Saturday, April 17, 2021

No Booze For You!

Bert and I get a kick out of what a big bunch of whiners the people in the U.S. and Canada are over COVID-19 restrictions. They have no idea! Guatemala goes over the freaking top when a new rule comes out. Back when coronavirus started, they were arresting and fining people who didn't wear masks. Arresting them! Compliance rates increased quickly, as you can imagine.

The latest development here in Guatemala is that, due to rising cases of Covid-19, President Gianmattei decreed that bars are no longer allowed to sell liquor after 6pm. And they were NOT kidding!

Below is a photo taken last night by the press. It is just down the street from our house -- just a couple hundred meters away. There is a little cantina there. Guess they didn't hear the news.

police with dog and machine gun enforcing rules in Guatemala
A police office with a machine gun and a police dog enforcing COVID-19 rules
Can you imagine if this happened in the U.S.? People would lose their minds! And this was probably at 6:05 pm. No leeway! We said you close at 6, you close at 6! 
Here's another photo of how many cops showed up at this tiny little bar. Overkill much?

police in Panajachel enforcing COVID-19 rules
Police in Panajachel enforcing new Covid-19 rules

They had brought in cops from other districts to help enforce the new liquor restrictions. There were trucks all over town visiting all the bars. And there are a LOT of bars here. But the message got out pretty quick and everyone just shut their doors and went home. The cops will probably cruise around again tonight (Saturday) and give menacing looks to everyone, then leave town for the week. 

On the one hand, it's nice to see the government taking the pandemic so seriously. (The President is a former doctor, so that has a lot to do with it.) On the other hand, holy authoritarianism, Batman. Chill, dudes. Maybe kick back and have a beer ... but not after 6! 👮



Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Rainy Day Walk to the Mirador

Woke up late today and decided to go for a walk to the lookout on the way to Santa Catarina. I chose to ignore the dark blue clouds on the horizon as I set out.

Didn't huff and puff too badly on the long upward walk to the mirador. I remember the first time I walked up there, six years ago, and I hadn't yet adjusted to the altitude and felt like I had a bad hangover -- dizzy, breathless, and pain in the back of my head. Now it's just regular pain from being out of shape and climbing a big hill for 45 minutes. Totally worth it though, as you can see from this picture.

Lake Atitlan Guatemala
View from the lookout (mirador) near Santa Catarina Palopó, Guatemala

Just as I arrived at the viewing area, the rain started. I took some video, gazed around a bit, then figured I should start walking back. The thing with rain in Guatemala is that it could stop in 10 minutes or it go on all night, and it's hard to predict which is going to happen. So it's often just best to get it over with, even if you get soaked.

The rain got heavier as I walked downhill at a brisk pace. It's the end of dry season, all the leaves are brown, (hmm, that's a song, isn't it?), so it feels warm like summer but it smells like fall. I was wearing a tank top and shorts, but it wasn't that cold until I entered an open area where the wind blew off the lake. Brrr. I was happy I wore a baseball hat too as it kept the rain off my head. I'm sure I would have been a lot colder if my hair was wet. As it was, the most irritating part of walking in the rain was that my feet slipped around in my sandals.

About halfway home, it actually hailed for a little bit. The hailstones were pretty small, about the size of Nerds candy (weird size reference, sorry) and they pinged off the steamy asphalt and stung my arms as they fell. I figure that's the closest I've been to a snowstorm in six years. Luckily, it didn't last for long. I think I would have taken shelter if I was going to get pelted with hail for more than a few minutes.

Was soaked to the skin by the time I got home. It was nice to warm up with a hot coffee. It's a weird thing here when the weather is so nice all the time. Any change, even a supposed negative one like getting caught in the rain, seems exciting. I always thought that winter makes summer feel better. Here in Guatemala, the rainy season makes you appreciate the dry season. 

So here's some video for your enjoyment.


Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Easter in Panajachel 2021

A very subdued Semana Santa this year. Lots of food booths and vendors set up, but no big alfombras -- the religious carpets of colored sawdust they usually put down in the streets for the procession to walk through. The only one we saw was in front of the church. I saw on Facebook that there were carpets in other towns around the Lake though. Maybe next year it will be back to normal.

Church in Panajachel at Easter
The big church in Panajachel showing Easter decorations.

Bert and I took Big Boy & Chunk for a walk to the church near sunset on Good Friday to see what was going on. Not much, to be honest. There was only a tiny procession with no band. The music came from a speaker system dragged behind. Perhaps we missed the big parades? We've been here six years and neither of us can ever remember what happens when. 

Big Boy taking in the sights.

Chunk was super squirrelly on the walk. So much excitement!
We strolled down a very crowded Santander Street but Bert actually bailed before the Lake because there were too many people. We went back again on Saturday (minus the dogs) to see more sights and eat some yummy carnival food. Everywhere smells like barbecue -- so mouth-watering! People walk around eating corn on the cob or pizza or cotton candy. There are a lot of extra booths but they all seem to sell the same old touristy stuff like tshirts, sun hats, jewelry, toys, local textiles, and crafts.

Lake Atitlan at Easter
Near sunset at Lake Atitlan showing the volcanoes.

In the picture above, you can see in the bottom right, there is a guy selling tiny bags of cotton candy. They only cost Q1. That's about 16 cents Canadian or 13 cents American.

Granizada booth in Panajachel
Granizadas are slushies or slurpees. These ones are made with alcoholl. A michelada is beer with tomato juice. Very strange.

Fried platano in Guatemala
Delicious fried platano (plaintain) with cream and sugar.

churros at Lake Atitlan
Churros! They need to sell these year-round, rather than just during fairs.

Party boats at Lake Atitlan
The party boats were kinda quiet this year. Usually their music is painfully loud.

the river delta at Lake Atitlan during Easter
Walking across the river delta from the Pana side to the Jucanya side.

arch and chicken bus at Easter in Panajachel
A chicken bus passing under an Easter arch in Panajachel.

Easter (known here as Semana Santa -- Holy Week) is a pretty even split between fanatic religious traditions and insane drunkenness. On Santander, the bars were all pumping out crazy-loud music and the "sexy dancing ladies" were back in town. They're attractive women hired by the alcohol companies to dance and sell booze. They were dressed rather modestly this year, I thought, plus they were wearing masks and face shields, which was nice.

There we tons of cops hanging about, plus I saw a few young people wearing special shirts that said something like "Pana we protect you". They were giving people hand sanitizer and masks. There were signs posted on the way into Panajachel that reminded people to wear masks and keep distance. The mask-wearing was pretty well adhered to but social distancing certainly was not. But I mean, it's the biggest festival all year, so... can't really blame them. I saw a newspaper article that said they estimated there were 100,000 visitors to Panajachel on Saturday. (The town has less than 20,000 residents.)

Anyhoo, here's a very short video of the Easter procession from some footage of how crowded it was around town.


I had a strange realization -- there are no Easter activities for kids here like we do back home in Canada. No coloring eggs or hunting for hidden jelly beans. No Easter bunny. The only Easter chocolates I saw in the store were imports like KitKat and M&Ms. I wonder if non-religious Easter traditions will eventually start to catch on here like Halloween has? 

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend. 🐰 

In case anyone is wondering, here are the COVID-19 numbers for Guatemala. 

COVID-19 coronavirus statistics Guatemala April 2021
COVID-19 Situation in Guatemala

Quick translation:

Active cases - 8,592

Accumulated cases - 195,471

Registered deaths - 6,891

I would beseech any tourists who are visiting Panajachel, please please PLEASE wear your mask whenever you are out of your hotel room. Tourists are bringing more of the virus into the country and being blatantly disrespectful by not wearing masks. Guatemala can't handle this pandemic. I read that the local hospital has only two ventilators. TWO. They don't have enough beds for everyone and sick people are literally sleeping on the floor in the hallways of the hospital. You may not be sick, but you could infect a local person and they won't get the medical help they need. The "registered" deaths listed above is a huge underestimate. Most Guatemalans in the Lake Atitlan area don't trust doctors and will die in their homes. Lake Atitlan's biggest income source is tourism, so they need foreigners to come and spend their money. But PLEASE show some respect to the country that has accepted you as a valued guest. Wear your mask! 😷

Monday, February 22, 2021

Visa Run from Panajachel to Tapachula 2021

Back at the end of January, I did my first visa run since the pandemic started.

ZERO OUT OF TEN. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND.

I have done these visa runs for almost six years now and you can look back in my blog to see previous entries. I'm pretty much an expert at going from Pana to Tapa, but that doesn't make it any more fun.

If you are thinking, "How do I do a visa run to Tapachula?", well, just stop thinking that and pick a different way to get your tourist stamp! It is an adventure not worth having. Walk into any travel agency in Pana and book a nice clean shared shuttle to San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico. More expensive and actually a longer trip, but a lot safer and easier.

However, if you are absolutely sure you want to waste two travel days in dirty, dangerous, overcrowded chicken buses just to get another stamp, I can tell you exactly how to get it done.

COVID-19 protocol chicken bus Guatemala
A chicken bus driver surrounded by plastic as COVID-19 protection. (Guatemala)

First of all... what is a visa run?

Guatemala only allows tourists to stay in the country for 90 days from entry. When you arrive in Guatemala, the border official will put an entry stamp in your passport with 90 written in a box. This is the same if you arrive by air or by land, and I suppose by boat too, if that's your thing. 

After 90 days, you have three options if you want to spend more time in Guatemala.

1. Go to the migration office in the city and get an extension. This can only be done once. I haven't done this but I am considering it for my next renewal, partially just to see how it's done in order to tell you guys about it, and partially because of the painful memory of this last visa run.

2. Go on a visa run, or border run, to another country, stay out of Guatemala for 72 hours, and get a new 90-day stamp upon re-entry. Note that the other CA-4 countries don't count for this -- El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. You have to go to Mexico or Belize, or further away like Costa Rica or even back home to your own country. Also, the 72 hour thing is not found in any rule book. It's just what the border guards have been told. You can get away with 48 hours, if you're lucky, which I am not.

3. Send your passport for a new stamp with an agency. This is illegal, or at best unadvisable. Most travel agencies in Panajachel offer this service. It costs around Q500. The agency gives your passport to a driver who is going to Mexico, where they bribe the border official to get a new 90-day stamp. I'm sure you can see the problem here.

So how do I go from Panajachel to Tapachula by chicken bus?

Short and simple, here's the breakdown with my actual costs and times in January 2021.

PANAJACHEL TO TAPACHULA
Step Route Type Time (min) Cost
1 Pana to Xela chicken bus 136 Q30
2 Xela to San Marcos chicken bus 125 Q20
3 San Marcos to Malacatán chicken bus 85 Q25
4 Malacatán to the border colectivo 22 Q7
5 Talismán to Tapachula colectivo 45 P23
6 hrs 53 min Q82+P23

Please note that my actual total travel time was longer than what it says in the table. I got on the first bus in Pana at 6:15 am and got off the last bus in Tapachula at 2:20 pm, so that is just over 8 hours.

Here is a more detailed description of how to travel from Panajachel to Tapachula, Mexico.

Step 1

In Panajachel, you can catch chicken buses near the the fire station on the main street. I happened to catch the direct bus to Xela (Quetzaltenango) across from La Palapa. It was idling there with a few passengers inside and I asked if it was the directo. The direct buses to Xela are all named Flor de Paisaje, Flower of the Countryside, but always ask just to be sure. The direct buses leave around 6:30, 7:30, and I think 10:30. You can ask in the Panajachel Community Group on Facebook for more current information. If there is not a direct bus, just take the regular chicken bus to Sololá (Q5), then to Los Encuentros (Q5), and from there to Xela (Q20?). 

Step 2

The bus terminal in Xela is just a big mess o' buses in front of the market. It's not a building or anything. It's crazy there, as you can see from this video that Bert took.

The ride to Xela is long, so you may need a bit of a break. Walk against "the flow" of buses (west) a couple blocks and you'll reach the Pradera Mall. They have a nice food court and clean bathrooms.

Your next bus is to San Marcos/San Pedro Sacatepéquez. As a tourist, the bus helpers might try to send you to San Marcos La Laguna, which is back at Lake Atitlan! Make sure you tell them either San Marcos in the department of San Marcos or San Pedro Sacatepéquez. The bus nameplate over top of the windshield will say San Marcos/San Pedro. (Curse the Guatemalans for naming all of their towns after the same damn saints.)

Step 3

San Marcos bus terminal is actual buildings with food vendors outside and clothing vendors inside. There are several bathrooms located here for Q3. This is where I often have to wait for my connection, but usually no more than 10 or 15 minutes. You want the bus for Malacatán, which is usually pretty empty so you can get a nice seat by yourself. (Funny sidenote: Guatemalans will crowd themselves three to a seat before they will sit beside a gringo!)

bus terminal San Marcos Sacatepéquez Guatemala
A chicken bus and two colectivos at San Marcos bus terminal,
Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

The ride from San Marcos to Malacatán is my favourite leg of this trip. You descend from the high pine-treed forests of the mountains down into the steamy tropical jungle, passing through a zone of coffee plantations. On the right-hand side, you get an amazing view of Tajumulco volcano, the highest peak in all of Central America.

Tajumulco volcano Guatemala
Tajumulco Volcano peeking over the clouds on a sunny afternoon in Guatemala.

COVID-19 surprise -- the bus driver actually refused boarding to a guy not wearing a mask. Good for him!

Step 4

This is the most confusing connection of the trip. When you pay the ayudante (helper) on the bus to Malacatán, tell him you want to go to the border, la frontera. Because you are most likely the only non-Guatemalan on the bus, he will remember you and hopefully signal you when it is your turn to get off. He will drop you at a corner, nothing special, no landmarks, just a corner of two streets in Malacatán, and tell you to wait there. You are looking for colectivo, a mini-bus type vehicle. There will be a young man hanging out the sliding side door and calling out, "Tally-man, Tally-man." That's your ride. They come along every 5 or 10 minutes, so you won't have to wait long.

Step 5

The minivan will take you to the border town, which is quite small and easy to navigate. You will be besieged by guys trying to sell you pesos. The exchange rate is BAD but if you didn't get pesos in Pana before you left, you can buy some here. You can bargain with the guys, although they will grumble and complain as if you are the worst kind of thief. You will need 23 pesos for your trip into Tapachula, so get at least double that, just in case.

Here at the border, you have to stamp out of Guate, walk across the short bridge, and stamp into Mexico. 

From your bus, walk downhill past the official looking cement building with the big overhanging section. That's not for you. (I think it might be for claiming exports?) The Guatemalan migration building you want is further on, on the right-hand side, totally unassuming, easy to miss, almost all the way to the bridge. Look for white and blue paint, and a low metal barrier. There are two windows -- one for entry and one for exit -- but only one window is ever open. Present your passport and tell them you are going to Mexico. Usually, leaving Guatemala is not a problem. They don't care if you leave and don't ask questions or check your bags. On this trip, the agent did remind me that I would need a COVID-19 test to return.

Guatemala Mexico border at Talisman
The border of Guatemala and Mexico at Talisman.
I'm standing in Guate, the yellow building is in Mexico. Super short bridge!

After you get your exit stamp, you can just stroll across the bridge pictured above. If you peek over the left edge, you will see people wading across the river with their bags on their heads. Sometimes there are guys will big black innertubes floating bigger parcels across. This is all in plain view of both the Guatemalan and Mexican authorities.
To cross into Mexico, stay to the right and pass through a metal turnstile. You will immediately be in a more organized, clean, and professional area, totally unlike the dirty chaos of the Guate side. The fenced walkway will funnel you along to where you need to go. Show your passport to the guard and he will tell you to go inside. (The outside window is for Guatemalans and Mexicans only, I believe.)
Inside, approach a window and tell them you are entering Mexico. They will ask you for how many days; just say three days or for the weekend. They will give you a form to fill out. Fill out the top and bottom, sign and date. You will have to put in your hotel name in Tapachula. Take it back to the window and they will ask you a few more questions -- or not -- and stamp you into Mexico. They will give you a portion of the form to keep. Hang on to this! You will need it to exit Mexico. If you lose this paper, you will have to pay a fine.

COVID-19 note: I'd say mask-wearing at the border was only about 50%. I asked the Mexican border agent if masks were mandatory and she said yes. In Mexico, they call them cubre bocas, mouth coverings. In Guate, they call them mascarillas, little masks.

After you get your stamp, there will be guards outside who will check your bags. This trip, there were two separate stations and both checked my bags, one with a drug dog. The stations were only a few meters apart so I'm not sure what the point was. They're nice folks though, and sometimes like to practice their English with you.

Once you're through that, take an immediate sharp left and cut across the traffic that is crossing the bridge. Walk thru the small parking lot. You will see motorcycle taxis with red-and-white striped tops. You can take one, if you're tired or have a lot of bags, but it's just a few blocks to get to your next bus so you can stretch your legs.

Walk along the wide tree-lined street almost to the end. You will hear a guy calling out "Tapachula, Tapachula directo." Most likely he will notice you and usher you to the waiting minibus. (If you somehow get to the extremely gigantic tree on the left, you've gone too far.) 

Ride the mini-van all the way to the end, which is the Tapachula bus terminal. From there, exit and turn left, walk up a HUGE steep hill, and you will be at the central park. You made it!

central park Tapachula Mexico
The new Tapachula sign in Parque Central Miguel Hidalgo.

RETURNING

The return trip is kind of the same. You will get confused at Malacatán again. If you can speak to the helper on the mini-bus from the border, tell him you're trying to get to Xela. Hopefully, he will get the driver to drop you near the bus terminal and you won't end up at the market. I'd say this is a 50/50 chance. If you do end up at the market, take a tuc-tuc back to the terminal. It's way too far to walk. And when I say terminal, I mean a small gravel parking lot with bathrooms and one bus. 

Also, I never seem to find the direct bus from Xela to Pana. Instead, I take any bus going towards Los Encuentros and ask to get off at La Cuchilla (the knife). Then I just wait for the next chicken bus heading to Sololá, which costs Q5, I think, then from Sololá to Pana, another Q5. A bit of a hop-skip-jump but totally easy.

Where to stay in Tapachula?

I stayed at a different hotel than my usual one this trip, just out of boredom. You can see my review on Tripadvisor 👉 Hotel Cabildos. TLDR -- it was okay, but I won't return.

I normally stay at Hotel Cervantino, which is cheaper but also doesn't have hot water. You'd think that would be a problem but Tapachula's weather is scorching, so cool showers are a relief. (Trivia ... Tapachula roughly translates to "hot lid".)

What about getting a COVID-19 test in Mexico?

When I crossed from Guatemala into Mexico at the Talismán border, the Guatemalan border official reminded me that I would need a coronavirus test to return to Guatemala. I had prepared for this and researched where to get the antigen test in Tapachula. It was actually super easy.

I went to a place called MediLab. It is close to the central park, Parque Central Miguel Hidalgo. The address is 69A 6th Avenue North. Basically, go to the park, find the Scotiabank, and walk north from there. It's just a few blocks on the right-hand side. 

Check the current hours for MediLab on their Facebook page. They weren't open on Sunday, so I had to go Saturday to get my test done for my departure Monday. The test results are good for 48 hours, I believe. Prices can change too so just message them on FB if you need to.

The receptionist had no idea what I was talking about when I asked for a test to travel to Guatemala. She called in the doctor, who told me I needed a PCR test, which would cost MXN 2990. Um, nope! I told him I only needed the antigen test (nose swab), which costs MXN 1100. They asked me to pay upfront and gave me a receipt. I waited less than 10 minutes before the doctor called me, swabbed both my nostrils -- not painful, just made my eyes water -- and then they told me to come back in two hours for my results. When I came back, the receptionist gave me an envelope with a single paper inside saying my result was negative. Yay! 

TIP: Get a photocopy of your test results. The Guatemalan border official asked me for that, which I didn't have. There are photocopy places at the border but might be easier to just have it done before you arrive there. 

WHY THIS PARTICULAR VISA RUN WAS SO VERY AWFUL 😭

At the start of this post, I mentioned that this trip is zero out of 10 stars. I was literally in tears at several points on the way home to Pana. 

First of all, and worst of all, the Guatemalan border official didn't want to let me back into Guatemala. It was horrible! I was standing at the stupid plexiglass window trying to talk to him through a hole that was covered with more plastic. I could barely hear a thing he was shouting at me, but I could tell he was super upset. He looked at all my stamps and said what I was doing was illegal. He asked about my job and where my money came from and where it went. I tried to answer him honestly but he just kept getting madder and madder. He yelled at me for probably 10 minutes. I was struggling to hold back my tears and frantically thinking to myself, "What do I do?"

I finally asked to be let inside to talk. He opened the side door and asked again about my work and was just overall angry about something. He finally threw up his hands and told me to go back to the window. He stamped my passport and waved me away. I think he only let me go because he could see the lineup of 10 people behind me, all staring, and he was tired of me saying, "No entiendo. Por favor, puede usted hablar mas despacio?" ("I don't understand. Please can you speak more slowly?") I triple-checked the stamp to be sure he gave me 90 days. I had heard from other people on the Facebook groups that sometimes the guards get upset and only give 3 days and tell you that you have to start your residency process within those three days. I don't qualify for residency, so this would be impossible for me. 

After that disaster, I stumbled up the road to get in the mini-bus to take me to Malacatán. I was grateful for my mask which hid my face. I was trying so hard not to cry! I have never had a customs official get so upset with me, and I have never come so close to being refused entry. 

What would I have done if he told me I couldn't enter? I guess... walk back to the Mexico office and tell them. Probably get stamped back INTO Mexico, then take a bus over to the other border crossing at Tecún Umán and try again there.

When I posted this story on the Panajachel Facebook group, a few others said that they had had troubles but not a single person had ever said they'd be flat out refused entry. Many commented that the guy was probably looking for a bribe, a multa, but I don't think that was the case. Bert said that probably the guy had relatives who had been deported from the States and he was just mad at foreigners. Another person said that he had spoken with migration officials in the city and was told that border guards were being advised to "watch out" for people like me, people with multiple entry stamps over many years. So perhaps the time of visa runs is coming to an end. I'm honestly not sure what I'm going to do for my next visa run in April. Maybe take my own advice and go with a group to San Cristóbal.

Another awful thing that happened on this trip is that the bus from Xela overcharged me BIG TIME. The trip from Xela to La Cuchilla should only cost Q20 or maybe Q25 since the prices have gone up. I gave the helper Q50 and then he tried to ignore me. I said I wanted my change and he waved me away. I insisted on change and he gave me Q10 back. I was furious! I said that it doesn't cost Q40 and he told me the prices went up. I told him I just did this trip on Friday and the direct from Pana to Xela cost only Q30 so why would this bus cost Q40? He told me that the bus was empty so he had to charge me double. A nice Guatemalan lady tried to help me and backed up my complaint by saying that the bus should only be Q20. But the guy wouldn't budge. He just laughed and turned away. 

So what did I do? (Besides FUME 😡?) When I got off the bus, I took down the license plate number and reported the bus to the authorities. I had seen a sign on another chicken bus that said you can report COVID-19 protocol violations by calling 1532. (The shortened number is like a 1-800 number.) I was worried I would have to speak in Spanish on the phone, so instead I went to the DGT website and sent them a message through the contact form. I entered the bus license plate number and reported that not only had they overcharged me but also neither the bus driver nor ayudante were wearing masks. I'm fairly certain nothing will come of it, but it helped me to think I did something to fight back.

Here is an article about reporting chicken buses (autobuses extraurbanos) to the transportation ministry, DGT.

So, yeah, this trip was a disaster and when I finally got home to my weird little pink house in Panajachel, I burst into tears! Bert was totally shocked and listened sympathetically to my story. On top of the problems I had, I am always super sore after riding chicken buses. The seats are not big enough for an adult person, or at least not anyone taller than 5'5". My knees are always bruised from bashing against the seat in front of me, my butt sore from hitting speed bumps, my arms tired from clenching the rail to prevent myself from sliding off my seat on sharp corners, and overall muscle aches from the terrifying speed that chicken buses go, regardless of rain, fog, darkness, traffic, safety, whatever. 

Final Thoughts

Don't take chicken buses for a visa run. It's not worth the pain.

Book a nice shared shuttle to San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, through Magic Travel at the top of Santander. I've blogged about this trip before (click here) although it has been years. The journey takes about 12 hours, which is loooooong, but the drivers are generally safer, the border guards don't harass you because you're in a nice group of gringos and have a guide, and you might even be able to wear a seat belt. It is worth the extra cost.

On top of that, San Cris is a nice city with lots of things to see and do, while Tapa is a dirty, boring city that is stifling hot.

Until next time. 👋

Friday, February 12, 2021

A Mexican YouTuber Discovers Chicken Buses

I came across this great video by Luisito Comunica. He is Mexico's second-largest Youtuber with 35.2 million subscribers. 😲 He visited Guatemala in 2019 and recorded his "mind-blowing" discovery of chicken buses, the proper name being autobuses extraurbanos (intra-city buses) but what Guatemalans commonly call camionetas or burras (female donkeys). His rapid Spanish is quite a challenge but it's fun to see his delighted expression as he learns about these cool refurbished American school buses.


He talks about all the regular chicken bus facts that I've come to learn first-hand...
The buses are old school buses from the States that have been pimped out.
They go really really REALLY fast.
The put three people per seat on each side plus one person standing in the middle.
The helper climbs all over the bus while it is moving. 
And they're a super cheap way to get from city to city around Guatemala. 

For another fun video from Luisito's visit to Guatemala, click here to see him try some street food:


Saturday, January 16, 2021

Flowers & Greenery

Another post to brighten the day of my northern friends who are dealing with cold and snow. 🥶 Winter can't last forever, my friends!

Went for a walk today to take pictures of flowers for my Mom. She was the one who got me interested in gardening when I was a little kid and I used to love going to the greenhouses with her in the spring and summer. I remember especially loving marigolds and lilacs.

Here in Guatemala, it's basically summer year-round so there are always flowers in bloom. It's dry season right now, so things are a bit dusty but still warm and lovely weather for a walk around town. I visited the three viveros (plant stores) that I know of here in Panajachel. I wish I could have bought some plants for my garden, but I just don't have the energy right now to nurture them -- and to fight off the dogs from digging them up. Whenever I dig in the soil, they think it's an open invitation to tear up all the dirt they can get their grubby paws on. 😣

Vivero #1 on the road up that goes to Godinez
Vivero #2 on Arboles across from Deli Pan
The flower lady inside the market building. (#3 on the map)
Of course, there are lots more ladies selling flowers at the market but this is one of the places that's always there, not just seasonal. 

The Vivero across from Despensa Familiar (#4 on the map)
Map of Panajachel showing the three plant stores and the market.

Now a few pictures of some lovely flowers around town, on the roadsides and in people's gardens.

A rare pink & yellow butterfly weed. There are lots of orange & yellow ones around but this tiny guy was different and beautiful.
Literally growing between the rocks on the hot river road.
I love these pretty pink flowers. I'd rather have these than bougainvillea.
The hated bougainvillea in brilliant fuchsia.
These are what I consider the "fall" flowers around here. They start blooming in October.
They're at the end of their time now and most have gone to seed. You can see
all the DUST on their leaves!
Tiny little yellow flowers, only about the size of my pinky fingernail.
That's a poinsettia twice as tall as me!
I believe this is a kroton.
These flowers are pale blue though they look white in this picture.
These orange "finger flowers" always remind me of undersea coral.
A local business that sells gravel and sand has brightened up their yard with geraniums.

No pictures from my own garden as it's a dust bowl! My basil is doing well in the heat, plus a nice spider plant and a jade plant and a pink geranium. The bougainvillea is the bane of my existence. I hate that plant! I would cut it all down if it was up to me. But I guess it does cover the ugly fence quite well and the birds love it.

I'm heading to Tapachula, Mexico, next weekend for my first visa run since Covid-19 started so look for that blog post when I get back. 👍

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Construction in Panajachel

contruction in Panajachel
Construction in Panajachel

Panajachel is a total mess right now. They started construction on a few different roads before Christmas and it's ongoing with no end in sight. Not sure why they decided to rip up the main streets now. I mean, why didn't they do it when we were in lockdown and there was no traffic?

The past two weekends for Xmas and New Year's was a total disaster. City tourists have started coming back to the lake in their fancy new cars with tinted windows. They all drove in circles around town trying to figure out how to get anywhere. There were a few traffic cops standing at intersections directing people and every second car would stop and ask either "Where's the beach?" or, "How do I get to the highway?" 

It's also been a disaster to try to walk anywhere in town. The picture above is the main corner by Chalo's near Despensa. The road is like this from Batres pharmacy almost all the way up to the market. Los Arboles is now two-way street for part of it to try to redirect traffic around, and it's not wide enough for that, so all the drivers are always freaking out. Chicken buses turn around in the middle of the street because there's no way through.

Interesting note for my first-world friends: construction is done primarily by hand. There are literally guys in the trenches digging with shovels and pickaxes. It's insane. Just get a freaking machine to do it for you!! Geez.

In better news, they repaired the tuc-tuc bridge near my house a bit more, so now there's not a gaping hole in the metal. The municipality was so proud of fixing it, they posted it on their Facebook page. (Slow news day?) It's kinda funny to remember the bridge the way it used to be, all cobbled together with wood and scrap. You can go back and look at my post from 2016 here.

Pana sure changed in 2020. So many businesses closed or moved. The Riconcita pupusa placed moved a few streets over, I think into someone's back yard, and then a new pupusa place opened in the same location. The El Dorado plaza is basically all new stores. One of my favourite tiendas is now a BBQ restaurant. We have a new gas Texaco gas station less than a block from the old Texaco gas station. They also tore down a whole block of buildings not far from Despensa and there was a rumour on Facebook that a McDonald's was going to be built there, but so far it's just an empty lot. There were lots of stores with closed shutters on Santander, but now that tourism is picking back up and restrictions are being lifted, new businesses are opening.

Happily, most of my fave places are still in business -- La Palapa, Mister Jon's, Hana Japanese restaurant (now also serving Chinese!), the 3Q store, Intermedio, and the little Pepsi tienda near my house that never gringo-prices me. A new pet food store opened up on the main street so we don't have to go up to the market anymore to get dog food. 

The weather is great, as usual. Dry season has started, although it did rain yesterday, surprisingly. Here's a picture of some nice mini roses growing over someone's fence. I hope it cheers up anyone who is dealing with cold and snow right now.

pink flowers
Pink flowers in Panajachel