Guate Guate Guate!
Tigua Tigua Tigua!
This gets stuck in my head whenever I think about Guatemala. It's the sound of the "Chicken Bus" men yelling from the door of the bus the destination of that particular ride. The "Chicken Bus" is an older bus converted from an American School bus into a relatively cheap way to get between towns. They range in pizzaz, from matte red and about to break down to colorful with literal bells and whistles (and music and screens). The driver's appear to have an easy job, just make your stops around and between towns; however, it's one of the most dangerous jobs a Guatemalan can have.
Gangs rule Guatemala City (aka Guate), and they insist that bus owners pay a fee every time their buses enter each gang's territory. If they don't pay, bus drivers die. They don't fool around. Even after they kill the bus drivers, the gang members are relentless and threaten the family of the murdered driver - the family must give them a portion of the insurance money or they will have to pay as well.
We were warned not to ride the buses but if we had to, ride the best looking one we could find because the service was related to the style :) We rode a chicken bus only once, with a guide, to go to the chicken bus factory (among other places) to see how they were made. In Ciudad Vieja, we saw 3 or 4 buses in different stages of change. Pictures:
Also, while in Ciudad Vieja, we visited what we were told was a coffin factory. Really it was a home of a family that made coffins in the ghetto of the city. It was interesting and sad to see little boys sanding the coffins while an older man spray painted them in a different area. Three little girls were running around the coffins and loved to have their pictures taken.
We walked through the saddest, slummiest part of la ciudad to a school that was built to try to break the cycle of poverty in the city by educating kids and teaching them a trade as well. The walk was really sad because we had to stay with our guide for fear of us getting robbed. We passed by the saddest "houses" in which the walls and roofs were made of cardboard, wood scraps, tin scraps and, in some places, plastic bags. Even the horses were malnourished looking and sad. They had a beautiful view, though. Pictures:
We actually began our trip, though, in Guatemala City. They didn't appear to be used to tourists. The hotel didn't know where to point us for a "Place of Interest" but they got us a cab and sent us to the museums and the Artisan Market. The museums were like any other museums, but as we were outside on the front steps resting in the son, we felt like monkeys. School kids were there and blatantly staring at us. I believe some were even brave enough to sit next to us and take pictures of us. Monkeys in a zoo.
The Artisan Market was beautiful. It was a little park gated area with a park and nice shopping set ups. I bought a woven bolsa (bag) with quetzals on it from a woman that told me it took her 2 months to make it. It cost about 200Q, which was around $30. It seemed like a steal, considering the work put into it. I carried that bag everywhere the rest of the trip so it was soooo worth it. She let us take a video of her using the loom since she was working on making a wall hanging.
While in the city we also went to Zona Uno - the place where there were multiple warnings not to go or to be extremely careful when you do go. We found it to be just fine and like any other city. We went to the Palacio and the REAL Guatemalan market. That was the real treat. The market was cramped and busy and full of food we've never seen before. We learned and promptly forgot the names of a lot of fruit and vegetables. We saw that it's not important that meat is refrigerated (note to self: do not eat meat in Guatemala). We saw babies in wooden crates while mothers worked. We heard "Pase adelante" (come in) a billion times because everyone wants you to come into their cubby area. Loved it! While we were city in the plaza waiting for our cab driver to pick us up, some man walked by and told us we shouldn't be there because it was too dangerous for us. We felt safe. Granted, we were the ONLY white people there and people were looking at us, but we didn't feel threatened (ok, we did see police officers in full riot gear with very large guns, but we didn't see the commotion so it must have been ok, right?). We returned safely and we even have some pictures:
On our 3rd day in Guatemala, we were picked up from someone at the school to go to Antigua. Driving around Guatemala is this: SCARY. I can't even begin to describe how scary it could be. Cutting others off, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, nearly running over pedestrians, braking too hard and the steep incline and decline into Antigua was scary enough in itself.
Antigua was a quaint with cobblestone streets and nestled at the bottom of 3 volcanoes. There is a plaza in the center, a market and lots of cafes. We were introduced to the family we would be living with and they were awesome. Janet, the mother, was a teacher of Spanish at a different school than we were going to. Daniella was her daughter and Martin was her son. They already had some students there so Lindsay and I had to share a little room above the main part of the house. It was built by Janet, so that gives you an idea of the construction. The upside was that we had our own bathroom and a beautiful view of the church and the volcano. The downside, the room was literally made of Styrofoam with some thin hardyboard looking material. The bathroom was like something you would find camping. Pictures of our place in Antigua:
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