Guatemala Day 1: The Chicken Bus

I promised Amie, my roommate, that under no circumstances would I ever get on a chicken bus. She was emphatic about the danger posed to foreign travelers and how her multiple visits to Guatemala and the guatemalans she traveled with all advised the same. So when I was picked up by my schools representative by car (following 2 plane rides) and unceremoniously dropped off at a stop for the chicken bus, you can imagine my hesistancy to board the local transport. I didn't really have a choice actually. My bags where handed over to a driver shouting "Antigua, Antigua!" I stepped on the bus and it zoomed off. Passing beautiful lush green forests and winding roads through ramshackle towns, the bus stopped and picked up people at the most random places. My india mission teammates will relate to the randomness of the stops--nothing posted but people could get on and off, sometimes in the middle of a field.

Fortunately, I took an open seat by a very gracious woman who later told me how much to pay and that I would need to get off at the very last stop in Antigua. She also shared a bit of her story with me, how she works in Guatemala city and takes the bus sometime 1 hr or more each way and returns to care for her 5 month old baby, Daniel. How he was her second child and that her first died. All I could say was lo siento and look really sympathetic. We talked some more about my travel here and what I hoped to learn--spanish so I can, uh talk to people better. My broken spanish and her willingness to talk with me made the ride so much more enjoyable. Her stop was just a few before mine so I bid her farewell just outside Jocotenago, a suburb of Antigua.

A picture will do the chicken bus more service than my wordy description: retrofitted US school bus with roof rack and seating for 2 to 5 in the typical bus seat-- at one point I was seated by a woman on my right, a pregnant woman on my left who had a child on each leg. I boarded the bus about the time school let out so there were quite a number of children on board, as well as families, mom, dads and babies all crammed in together and flying down the roads with me. The young guys behind me regularly burst out into singalongs with the local pop music--kinda hilarious with the amount of spanish I understand. And then there were the occassional street hawkers and orphans marketing on the bus, not unlike what you would experience on the El in Chicago--only much much younger. Kinda heartbreaking.

But, in the end I made it to Antigua with a great local transport experience. A few more winding steps, 2 stops for directions, and I found Mama Doris's house. I have since then been cautioned at least 3 times to never, ever ride the chicken bus again. Still, it was a wonderful experience and I'm grateful for the very helpful and friendly people God placed in my path. On my way to Xela tomorrow. . . but first a look at Pacaya--an active volcano near Antigua--if that is the rain holds out.