Category: Guatemala City

The Chicken Buses

© 2019 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

How did the Guatemala chicken cross the road?

On the chicken bus!

Okay, so not really!

So, why are the colorfully decorated transport buses that you see in Guatemala called chicken buses?

Have you ever seen a truckload of chickens being taken to the processing plant? Crammed together in an enclosed space, this is how Central Americans look (and probably feel) when they travel throughout their countries. And, yes, sometimes crammed into these buses, they transport live animals…probably a chicken or two every now and then.

When American school buses are retired, they are sold at auction and often end up in Central America, modified and painted with bright colors and designs. Easy to spot due to their vibrant paint jobs, religious imagery and verbiage, the bus’s name and permanent route are often inscribed over the front windshield. Their insides (well, that is the most interesting part) are sometimes jazzed up with Christmas lights, tassels and posters and a very loud sound system.

Sounds like fun!

Operated by two people, a driver and the ayudante or helper, they run a tight schedule. Although the driver’s job is extremely important, as he is responsible for the safe passage of his customers, the helper keeps everything running smoothly. From collecting money, to stowing everything from luggage, to livestock and produce…sometimes on the roof of the bus…sometimes while in motion…the ayudante also is responsible for announcing (loudly) the destinations that the bus is reaching.

The self-employed driver and his assistant prefer to keep the buses at capacity to reduce operating costs and sometimes travel at top speed in a hair-raising, nerve-wracking experience. After all, time is money!

Although during our stay in Guatemala, we never had the opportunity to ride one of the chicken buses, we were quite fascinating watching the operation.

Next time, I may give it a go…and bring a chicken or two.

Does fried chicken count?

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The Chicken Buses

Going To Guatemala

© 2019 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

What do you do when your spring break plans fall through?

Call your mom and ask her to go exploring, of course!

Traveling with my children is one of the best things ever! I love taking them to new places and discovering new cultures, foods and traditions.

My middle son’s sense of adventure mirrors mine, so when he called me and informed me that his spring break plans had cancelled, I jumped into action, knowing that it would be a lot of fun for us to discover someplace new.

Asking my colleagues about Guatemala, a country that has piqued my interest for quite some time, I found that most recommended that we fly into Guatemala City, but continue our journey to the nearby city of Antigua.

After our three hour flight and customs and immigration clearance, we headed to the front of the airport to secure transportation to Antigua. My initial intent had been to hire a colectivo, a shared ride service, which transports 1-6 passengers, dropping each at their individual hotels. As I waited for my son to come back from the restroom, a local resident advertising tours, struck up a conversation with me. When I told him that my son and I were getting ready to head to Antigua via colectivo, he suggested that I hire a private car for the same price.

Of course, he had one in mind.

A quick call by this gentleman brought the car, a modern sedan, to the curb. We agreed on the price with the driver and we set off for the hour-long journey.

Our driver, dressed in uniform, handed me a business card for the car service and attempted to communicate with us in his limited English.

Traffic was very heavy and as we sat in air conditioned comfort, our journey was slow. Tracking our progress on my phone, I noticed that we hadn’t made it very far when our driver pulled into a gas station. I had noticed that his car had been making a “ringing” sound and he had made a phone call, speaking in his native Spanish. Thinking we were only at the station to fill for the journey, he suddenly explained that his car was giving him a warning light and he had called another driver to meet us here who would take us to Antigua.

He must have seen the concern in my face, when the new driver pulled up. Was this some kind of a scam? I should have taken the colectivo!

The new driver’s vehicle was fairly new and he greeted us warmly, putting our bags into the trunk of his car. We pulled back onto the roadway and attempted to make some headway amidst the thick traffic.

As luck would have it, we hadn’t traveled very far when his car began to overheat!

Yes, believe it!

Now I was sure that it was a scam and both my son and I were going to be sold into Guatemalan slavery!

DEFINITELY should have taken the colectivo!

We pulled over once again into the parking lot of a gas station and he opened the hood of his car. He made a phone call and I could see that his was frustrated and embarrassed, which actually made me feel a bit better. He told me fifteen minutes…someone would be there to help us continue our journey, but fifteen turned into thirty. At this point, I turned on my phone service and checked to see if Uber was available. It was either that or hail one of the cabs that we were regularly seeing passing us by.

Finally, after asking him, again, how much longer, the replacement driver pulled in next to us. On our way, once again, exhaustion overcame us and we dozed in the air conditioned comfort of the driver’s car. Thankfully, as we headed out to the highway, traffic thinned and we were arriving in Antigua around 3:00 in the afternoon, only an hour later than we had anticipated.

The next step was finding our hotel on the walled, cobblestone streets. Although I had given the driver the address, he seemed to drive for a while, dodging the many pedestrians crossing the narrow streets. Finally, he jumped out and checked a couple of doors returning to tell that we had arrived at the correct spot.

Paying him the arranged fare, we breathed a sigh of relief and saying a quick prayer. We had made it safely.

Next time, I’m hiring a colectivo!

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Booking A Shared Shuttle From Guatemala City Airport to Antigua