That Bus Is Finger Lickin Good
Hola amigos,
Saturday morning we headed out for a trip with the school to the black sand beaches of Champerico which is about an hour and a half away from Xela.
About five of us headed out with Kristin (the American activities coordinator) at 7 in the morning to start our adventure. We were told before hand that we would be riding a “Chicken Bus” to Champerico. It was my first adventure on a chicken bus, and needless to say it was pretty interesting.
Imagine riding on a bus where personal space is thrown out the window. They try to get as many people as possible on the bus. Depending on the bus you get, it could be crowded or not crowded. The bus we got was extra crowded with no attention being paid to the “No standing while bus is in motion” or “Stand behind this line while bus is in motion” rules.
For the majority of the ride down there I was on the end of a seat by the aisle. One of the other students on the trip, an older lady doctor named Shirley, kept saying that dealing with the curves on the bus was sort of like skiing. I retorted, “Yeah if you were on one ski and one of your buttcheeks was the only thing skiing”. We rode that real life version of “The Scrambler” for about an hour then changed to a less crowded bus for the next part of the ride to the beach.
I think what is amazing about the buses is their ability to park and maneuver through tiny spaces, etc. Crazy good drivers.
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We arrived at the beach and got a little bit of much needed sun, sand, and surf. It has been beautiful temperate weather in Xela, but it was nice to have some hot weather to get a little bit of a tan. I would say it was probably about 100 degrees there, and a heat like I think Phoenix would be, no humidity.
We stayed at the beach for a couple of hours and then went to a nearby seafood restaurant where one of Kristin’s friends worked. I got a big plate of grilled shrimp for about 40 Quetzales (< $7). It was delicious.
After some comraderie, we went back to the beach for a little while and then got back on the bus to head back to Xela. This time only a portion of the way, the bus was pretty crowded. I got in the middle of a seat this time, on one side I had one of the students with me, and on the other a Guatemalan man, let’s call him Paco, kept nodding off. So I got to ride for about a half an hour with Paco laying on my shoulder. How sweet.
5 Responses to “That Bus Is Finger Lickin Good”
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December 17th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
ahhh, “the scrambler”!…fun memories of the farmer’s fair. ha. how many people can say they’ve been to that? lol
December 19th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Hey I can say I have been to the Farmer’s Fair, haha. THanks for Blogging Jason, nice to get to read about your experiences. Hope all is well.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Check out the knockers on that statue! I would like to knock her on my statue.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Shrimp Gumbo, Shrimp Stew, grilled Shrimp. But you ain’t got no legs, Lt. Dan!
The colonel with his wee beady eyes!
February 29th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
[…] los ojos locos de Víctor que el bato español en mi cabeza con amor, poniendo en la playa de Champerico, jugando ping pong en la escuela, visitando San Simón en Zunil, sintiendo me que mi español […]