Quiero mi cama

Ok I have loved the adventure and I have offically caught the travel bug. I am already thinking about where I want to go next. With that said. I am SO ready to come home tomorrow.

Yesterday was probably the worst day I have had since I've been here. (Not really that bad one in what 28 days- odds are good) Anyhow, Rebecca and I thought we should save ourselves $100US and take the overnight bus (10 hours) from Flores to Guatemala City instead of taking the one hour flight. Well I can't even say it was a mistake. The bus ride was ok. And considering there was a landslide earlier in the day and people were having to walk 15km to get to their buses, we were doing fabulous.

So we had it all planned sleep on the bus as much as possible (earpluggs and benedryl helped) and tranfer to a bus in Guatemala City to Panajanel. We get to Guatemala City and take a taxi to the other bus station. We thought we were getting a pullman service (fancy bus) for the 3 hour drive, but oh how mistaken we were. The only way to get to Panajanel, was via a Chicken Bus.

To understand transportation in Guatemala, is to understand the Chicken Bus. Chicken buses, do not acutally contain chickens, so please calm down. They are however usually packed so full with people that they feel as if they are chickens. A chicken bus in an American school bus that has some extra hardware: handle bars from the ceiling and luggage racks on the roof and a new coat of paint (usually lots of loud colors). These are the main source of long distance transportation for people in Guatemala. Luckily for us it was not that crowded, but we did stop every 5 minutes to pick someone up or drop someone off literally on the side of the road. If I wasn't in such a bad mood that day, I might have taken a picture. So after about 4 hours we arrive in Panajanel.

At this point, Rebecca and I are done. We have not eaten breakfast, we have been on busses for 15 hours straight, we are dirty, and we don't really care how pretty the lake is. We think the best solution would be to shower and eat lunch. The shower at our new hotel, not fun. Its hot, but there is zero pressure. The water is so hot that I think I might have developed burns had I not switched the electric off. Not really helpful in making me feel clean. Ok next step. EAT. Lunch it good. It helps make the stomach feel better, our moods however not improved. I am happy I am going home in 2 days, Rebecca is reconsidering her 6 month stay in Latin America.

It is now 3 o'clock. We don't know what else to do so we take a lancha to San Pedro, on of the towns along Lake Atitlan. We wait for about 30 minute for the boat to fill up before we leave. The lake is nice, but we can't really see anything on the boat because there are curtain like things around the edge. We get there, have disgustingly sweet cup of hot chocolate and get back on a boat to Panajanel. Oh but this time it was a local boat, PACKED with people. I was squished the entire time and my but wasn't even on the bench for most of it. Talk about uncomfortable.

We decide to book a luxury shuttle back to Antigua for the next morning so we don't have to go through the Chicken bus again, have dinner and go to bed. We decide to call this day a wash.

Luckily today we both feel a lot better. We woke up took some pictures of the lake and had some breakfast before catching our shuttle.

So I am now back in Antigua for one night before I leave to come home. I am glad to be back in a hotel with clean beds and hot, good pressure showers. I have completely enjoyed my experience here, but I am so ready to come back home. I may have some final reflective thoughts when I return, but for now I just ready to leave. Most imporantally: Quiero MI cama!