We are home--or at least, headed that way--sitting in the Atlanta airport after saying good-by to our new friends. The tour far exceeded our expectations, and we can heartily recommend Caravan and Guatemala. Some of our fellow travelers tell us that not all tour groups are as congenial as this one. Someone suggested that our tour guide Guillermo set a very positive tone. We rotated seating, so no one got stuck with the post in the middle of their view or sitting next to the bathroom the whole time. That also meant that we were constantly across the aisle from different people. Everyone seemed to view difficulties as part of the advanture, not something to complain about. When we got stranded for that extra morning in the northern province, Caravan picked up the cost of the bird walk for those who were interested. Table conversations were interesting, sharing stories of family and previous travel.
One of the things we all enjoyed was the variety of modes of travel. No seat belt laws here. We passed trucks jammed with extended family or with children sleeping on bundles.
These little taxis were common, a good way to get from Hotel Atitlan into town for shopping or from town to the nature reserve.
But what we were constantly trying to capture was the "chicken buses." That's the English descriptive name because of the cargo often carried in baskets on the roof. These privately owned means of mass transit started life as American school buses.
I did a lot of trying to snap from our moving tour bus, and ended up with blurrs or pictures of the empty road after a bus had just past. This one I got at a rest stop.
These were stopped by the police to allow us to pass up a narrow one-way street in Sololá so that we could have space to make the turn onto the highway toward Guatemala city.
Maybe next visit to Guatemala, I'll have to ride one. And I certainly hope there will be another trip to Guatemala.
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