Shuttles. A necessary evil in Guatemala if you want to get from A to B avoiding a chicken bus. And given the recent history of chicken buses (an accident last week resulted in 50+ deaths), no matter how pretty they look I have at this point chosen to avoid them.
(Chicken bus whizzing past)
This results in me being squashed into the back of a minivan between 2 hungover English girls who were lucky enough to be picked up early and could snag a window seat each. 15 tourists crammed together for 8 hours, each bringing their own idiosyncrasy – snoring, an unwashed smell, a cold or the need to pee every 2 hours even if it means stopping on the side of a mountain in the rain.
(View from the back seat!)
It is a sight to see though, when once strangers these people end up sleeping on each others shoulders, swapping iPods and sharing hand sanitizer after stopping at what passes for a bathroom at a petrol station. Food is always a good ice breaker, especially when it is something good, or difficult to find. Chocolate is the best.
(Sleeping anyway you can)
(Being followed closely – with at least 6-8 people on the roof)
It’s also a great place to find others going the same way. You just have to find the diamonds amongst (the much) rough. After all, that’s how I met Carlie 🙂
(Managing to snag the front seat occasionally – happy days!)
