22 hours later, here i am at lago de atitlan, staying at la iguana perdida. what an amazing place, a lake at 5500 feet surrounded by volcanoes and small towns.
i left belize in a taxi to get to benque, it cost a few dollars more than the bus but i couldn't get myself to get on another bus in san ignacio. he dropped me off a few feet from the border and i walked into the office to check out of belize, $27bz to get out. which i don't quite understand why every country charges you money to enter then leave. they're getting all of my tourist dollars, that should be sufficient, i think. the next few feet of walking before guatemala was a cluster of men with huge wads of cash offering to change my us or belize dollars to quetzals, necessary if i wanted to get on my next bus. a few more feet was guatemala immigration, basically stamp my passport and bienvenido. easy.
walking from belize to guatemala was a nite and day change in scenery. i left english speaking, run down, rock and roll playing towns and entered a colorful wonderland of spanish speaking, printed handmade clothing and mariachi music. i'm not sure yet what they call the music here but it reminded me of mexico. everything reminded me of mexico, i instantly felt better and so happy to be here.
i found a taxi to the nearest bus station and hopped a bus to flores. i think the worst parts of travel for me are when i get out of a bus or taxi, half a dozen people magically appear around me all trying to take me somewhere, and speaking so fast that i can't figure out what any of them are saying. in flores i was let off outside a large building but i had no idea that it was the bus stop. i managed to make it known that i needed a bus to guatemala city and was led into an office. now had i known that i was actually in the bus station i would have gone to the counter and bought a ticket. but there were no buses and no signs so i gave the guy money and got a ticket. then he takes me through a little door and i see the bus station. duh. i probably paid a few extra dollars for some guy to buy my ticket for me. i have to learn a little more patience, to understand my surroundings better before making decisions. i thought i had worked on that but apparently not enough.
now i have a ticket to guatemala city and 5 hours to kill. the bus station is not like in mexico, all the benches are concrete and not a place i'd like to sit for a few hours. a soccer game is on and about 30 men are crowded around a 20" tv, smoking and yelling. i wander around for a bit, find some food, and snuggle into a terribly uncomfortable seat with my kindle.
i booked a first class bus which turned out to be similar to the ones in mexico, almost but not quite as nice. my seat mate rudy was born in guatemala but lived in new york for 17 years, it was nice to understand someone. my ears weren't picking up much of the spanish here. i managed to sleep for almost the entire 9 hours.
it was fortunate that i met rudy because i was planning on having him direct me to the correct bus to panajachel but he got off 10 minutes before the bus station. so no guide. and as usual, surrounded by men wanting to take me in their bus or taxi or tuktuk and i can't figure out what's going on. mostly i stared at everyone and said 'necesito ir a panajachel' over and over. eventually i got in a taxi and after a few minutes the driver pulls over to make a phone call, he called his son who speaks english and i told him where i needed to go and he told his father. so this guy is driving me around and doesn't even know where i want to go.
a few more minutes we get to a bus and shuttle. and again i can't get them to speak slowly so i start repeating 'necesito ir a panajachel' again and i have 2 guys left who want to take me. one has a nice bus, the other a van. they both say that they will take me where i want to go. i feel more bonded to my taxi driver since our drive so i ask his opinion, he says one is more comfortable, the other a little quicker. so i opt for the bus, i'm not ready to be squished into a van after so many hours of travel. this was not the correct choice.
turns out that the bus driver was taking me to another place where i could catch 2 more buses to get where i wanted to go. i missed that part.
i got on the bus and promptly fell asleep, woken up by a man shouting scripture and singing and shaking a gourd type instrument for about 20 minutes. then he walked around collecting donations. next up was a man with pictures of a digestive system and explaining how important it was to have a healthy gut. he passed out bottles of herbs for people to buy. then came a man who lost the use of one of his arms and needed money for a doctor.
the bus was stopping to pick up people along the highway so i finally got a seatmate, a younger guy. i pulled out my lonely planet's map of guatemala and asked where we were (i think i was on the bus for about 2 hours at this point), he pointed to a spot where i didn't want to be. we had taken a road away from panajachel and were now going north straight up into the mountains. i think this is when i finally understood what the guys at the bus were saying and it was way too late to do anything about it. there was another hour and a half before i'd get to a connecting road to take me back south.
at this point i was really wishing i had my toothbrush. deoderant. soap. coffee. anything to eat. a bathroom. someone who wouldn't talk so freaking fast and use baby words with me.
desperation made me turn on my cell phone to find a map of guatemala and figure out where the hell i was. and how i could get back. probably the most expensive iphone blue dot ever. in reality, though, i paid 20 quetzals, somewhere around $3, for a 4 hour mountain tour. i tried to adjust my thinking.
finally the man i originally spoke with came to get me and told me that i needed to get off, he grabbed my backpack and give it to a man standing behind a chicken bus. they lashed it to the roof and i got on. hoping this was the right bus.
i thought i was on a chicken bus in belize but now i truly know what one is. i found a seat near the back, music blaring, and right before the bus took off about 40 more people got onto the already crowded bus. we sat 3 or 4 per seat and the aisle was crushed with people. all wearing beautiful handmade colorful clothing. i was the only white person, which wasn't bad, but what a novelty for the people, gringos usually don't come here. wherever i was.
bus starts rolling, more people getting on along the road, i realize that if i needed to get off somewhere there's no way i can get out. or yell over the music. guess i'm going wherever this bus takes me.
i pulled out my phone for another blue dot check and i actually was going the direction i wanted. oh thank god. and i managed to keep my backpack with me as well. at some point i had made peace with losing all of my belongings just in case.
this bus stopped in a town that wasn't panajachel and i got the idea that i needed to find another bus. 3 blocks, i think he said. i start walking and hurray there's a taxi. i cannot get on another bus today. god only knows where i'll end up. i get a ride to the town and walk to the dock. almost there.
a bunch of us pile into a small boat and the man behind me, norman, starts talking to me in english. and he's lived here for 6 years. finally someone to explain where i need to go with no question about what he is saying. and i get the guided tour of the lake (which is huge), he's pointing out small towns everywhere. things to do. hikes. it takes about 10 minutes to get to santa cruz. and when we pull up to the dock i can see the sign for my hostel! a shower is in sight!
la iguana perdida is a very nice place. it was hard to communicate with them while in belize so i emailed shortly before i left and said that i'd like the $18 per night room with private bathroom. but if its not available i'd rather be upgraded than downgraded. so i'm currently in a $30 per night room and will move to the cheaper one on monday. they have a full restaurant and bar, dinner is communal and you have to sign up in advance, i'm doing yoga at 5, and friday nite is trivia nite.
there is no wifi here (omg omg omg) and the cable connections don't work with my computer. i guess i should be thankful, though, they just got electricity a few years ago.
oh, and sorry for the typos, i actually have to pay to use internet so i'm not going to proofread much...
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