Cambio, cambio! Taxi? Minibus! Hotel?
This is what you hear when you get to any frontera in Central America. Here, borders invariably feature a lot of police and military, chaotic crowds, more or less zealous passport checks and a lot of walking. Indeed, the actual border—usually a gate in the middle of the road—is often located a few kilometres from the nearest border towns, hence the need to walk or take a taxi.
We got our passports stamped at the Belizean border to exit the country and walked to the Guatemala border check, i.e. two long zigzagging lineups of travellers waiting for migracíon officers to stop talking on their cellphones and actually stamp passports. No questions were asked and no phone conversation was interrupted, we got a new stamp.
Then we had to take a taxi to Melchor de Mencos, the first Guatemalan town from where we had planned to take a bus to Flores. There used to be chicken buses doing the two-hour trip several times a day but apparently, it’s not the case anymore—the next bus was leaving at 4:30 p.m. and it was only 10 a.m.
A few taxis tried to convince us to use their services to get to Flores, without much success. First, there was the cost factor, second, most taxis have cracked windshields and doors that don’t actually open. Fine for a short ride between towns, but not for a 100-kilometre trip.
Plan B was to take the minibus. I complain loudly to Feng: “Not the minibus! I said, not the minibus!” But it was a short tantrum since we didn’t really have the choice.
I hate minibuses. First, they are more expensive. Second, they are often packed with gringos. Third and most importantly, drivers invariably get paid by trip and tend to drive extremely fast. We have never been lucky with minibus. In 2003, going from Oaxaca to Puerto Angel in Mexico, we were both sick for hours, which is rare since neither of us get motion sickness (we later learned that the ride was dubbed “the puke ride” by travellers). More recently, last winter, I thought we were going to die in some of the Thai minibuses we took.
But this wasn’t the usual minibus ride. First, there were no other gringos. Second, the driver managed to fit at least twenty people in the minibus. Luggage went on top, on the roof, and we tied the backpacks tight to make sure they would still be there when we arrived.
We were offered the front seat, beside the driver. The two of us were on one seat, and no working seat belts, of course. I sighed and glanced at the odometer as we exited the town. The needle was stuck on zero kilometres and a bunch of lights and warnings with red exclamation points were flashing.
So I chose to look out the window. The road cut through hills and green fields. Everything seemed to green, so lush! Horses were wandering around, as well as chickens and the occasional cows. Parts of the road were still unpaved and the driver didn’t hesitate to move to the left “lane”—not that there were actual lanes—to avoid the biggest holes. Of course, he also had to dodge the traffic coming from the opposite direction but he seemed to enjoy the exercise. Well, I’m sure he would have if he had stopped texting and talking on his cell phone.
A death ride, I’m telling you.
We finally got to Santa Elena two hours later and jumped into another taxi to the hotel, in Flores. Santa Elena is the dirty, dusty and chaotic part of the town, while Flores, the island in the middle of the lake, is quieter and more “upscale.” More on that later…
Alright, we made it to Guatemala for Xmas—this is where we wanted to spend the holidays. Petén jungle, llegamos! l!
Ah, I see you’re ahead of me! I’ll be in Flores in about three weeks from now!
I guess we will miss each other, I think we will be done with Guate by then. We wanted to spend Xmas there, most festive, same goes for New Year.
I´m sending you tips.
Merry Xmas & Happy Holidays!
THank you, and same to you!
Beautiful photos of the lake. Merry Christmas.
Thank you! Merry Xmas to you too!
Hi Zhu,
Wishing for you & Feng a memoral Xmas in Guatemala.
Make it special and make a wish on a star for future travels and happiness.
Bises.
Thank you Barb! I wish you the best for 2012 🙂
Wow the story in the minibus is scary, but the photos are beautiful.
Merry Christmas to you Zhu 🙂
Same to you! We will have a late Xmas coffee when I get back!
Merry Christmas, Zhu!
Thank you, same to you!