XelaDailyPhoto

Hop on a bus. Let it take you to a nearby pueblo. Eat some fabulous but questionable food in a local comedor. Walk around. Talk to the some of the locals. Take some pictures. Hop back on the bus. Come home to Xela. Perfect day.

I have to say, these guys blow my mind! Not so much with the loading of all the luggage, boxes, small livestock and who-knows-what else up onto the top of the buses, but with their nimble maneuvering AS the bus is moving. I have seen ayudantes crawl out the front door, up onto the top of the bus and suddenly reappear at the back of the bus, all while the bus is moving at breakneck speed. Also worth a mention is the fact that many of these buses are winding through the mountains, leaning and heaving left or right, often one turn right after another. My question is, “For those of us who can, why aren’t we tipping these guys?”

With the Presidential election looming closer and closer, there is political advertising everywhere. Here a busy micro speeds down 12 Avenida, near Parque Central, covered in the faces of one of the political teams up for election.

So many people come and go from Terminal Minerva, but what do they really see when they arrive in Xela or when they are leaving town? This shot was taken from Minerva Temple and shows a unique perspective of the Market and the microbus “station”.

No, you aren’t imagining anything, the title is a bit of a pun! Anyone who has been to and traveled within Guatemala is familiar with “chicken buses” and the sometimes hairy rides that can be had going from town to town. The most common type of travel between pueblos or to and from La Capital, chicken buses always provide the ride of your life, whether due to the amount of people and/or small livestock that rides alongside of you or because of the “efficiency” of the buses. These old school buses are bought in the United States and brought here to be given a makeover and new life here in Guatemala. It’s not uncommon for there to be three people sitting across each child-sized seat, as these buses get quite filled up, depending on your destination. If you’re fortunate, it’s only people sitting in your row and not chickens!

I don’t know about everyone else, but riding around Xela in a Micro is one of the most interesting experiences one can have. The way the Ayudantes find space for more people is just amazing!

At a gas station on 5th Calle one of the many buses that run between Xela and the smaller communities around Xela, gases up and waits for its next day of work.

Sometimes you just need a little Fe. In this case these buses remind us in big ole font!

While Xela is a city, sometimes it takes a bike or moto zooming past me to remind me that YES I live in the 2nd largest city in Guatemala.

This is one of the stops where you take a bus to Almolonga and Zunil. It is located in front of the gas station in La Rotonda. Almolonga is where the hot springs are and Zunil is where you can visit San Simon/Maximón.

I shot this photo after a rainy afternoon in Xela, which lead us to a rainy evening. On my way from San Miguel Siguilá, I took a bus to central park in Xela. As you can imagine, with the rain that has been going on since mid-day, there was an incredible rush-hour traffic . The bus stopped frequently. During one of those stops close to the terminal, I watching people, running under the rain. This woman stood out for me with her calmness in contrast with the rush that everybody else had.