English phone and picks it up, the display starts threatening him. This idiomatic coincidence (oooooh) also happens on the back of the chicken bus- where it says in English "Please keep a safe distance and use indicators", to Guatemalan drivers this reads "Please come as close as possible to the rear of this vehicle and overtake at the last possible minute. Near a sharp bend would be good"
Inside the bus there´s sometimes a plaque that says "Safe. Reliable. Courteous. Your Driver today is: " The temptation to put "none of these things" in the space is overwhelming.
Anyway, San Pedro is on Lake Atitlan, which is a collapsed volcanic crater filled with water. To get here requires a 20 minute boat journey which involves the skipper smacking the boat into the waves, lifting you about 3 feet of your seat. It was all too much for one guy who started shouting "Goddamit, I was in the Navy, I could sail this thing better than this" to be fair I think only Tony Bullimore and the skipper from the Exxon Valdez would do a worse job.
Everywhere you go you will get local Mayan women selling you Banana bread. It does seem to be a hotbed of bakery here as bread and cakes are readily available. Some cakes though seem to make you really tired and lazy and also quite hungry about 2 hours after eating them.
Also met a guy from Dundee, well he claimed to be from Broughty Ferry but most people from Dundee claim to be from there. Simon, who owns the Alegre bar near the lake. Top guy for a Dundee United and it was a mere coincidence that my team won the pub quiz that week.
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