Drive me Loco
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2006
1
11
33
Trip End
May 01, 2006
Antigua,
Guatemala
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Chicken bus travel is surely nothing like traveliing at home. Firstly, you are sure to encounter many unexpected (and inexplicable) delays...anything from the driver meeting up with a friend to a cattle crossing. Secondly, you have to be very willing to redefine your idea of personal space. The running joke here is this: Q. What is the capacity of a bus in Guatemala? A. One more! This is soooo true...
In fact we have been very lucky. We met an interesting guest back at the Finca on the Rio Dulce, who asked to join us one day for breakfast. It turns out he lives in Guat. City and after discussing our travel plans, he simply said, "Fine..you'll go with me." No discussion. He not only took us on his boat back to Rio Dulce, but then drove us (for almost 5 hours) to Guatemals City (the largest urban conglomeration in Central America
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. He would take no money but at least let us buy him lunch. It was great conversation all the way, and smooth too...until we hit the city. He was born and raised there and still could not find out where the buses left for Antigua. One of the reasons why we chose to skip the city altogether and head directly to Antigua...
He eventually left us roadside where he prayed an Antigua-bound chicken bus would pass...and it did. Sure enough it was packed solid but it was still a blast! An old US school bus (Bluebird) with four, or five to a seat that was designed for two kids. Good job it was only about an hour and a half and we got to Antigua in the daylight with time to find a room.
For many travellers, Tikal is the reason to come here. For us it is the Western Highlands. The scenery is spectacular but the rich culture surpasses even the natural splendour. Guatemala is all that we expected it to be. It may well be the most colourful nation on earth!
And it is very easy to see why Antigua is such a popular tourist destination: it is impossibly charming with beautiful cobblestone streets, mustard and ochre coloured houses with colonial fittings and a leafy central park-all nestled between three volcanoes
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! In fact the facades of the buildings all look the same for a reason. Antigua was founded in the mid 1500's and served as the colonial capital for 233 years. The town was razed by an earthquake in 1773 and has slowly rebuilt. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The market has some of the best produce we have ever seen and the blaze of colours is brilliant. Miles and miles of limes and peppers and mangos...and the avocadoes! People in Antigua are actually known as panza verde, which means green belly for the number of avocadoes they grow and eat.
We can't even imagine after this what the market at Chichicastenango might look like, but we are sure looking forward to it. We will be there this Sunday and hope to get some photos up before we begin Spanish school on Lake Atitlan next Monday. Look for more next week, maybe even en espanol!
