The Guatemalan Adventure

July 2005 [ Main Page ]

The scene inside a minibus from Tikal to Coban. Minibuses are the most luxurious transportation you'll find, but even they stop and pick people up until you're crammed four to a seat and some stranger is sitting in your lap. The way to get around in Guatemala is to stand by the side of the highway and wait until a vehicle comes by. Chances are that it will be an old American school bus from the '70s, a newer light-duty van fitted out with four or five rows of seats run by a couple of entrepreneurs, or a huge flatbed truck with aftermarket rails on three sides and perhaps a tarp thrown over it, into which people will pack themselves like cattle.