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Guatemala City to Antigua – A Chicken Bus Ride Later…

We woke up dazed and confused in Guate, still tired after the long trip from the Petén jungle to the highlands. We packed and jumped into a taxi. Direction zona 7, the terminal from where all the buses to Antigua leave.

Nowadays—am I talking like one of these people?—many travellers prefer the relative comfort of direct shuttle buses that run frequently between Guate and Antigua. But these are minibuses, and I hate minibuses. Plus, they cost 80 Quetzales per person, ten times the price of the regular bus.

Each company has its own terminal in Guate City and they are scattered throughout the city. Además, to make things even more confusing, they don’t really have a name. “How am I supposed to explain the driver which terminal we want to be dropped off at?” I asked Feng. “Just tell him we want to take the bus de pollo,” he deadpanned. Unfortunately, “chicken bus” doesn’t translate as easily. I settled for “bus regular.”

Eventually, the taxi driver dropped us off in a busy street with colourful chicken buses lined up bumper to bumper, burping dark fumes. Driver’s helpers were standing at the opened bus door,  shouting out the destination. “’Tigua! ‘Tigua!”

We climbed in and braced ourselves for the fun but bumpy one-hour ride through the highlands.

Antigua hasn’t changed much. We spent a lot of time there in 2001 and 2003, mostly because it’s quiet, relatively safe and very picturesque. The city is in the highlands, stuck between Volcán Agua and Volcán Fuego. The colourful façades always remind me of Italy… but the population definitely has Maya blood!

Jesus Parade
Detail of the Facade of the Church
Colourful walls and Blue Sky
Old Buildings
Antigua´s Most Famous Church
Colourful Facades
Volcan Agua
The Plaza
Inside the Church
Gallo Beer Truck and Tuk Tuk
Old Walls (and Hospital!)
Chicken Bus
Main Plaza
Volcan Agua
Antigua Street
Old Church
Motorbikes
Fountain
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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