Guatemala

Another long journey awaits us as we prepare to leave Mexico for Guatemala. Although we were on the road for nearly 12 hours, the excitement and variety made the journey very memorable.

The Guatemala border in itself is a learning experience as we bargained first with immigration officials for visas, and then with money changers for Guatemalan currency. Low wages mean that the potential for corruption is high. Once safely over the border, the local transportation takes on a new form. Brightly coloured buses with excessively powerful engines are everywhere. In the rush to get moving we successfully loaded all our gear on the roof and boarded the bus. One hundred metres and 1/2 an hour later, the bus was packed.
 
 

Guatemalans seem to take a perverse delight in seeing how many people can sit on one seat. For several hours I had 4 locals keeping close company with me, however with a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, this is a great way to learn a little about local life. Guatemala quickly asserts its differences to Mexico. The scenery is spectacular, the people are even friendlier than Mexicans and "appear" to be better educated and healthier. The roads however are lined with rubbish which does detract from the scenery a bit. Its also obvious that all those stories about the burning of rainforests are true, I hate to think what I'll see in Guatemala in 10 years time.