Tango el pan bajo el brazo

The more I travel the more important it feels to experience a place like the locals do rather than having a ‘tourist vacation’. For me this means eating in local restaurants, shopping in local markets, and taking local transportation. When I told my host mom that I decided to bypass the tourist shuttle to take the local bus to check out the Chichicastenago market today she raised her eyebrows in a bit of a ‘why are you going to do that’ kind of way. Chi-chi (as they call it) has the biggest market in the country on Sundays and Thursdays.

When United States school buses are retired they are brought to Guatemala. Here, the Guatemaltecans ‘soup them up’ with a new paint job, pumpin’ stereo, and usually some Jesus bling in the front windows. They’re called ‘chicken buses’ and they’re used for local and distance transport all over the country. They’ve earned the name because all types of cargo are permitted, including small livestock. The distance buses go from a city to a city, but the stops in between are dictated solely by demand: if there’s someone at the side of the road to be picked up or if someone on the bus wants off. So the bus could stop 4 times within 1 city block or none.

I got up before the sun this morning because I had gotten conflicting reports on how long it would take to get to Chi-chi (anywhere from 2.5 to 5 hours) and I wanted to make sure I’d be back before dark. When my bus left the bus park there were only a handful of passengers, but by the time we reached the outskirts of town the bus was packed. The process was cool to see: the driver slows down or stops to pick up riders (based on perceived fitness level for ability to jump onto a moving bus). The conductor jumps on and off the bus, hollering out the destination to attract new riders. He’s also in charge of climbing on top of the bus to stow cargo, climbing back down and swinging himself into the bus while it is going full speed, and squeezing through the crowded bus aisle to collect payment (skillfully remembering who has paid and who hasn’t).

When I say the bus was packed I’m not kidding. There were at least 3 bums per seat, plus people standing in the aisles. At one point I was sure we were at capacity but we stopped and 4 or 5 more people shoved on. Any chance of holding onto any personal space was lost!

(Photo before it got really crazy!)

A chicken bus is an assault on all senses! Every few stops someone would get on and try to sell something (ranging from drinks and snacks to shampoo samples and toothpaste). The vendor would stand at the front of the bus and shout out his sales pitch to the captive audience for anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes. At one point a guy dressed like a clown came on and shouted what I think was a comedy routine. It was difficult to hear and understand over the pounding music.

To top it all off the bus rounded corners like it was on a NASCAR track. I had 1 arm braced against a neighbouring seat and 1 ankle wrapped around the seat leg, but I still couldn’t hold myself from fully leaning onto my neighbours during the tight turns. It was a bit like the Scrambler ride at stampede.

With the help of some lovely Guatemaltecans I successfully made both of my connections and was in Chi-chi in 2.5 hours. I loved every minute of the trip. This is why I travel!

As for Chi-chi, the market was very similar to the markets in the other cities in Guatemala, except it’s bigger and busier. It was a bit overwhelming. I managed to take a few pictures, have some local eats, and found a really cool above ground cemetary. The return trip was just as smooth and just as crazy. Now it’s early to bed to prepare for my last week at school.