Our 5 hour trip back from Coban to Antigua turned into a nasty 9 hour adventure. The good news is we weren't in a crowded "chicken bus", we weren't kidnapped or hijacked in any way, and no one got really sick.
Our journey took us through one final journey through the streets of Coban where once again we saw hundreds of little stores lined along the streets - people trying to earn a little something by selling just about anything along the streets. Coban is not a tourist town, so they're not just selling to tourists, this is simply the local economy and way of doing business.
We continue through the winding highway through the mountainous terrain of the province (Department) of Alta Verapaz. We cringe as we see drivers passing on blind corners and driving in a manner that seems to far surpass the quality and ability of their vehicles. But, we did not see any accidents. We pass pick up trucks with built up walls carrying loads of people in the back - they are standing so tight there is no room for them to move.
We also pass and/or are passed by the "chicken buses" so named because everyone and their chickens ride on these buses. The tops of these buses are packed with possessions, inside there are 5 people per seat with another 30 jammed into the aisles. We followed one bus that also had one person hanging out the front door. These buses are old school buses that come to Guatemala from Canada and the US. They get them because they don't meet emission requirements in our country. This does not come as a surprise to us as we are suffocated by the black exhaust of a brightly coloured bus we're unfortunate enough to follow for a few hours. We are torn between closing the windows and baking to death (25 degrees and sunny today) or dying from exhaust. We chose death by exhaust fumes - we figured it was a slower death!
We also pass an army truck with 20 soldiers carrying heavy duty guns (sorry, I didn't get the make and model, but they looked pretty scary). We decided against taking a photo out the side of the bus. Seeing security guards with sawed off shot guns at banks, gas stations and other fine establishments is not so shocking to us anymore. Nor is seeing the glass shard security system on top of the walls surrounding properties. Imagine broken glass bottles cemented into the top of a 4 inch wide wall with the poky ends sticking straight up. The other line of defence for those with more money seems to be razor wire. Razor wire is one step up from simple barbed wire. There are literally razor like edges on this wire.
We did get to stop at a bioreserve (protected forest) for a 1.5km hike up a mountain. Wow, altitude really does affect breathing. I haven't wheezed like that in a long time. For all the amazing plants we saw, I was perplexed and surprised that we did not see any bugs - none, not a one, not even one lonely little ground leech! Apparently the altitude is to blame. After much searching, I did find one spider and one beautiful butterfly -hmph!
Once we hit Guatemala City the ride turned into a nightmare. We were sandwiched between trailers and chicken buses emitting clouds of black in the traffic jam of all traffic jams. It seemed like we moved 2 feet per hour. We later found out the delay was due to the annual Christmas parade and possibly an accident. Death by fumes seemed eminent. We're amazed by the vendors and people lining the streets who survive this hell on a daily basis.
Finally our Habitat Interpreter convinced our driver to take a detour. After much manouvering, we ended up seeing the "rich" part of Guatemala City - the Department of Defence (a high walled compound with watch tower turrets lined with holes for guns. We can only imagine the history these walls have seen. We also went by the US embassy, bank towers and other fancy buildings.
Stopping for lunch was another interesting adventure. The armed guards of a shopping mall (we were headed to the food court for a quick bite) refused to let our van/bus enter. We ended up at a "On the Run" shop at an Esso station. Nothing but the finest for us!
After more delays and line ups we finally hobbled down the cobblestone streets of Antigua. It felt so good to stop moving and reach our hotel - Los Bucaros. Our oasis!
What an adventure.
Tomorrow we head to the volcano. Whoo Hoo!
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