Los Buses

Now that I commute to a different zone for my internship, I have gained a lot of experience with the City buses. Most of them are old American school buses, painted red, gutted and sometimes fitted with school-stadium chairs bolted to the floor of the vehicle. A muchacho hangs out the door shouting the destination of the bus, which is also pasted on the front window next to so many decals. The decals include the name of the vessel, usaully a woman´s names like Margarita or Esmaralda, and plenty of reminders that the driver is a man of god (¨jesus es rey¨, ¨Dios Bendiga¨or my favorite one ¨May Hadger Power is Jesus¨...say it out loud and think about it)

How does one complete a successful ride on these camionetas? Here´s one for Frommers:
1. Have a quetzal coin ready and waiting in your pocket. You will have to fling it at the driver between the time when he takes his foot of the brake he never really pressed and slams it on the gas.

2. Flag the bus before you can even see the sign indicating which one it is. If you wait, it will be too late for the driver to stop, and if it´s not your bus, just shoo it away.

3. When the muchacho leaps off, you leap on, grabbing the handlebar with your left hand and swinging the quetzal into the driver´s palm with your right. God help you if you need change for a 5.

4. During commuter hours, don´t look for a seat(there wont be any). If you find one in the middle of the bus, resist the temptation--if the bus fills up, no one will let you off, even if you push. During off-hours, sit the hell down, these guys will drive in the lane of oncoming traffic if they feel like it.

5. When the driver approaches where you want to get off, whistle, or if you´re like me and you can´t whistle, just move toward the door and say ¨aqui. If he doesn´t stop, you may or may not want to try again...he probably heard you he just doesn´t feel like making an extra stop. Don´t worry, he´ll stop soon and you can backtrack.

6. Dont talk. Don´t read. Don´t get distracted. You´ll be fine.