Get on the bus, Gus

Public transportation, the "chicken buses" and micro-buses, still present a mental hurdle for me. I fear that somewhere along the way, I have gotten older and more worrisome, or maybe I am just cautious by nature.

"Chicken buses" are old American school buses that come down to Guate for a second life. They get a fresh paint job with vivid colors, flames and multi-colored stripes, then are supped up with flashing lines, loud horns and luggage racks. Almost all of them have a name, as any bus should.

Photos from guatemalanchickenbuses.com

 These are the buses that take you anywhere you want to go. Each one has a driver and an ayudante whose job it is to fill the bus. They lean out the stairwell door, calling out where we are going, shuffling people on as fast as possible and hauling their loads onto the roof. They hop on and off the bus, sometimes running alongside it to jump into the open door. Then, the ayudante has to squeeze through the jammed aisle to collect money from each passenger. It is ridiculous.

Photo from guatemalanchickenbuses.com

The part that I don't especially like is they pack these things FULL. I'm talking three people to a seat, plus an impossible number of people standing in the aisle. Many of the passengers have a baby strapped on their back, are carrying huge loads, or are older people precariously wobbling around. The drivers barely wait long enough for you to get on before they take off at full speed, honking their horns to attract other passengers and taking corners so hard that even they have to hold on for dear life.

On multiple occasions I have had day dreams about the bus tipping over on the highway, and exactly which items would fall on me (a few kids, some guy looking at dirty pictures on his cell phone, a bundle of flowers, several backpacks, a rack of dried mystery snacks, a heavy bundle of zucchini, carrots, papaya and mangoes...) before my head hits the ground.

The thing is, this is the way you get around. In spite of all their --- quirks -- the buses definitely get you where you want to go, and they are inexpensive (a 3-hour trip cost something like 50Q there and back, or just over $6). Even better, almost anywhere can be a pick-up point, and almost anywhere can be a stop. (Well, as long as you can make it to the front of the bus in time). There's no exact schedule to follow in order to catch one, and if you can't read or don't know how to get to where you're going, there are plenty of people around to help you. Or you can just listen to their calls, Guate Guate Guate! A Pana Pana Pana! Los Encuentrooooooos!

On days when I have field visits for Friendship Bridge/Kiva, I take these buses for hours. My first trip to Quetzaltenango was three hours and 7 buses ONE WAY. If it's that hard to get there, imagine how hard it is to get a loan! Sorry, just a little microcredit joke.

I am getting used to the buses, slowly but surely. Once I can take my mind off how fast we are going and the paranoia subsides, the bus rides offer beautiful views of the countryside, aldeas tucked into rows of farm land, animals grazing and just people going about their business.

Most of all, I am grateful to have the opportunity to meet the Friendship Bridge clients and peek into their reality. It can be a long trip to reach them, but it has been worth it every time.