The Journey - The Chicken Bus 6/6

So we had 2 choices, a shuttle bus - a little mini bus that ferries travellers from one place to another, taking them through the border and everything, or a chicken bus that the guide book told us was more authentic and half the price. Stu really wanted to try the chicken bus as he had "fond" memories of the journeys he had made in South East Asia, so I bowed to his travelling knowledge.

The first bus of the day was a coach, quite nice with good seats and a movie in spanish, we had 3 hours on it so reading and sleeping were the best thing to do. Then we were at the Mexican border, how exciting our first land border crossing. We got off the bus and got our Passports stamped by the Mexican side then were bundled into a taxi with 3 other people and were driven to the Guatemalan border to get our stamp there. The drive could have been quick if the road wasn't littered with stalls selling clothes, food, and stuff, and the people on the road have no fear of cars they just keep walking and the cars keep driving.

So here we are in Guatemala got the stamp and everything to prove it!! As soon as we are out of the immigration office we are bundled in to a Tuc Tuc driven by a 12 year old to be taken to the bus depo. Then taken from the Tuc Tuc and told that yes this was our bus, I thought that was quite funny as I hadn't told the driver where we wanted to go yet!!!! So we have a discussion in pigeon Spanish and tell him we're going to Antigua ( at this stage our bags are on the roof and he tells me that we need to change bus). OK, I thought the bus looks cool from the outside and if we just have to change once it shouldn't be too bad. The buses are old American School buses panted in garish colours and 3 to a seat!

So we are on the chicken bus travelling all the way to Antigua, it's a hell of a long way and the seats are uncomfortable but thankfully we have one. People who get on the bus after us have to be the 3rd on the seat and when you have 2 sides where 3 are sitting the people at the edge are just wedged together nicely, hovering with barely one cheek perched on the seat! It wasn't too bad (actually what am I saying it was dreadful but not as bad as later) at least we had a seat and a seat together. Our diver really wanted to get to where ever the hell we were going quickly over taking anything that got in its way.

Then it was time to do our one change so we thought, our bags were taken for the roof of one bus to the roof of another with the random Guatemalan gentleman saying that this was the bus to Antigua. Time passed and our chicken flung itself round the corners of the mountain at amazing speed, you had to brace yourself against the seat across as you crashed into the guy sitting beside you. And then after a few hours we stopped again, but this time there was no bus waiting, we had to figure this one out for ourselves. The man on top of the bus had pointed to where the bus went from as it took off with Stu still inside(he claims he was waiting for me to find out if this was our stop or not) . I had to run after it, jump on , tell him we were getting off and jump off all as it was moving. We wondered up in the vague direction of the point that the next bus was apparently leaving from and asked around. We were told yet again that there was no direct bus to Antigua (no shit) and that we would have to change again.

Onto another bus with us this time no seats together. For some reason I thought this bus was only 1/2 an hour, I was very wrong. About 20 mins into it the crying started(by me , not stu) I just wanted to get off the bus. We were driving on roads that we being build at the time so it was really bumpy, we were the only Gringos on the bus and we didn't know where we were, it was all too much. Again the driver was quick and impatient but I reassured myself that they must make this journey all the time and they always drive like this and make it alive. Still I just wanted to be off.

The guy beside told me not to get off at the town that the guide book told us to and that we should stay on and get off at the next one, that's what I picked up form the break neck speed Spanish he was speaking. At this stage I didn't believe the guide book anymore - they told me that this would be a fun insight into the Guatemalan way of life - it wasn't.

We got off at the next stop to a flood of tears, the thought of another bus was too much to take. I should have know something was wrong when Stu suggested that we get a taxi to Antigua. I couldn't function enough to put my hand out for one. Later Stu told me that the buses stop a 7pm on our clock it was 7.30 he didn't have the heart to tell me. (later on we remembered the time difference we were an hour behind so we had another 30 mins of wonderful chicken bus time).

Our last Bus come in to view we jumped on and there are no seats not even the middle ones - typical of our luck- it could only be worse if we would have driven off a cliff. So we stand and guess what? I cry. We are wedged between 12 people each, 6 in front and 6 behind, there is no chance of falling, which I did on the last bus and was saved by the man beside me but have a massive bruise from his help. Then we are finally in Antigua, we are driving through the back streets away from the market, looking like we are going away from everything and I am going mad thinking that we will have to get out on one of these random streets and not know where we are. Then from nowhere the bus depo came into view and there we were - Antigua.

After a bit of trouble with the map we found our hostel that had been recommended to us. I lay on the bed and had another little cry. Stu then decided that we had to go for some nice food to make me feel better. And this is where the irony comes in, The cost of the chicken buses against the direct shuttle saved us 20pounds. This is the exact cost of a meal and a bottle of wine to make us feel better after a 12 hour day on chicken buses. Such is life.
It had been a very long day started at 8.30am 1 coach, a taxi, tuc tuc, and 4 chicken buses. NEVER AGAIN!!- shuttle buses all the way from now on.

San Cristobel Photos

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San Cristobal 2/6 - 6/6

We got down to Palanque town by collectivo a mini bus that serves as a taxi for loads of people you just wave them down and jump in and pay 10 pesos (about 50p), we found the bus and had enough time to get breakfast (this was before that I figured out that having the malaria tablets before food was not a good idea so my tummy was hopping after) drooped in to the chemist for some calamine lotion for the bites and hopped on the bus that was quite comfortable even if it was a second class one. The journey was uneventful fine.

What can I say San Cristobal we loved it little cobbled streets, brightly painted houses. A private little house for us in the Hostel and 2 beers for 25 pesos great. There was a TV room and DVDs which was great cause it was still raining. We would go walking and get soaked and just come back to the hostel and have some beers and watch some movies.

Finally cracked the bed big problem at that stage I looked like I had the plague I didn't want a photo taken, bow I wish I had just to see how bad they were. We used the sleeping pills that we got for the bus and had one good night of not scratching and then they went. I also said a little payer to St Anthony and that helped too.

On Wednesday we went on a tour of a Mayan village just outside of the town and our guide told us about their way of life. They are still very traditional, they are like the Aboriginals and think that if you take they photo that you will take their soul. Thankfully with the help of my 10x digital zoom I managed to get one without them seeing so I think that was OK well I hope it was. They still speak the indigenous language that they did before the Spanish came they don't know how to write it thought as all the books with it written in were burnt by the Church when the Spanish came saying they were dangerous.

There is a Church that everyone goes to see where the villagers come to pray to their gods. When the Spanish came to Meso America they thought that it would be easy to introduce Catholicism to them as they worshiped a cross but the believe behind it was so different to ours. The Church has a Christian faced but a very Mayan use. When you go in there are no seats, the ground is covered in pine needles to mark a difference from the outside to the place of worship. There are statues of Catholic saints but the people have put Mayan meaning behind them. The villagers come in to ask for help from the gods and they bring Candles, eggs, a chicken and fizzy drink. They believe that any energy expelled from the body is worship for the gods so hence the fizzy drink to make them burp. The eggs are there to expel bad spirits and the chicken is for a sacrifice. We stood around one family for a while to see if they would do it but then I started to feel bad that we were interrupting their praying.

Back in Town the rain had stopped on our last day and we got to walk around a bit. We found these steps that Stu wanted to climb so up we went. God we are so unfit. Half way up the steps two little girls came out of a house to talk to us. They had pieces of paper and asked us to write down our names and where we were from for school then they asked us how much we were going to sponsor them. Little buggers we were hustled by 2 8 year old girls. Later we found out that they had gotten someone else in our hostel so we didn't feel so bad. Then we stumbled upon a market and wondered round Stu got his hair cut and we say a very bizarre item on a butchers block, a cows mouth with teeth nostrils and everything we just had to take a photo.

Our few days in San Cristobal were over we were heading to Antigua the next day another Country very exciting.

Palenque Photos

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Palenque 31/5 - 1/6

Stu.
Hey there, so ok we have heard lots of tales about buses getting mugged at night by gangs of machette weilding, gun toting Mexicans so have decided not to take might buses anywhere. A sensible precaution to avoid what would undoubtaly be a negative experience, right?
All well and good but unfortunately the buses that leave Tulum to Palenque leave at 4.30pm, 6.30pm or 8.30pm. and as it´s an 11 hour journey we have our first dilemma ( other than the sunburn, bites and rain!...ok it´s like our 4th dilemma - we´re full on with dilemmas up to now on this trip!)
Anyway what to do? At this point i´ve decided that we will be robbed in the middle of the night and all that we need to do now is decide where to stash out debit and credit cards to lose as little as possible when the inevitable happens!! Just as a reassurance to parents and folk who might worry there are probably 95% of travellers who dont have any problems when travelling - I´m just a little paranoid.
We can´t let fear of possibilities stop us from doing things otherwise we may as well come home now. We bought the tickets, packed the credit cards in out big rucksacks that are going under the bus amidst some smelly, dirty clothes (the ones in our rucksacks- not just on the bus) and away we go.
Now we haven´t been sleeping well so the thought of 11 hours on the night bus was a little much so before we boarded we hit the farmacia for some sleeping pills - tried our limited spanish and asked for sleeping cake instead! After a questioning gaze from the shopkeeper we managed to make ourselves understood and got some Nytol.

Not much else to say about the journey, 2 Nytol and a beer makes for a good journey, although on top of the malaria tablets of which a side effect is some very strange realistic dreams it meant I was quite jumpy and kept waking whenever we slowed down, convinced the bandits were getting on!
So Palenque - We went to a small village in the jungle, it had a couple of hostels and restaraunts. In the afternoon we headed to the Ruins - Mayan ruins deep in the jungle that are spread over 15 kilometers. They were quite spectacular! some very cool photos were taken, check them out on the link.
So we walked around, got caught in downpours and headed back.
The jungle is a place where you should be issued a hard hat, every few minutes there is a loud thud as some random fruit/spiney thing drops from the trees and explodes as it hits the ground.
Next stop San Cristobal

Tulum 26/5 - 31/5

So I convinces Stu that flying to Tulum would be more practical and cost effective than taking the bus and we arrived at Mexico City airport again. The metro is great but boy do they love their stairs and with our back packs and the few beers we had had the night before it was hard. We got on the flight and 2 hours we were in Cancun rather that 12 hours no brainer eh? We cought a bus to Play Del Carmen and then from there to Tulum. We arrived and headed to the party hostel we had been told about the Weiry Traveller (thanks Sarah) ans checked in and promptly went to the bar where a 6 pack of beer cost 3 pounds!!! Nice one didn't really sleap that much I am trying to get used to the heat.

The next day we went to the beach, it is so beautiful it is like something out of a Bounty or Malabu add, the sand has specks of pink in it from the coral. The sun was so hot that we had to find a palm tree to shade ourselves in. We met up with a few people from our hostel and shared the bag looking after which was good. Then back to the hostel for more beer and the cook your own BBQ nice. We moved rooms in to an air conditioned room it would be good if it wasn't massive and we didn't have the beds furtherest away from the small box on the wall spitting out cool air.

That night the Tulum Welcome developed a very angry and sore sun burn on our chests and sholders. It is called the Tulum Welcome cause the first thing people do is go to the beach get scorched and can't do anything for a few days. So that started our 2 days of hiding from the sun. As an extra bonus I woke up the next morning with over 100 bed bug bites. We promptly moved to a hostel that was recommended to us by an English guy that was staying there for 3 weeks. Casa Del Sol a little bit out of the way but we got a private cabana for the same privet as a 12 bed dorm with bed bugs so that was good.

We went on a snorkeling tour of the Cenots which means caves we a really nice guy who set up his own business it feels good helping the little guy. The Cenotes were beautiful but very cold as was the weather. The firs one that we went into was inside the cave where we had to duck down under the water to get into the cave proper. It reminded me of that movie The Decent I kept thinking that monsters were going to come and get us. We ducked under the water again to see the huge underwater cave the visibility was brilliant. There were little fish swimming all round us it was so beautiful . We then went to 2 other Ceonts where the guide cough us a turtle to pet and then put it back to swim. It was great because it was a wet day we were the only people there the 6 of us. We had heard that they get really full but we got them to ourselves it was amazing.

So we settled in to the slow pace of Tulum as the rain pelted down on us all day long there was a tropical storm in Belise that kicked up all the rain. so no more beach and with out the beack there is not much more to do in Tulum so time to move again. We heard from some people that San Christobel is nice so we are off again.