Traveling in Guatemala
October 13, 2009
So last week Leonidas asked me to come with him to Chiquimula, which is a good hour drive from Esquipulas. Leonidas needed to renew, from what I could decipher in relation to the US, his driver´s license. Even though it looked more like a passport and Leonida cannot drive, your guess is as good as mine.
(Ma´, you can do yourself a favor and stop reading now)
Anyway, we left for Chiquimula in the morning and took a bus that was considerable to a small school bus, not the best in mobility. And I got to say, I think the bus drivers here have a death wish because they pass in and out of lanes–non passing zones, going down mountain sides with blind curves, multiple cars at once–like they´re running from the cops. I found out that my life that day and everyone else´s lives on that bus were worth around 12 Quentzales each or roughly $1.50. The only thing the driver and his partner cared about was getting payed, which was why we stopped in every small town along the way or even off the side of the road with little to no shoulder just to pick up a passenger and fill the bus to capacity.
Nonetheless, we made it to Chiquimula in just under an hour so that we could wait in line for over an hour. The line reminded me of St. Paul´s DMV (the one on University Ave.). The people behind the counter had no sense of urgency and seemed very content on making everyone wait. As it turned out, Leonidas got fed up with waiting–I think our number was in the twenties and after an hour and a half they had only reached double digits– so we took off to explore the city.
Chiquimula did not really impress me. The city is a little larger than Esquipulas and about twice the dust and pollution. However, Leonidas wanted to cheer me up by taking me to McDonald´s, I graciously declined and offered to buy him a Gallo (beer) instead. He accepted and we found a tiny restaurant with a cool music player. There, I was introduced to the music of Vicente Fernández, well know for la música vernácula ranchera. He was pretty good. At least something positive came from the day.
Overlooking Esquipulas
