Second only to natural disasters, going car-free in Guatemala gave us the most compelling opportunities to increase grey hairs, prematurely age, reconsider our will, and pray. Other times it just kept us on our toes, and sometimes was downright enjoyable.
Chicken Buses or Caminonetas
These souped up, former school buses are tearing all around the country. They are painted with bright colors, sound like tractors, and belch out black smoke in their wake. The local people know the routes and general times when these buses may show. It’s not always reliable, but one eventually comes along. When they’re full it’s not unusual to have three to a seat. If you’re the aisle person, count on room for only one cheek.
Luggage, bikes, produce, and chickens are tossed onto the roof. You may pay a little extra for that. The young guy hanging out the door will come down the aisle to pick up the fare. He remembers who has paid and who is new.
Some chicken buses come with a hell-fire preacher at the front, like the bus we often took to the next town Solola. Those should have a discounted fare.
Tuk Tuks
These are three wheeled taxis. In our small town there is a flat rate of 5Q or 65 cents, anywhere in town. You can get the phone numbers of guys who are reliable. This is how our girls got to and from school everyday, taking tuks with 2 or 3 other friends. They would come to the house like a mini school bus, and wait for them at the school to pick
them up. Great, reliable kid transportation.
Pick-ups
This was another common way for people to get from town to town. They cost the same as a chicken bus. Pick-ups also travel on the smaller routes which couldn’t support a whole bus. This is the most popular way the women got their produce to market. Mostly the drivers use the smaller Toyota pick-ups. Sometimes there will be over twenty people standing in back, with five men hanging off the back, standing on the bumper. You pay the driver when you get off.
Motos
We ended up buying two motorcycles when we lived in Guatemala. We learned to drive them on a soccer field. The girls took one to and from school, I used the other. Love the motos. You can buy a new one for a little over a thousand dollars.
Boats-Lanchas
Since we lived on a lake, we took a lot of boats. Many kids came to school in our town from the villages around the lake. These boats run on a loose time schedule, but honestly, they won’t leave until the boat is full enough to make it worth their while, however long that takes. Boats on Atitlan typically won’t travel when it gets dark, and rarely have life jackets. They sometimes do. Lake rumor has it that if the boat goes down, swim away from the masses. The
indigenous people generally don’t know how to swim and think all gringos do, so climb on top of them. Don’t know if it’s true, don’t care to find out.
There are standard rates that the local people pay, but you won’t get those rates. They will make up something and you may be at their mercy, or try to bargain it down. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. There’s always the option to hire a private one boat take you to various villages around the lake for a price. We often did this when family came to visit.
Shuttles
There were booked in the smaller travel agencies found everywhere in our town. Again, you can travel to anywhere in the country in these small white vans that hold between 12-15 people, usually other tourists. Shuttles cost more than a chicken bus, but are more comfortable, and still very affordable. They do door to door. We had a couple of guys we used regularly.
These were the main ways we got around when we lived in Guatemala.