TIG

All Operation Groundswell Guatemala alumni are well familiar with the saying TIG (This is Guatemala) which basically refers to the fact that in Guatemala, things do not tend to run as smoothly or as predictably as we are used to back home in Canada or the U.S. For example, one Friday morning Allie and I set out for the day, it being Allie's first day back in Guatemala she had to take out cash. What should have taken 5 minutes ended up taking over two hours as the ATMs did not accept her card and we had to wait in line at the bank and then they gave her the wrong amount and it was just a huge ordeal, TIG. So we finally hopped on a chicken bus around noon to Guate after being warned by the ladies at the hostel to only take the red taxis with the phone number on the side and not to ask for directions because then people would think we were lost and take advantage of us.

So we found the taxi and got the Monja Blonca bus station where the two of us and one local paid our fees and boarded. I went to sit by Allie and the driver says, "No, you can't sit by the windows."  Ok, so we are both sitting in aisle seats at the back of the bus and when we are about to pull into another bus station the driver says, "Can you just hide please?" So Allie and I look at each other with TIG faces on and duck behind our seats along with the local guy who also looks amused. After the bus comes to a stop we sit up and the local explains to us that the bus is not supposed to pick up passengers from the terminal where we were and that coming into this terminal they could be fined which is why they asked us to hide. Makes sense, again, only in Guatemala.

This is how we roll...hiding on a bus while travelling through Guate.

We hop off the bus upon reaching the first of our destinations knowing that now we need to catch a micro to take us all the way to our hotel. While walking up the road we come across several ladies selling tortillas and grilled corn by the roadside and we ask them where to catch our transportation, and they point across the road to a micro that is actually full. For those that are unfamiliar with Guatemalan transportation-chicken buses, micros, pick up trucks-none of these are ever full, even when I was riding in a micro (which is essentially a 15 passenger van with extra seats) with at least 32 people inside, we still stopped to pick up more passengers. But this one had people inside, on top, and hanging out the doors. There was no way that Allie and I were getting on with all our backpacks.
So we turned around and asked when the next one would come. The ladies told us that was the last one, so we said, "Oh well, if we just start walking up the road maybe we can catch a pick up going in the same direction?" The ladies unanimously respond with a firm "No, it's too dangerous, it's after 5:00pm, it will be dark within the hour, the road is not safe, you have to go back to Salema to find a hotel, try again tomorrow during the day." Well, thank-you ladies, I'm glad you are looking out the naïve Gringas.

So we hopped on a chicken bus with standing room only and headed into a city where I'm sure Allie and I were the only tourists and checked into a hotel as there were no hostels around and after eating the most delicious burritos of all time headed to bed around 8:30 after an exhausting day. But just as I turned out the lights a marching band started blasting music right outside our window and continued to march around the block for the next hour, it was so loud and ridiculous that all I could do was laugh and say TIG.

But to be completely honest, I was so happy all day, to be in this country, to be travelling this way with my OG pal. TIG is a part of travelling in Guatemala, I had missed it, it felt good to be back.