Day 8 - In Transit

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Today started at 6:30am when Lacey and I caught the boat from Santa Cruz to Panajachel. From there we took a chicken bus to Guatemala City. This started off very badly. The bus was PACKED and I think I took out about 3 people with my bag then dropped my bag on some lady's head while trying to stuff it above into the racks.

For all those of you who don't know, a 'chicken bus' is a school bus that gets crammed with tons of locals, but is the cheapest mode of travel in Central America (other than free).

It was just over 3 hours to the capital. Luckily the bus didn't stay 3 to a seat for very long and Lacey and I were able to share a seat between just the two of us, instead of sitting with half a bum on the seat.

From Guatemala city was another bus to Coban which was much nicer. It had reclining seats. This was about 5 hours (including a stop for lunch). The bus guy confused us and asked where in Coban we were going. We told him, and thought he was therefore taking us straight to the hotel, so we didn't get off when others did. There were then 6 of us tourists on the bus. The bus went past Coban, ended in some other town. The bus guy told Lacey and I that we were going for dinner and then to our hotel. We ended up just turning back around to Coban and getting off the bus. It was all confusing but Lacey and I were laughing the whole time. So typical of travelling in Central America. The other tourists were not so amused. We were full of giggles.

We walked through the town, and found a hotel. A cute place with comfy beds. By the time we arrived, we'd been in transit for about 12 hours... long day of travel.

We found a nice place for dinner and are now at the internet cafe. Not a very exciting day. I did want to let you all know that I may not have access to internet for a little while. We're heading off early tomorrow to a hotel in Lanquin. It's rumored there's internet but if not, don't freak out that I haven't posted (cough MOM cough).

In Lanquin, there are some cool caves that we plan to explore tomorrow afternoon/evening. Apparently going with a guide at dusk is the most exciting, as all the bats fly out of the cave at this time. The hotel sounds cool too... apparently similar family dinners and such like the last we were at.

Then Thursday we're thinking of the beautiful waterfalls/pools/rivers at Semuc Champey. Friday I head out to Tikal. Or at least that's the current plan. We'll see how it goes. Having fun travelling with Lacey. She's a riot. She was a drama major in College so she's one of us 'campy types' whatever that means...

Well, I'll update when I can. HASTA LUEGO!

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