The Iguana sells T-shirts with the slogan "I was lost but now I´m found - This is a place I could hang around"... it seems to be something in the air, it was indeed hard to leave our oasis of relaxation. It was good, though, to leave behind the whole "Atitlan scene" and get back on the road. (Even though that meant three days on a bus to reach our next destination, though of course we didn´t know that at the time...)

Upon leaving the Iguana we still hadn´t decided whether or not to visit Antigua. As we came to the gringo-nightmare that is Panajachel to catch a bus out of Atitlan, we had what may have been a moment of clarity or perhaps a big mistake. I guess we´ll never know which one...

Fearing that Antigua would be a repeat of Atitlan, we decided to head for Guatemala City and catch the first bus to the border with Honduras. We were headed towards Utila, to learn how to dive.

The bus was the worst we´ve taken yet, an old US schoolbus as usual, but with all the seats loose and everything rattling. There were at least three people and two chickens per seat, and plenty standing. Looking back, that was probably a good thing or the seats would have fallen over. The road wasn´t the best either... After a couple of particularly bad bumps, a suitcase stashed on the luggage rack opposite my seat flew down and hit me smack in the nose & mouth bringing tears to my eyes. Ouch!!!

I didn´t know whether to laugh or cry... I had just been hit in the face by a bloody suitcase! ;-)

Of course, it belonged to the annoying loud French guy across from me who immediately asked if I was Ooh-keeh. This is what I should have replied: "OK?? I am trying not to cry here! Why don´t you check back in tomorrow when it becomes clear whether or not I have a lip the size of a Dunkin doughnut and a bruise on half my face? And put your suitcase in the luggage hold next time, please, or travel with something softer!" Ah, the things we should have said... Instead I just nodded and said meekly "I think so". Then I went back to simultaneously feeling sorry for myself and really lucky that the thing didn´t break my nose. The glass is half full, it is half full!! :-)

Changing buses in Guatemala City was quite an experience, as I have never seen so many crazy people gathered on one streetcorner before (except, of course, in Hollywood). Though very friendly and inquisitive, I was feeling a wee bit uncomfortable as all the scraggliest men in town lined up to do some complicated "secret handshake" with me, kiss me on the cheek, and have a jolly conversation. After "mingling" for a while I got to my target, a tostada cart. It was SO worth it :-)

Apart from dealing with the dodgy men, I had a nice conversation with a young man that worked for the bus company. As all Guatemalans I have met, he is intensely proud of his country, despite all its problems and challenges. Guatemalans are friendly and inquisitive, good at seeing the beauty in life as well as the beauty of their country, and not afraid to talk about it. In fact, I hardly had a converstion with a Guatemalan that didn´t involve some great advice on where to travel, and the question "Have you seen our National Tree (the Ceiba) and National Bird (the Quetzal)? Aren´t they something special?"

It is a special country, full of people with big gold-rimmed smiles and hope for the future. It is only about 9 years since the terrible civil war in Guatemala ended, and scars are still deep. Many people, instead of going to school, were made to patrol the jungle, often as part of the guerilla forces. I can´t imagine spending my highschool years carrying a machine gun... I can´t imagine living in the poverty that some of the people I met have endured. I am so lucky!

(And I am SO coming back for more Guatemala travels in the future!)