{"id":702,"date":"2005-12-09T22:02:37","date_gmt":"2005-12-09T22:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travellingtruths.wordpress.com\/?p=702"},"modified":"2017-10-07T06:44:11","modified_gmt":"2017-10-07T06:44:11","slug":"chicken-bus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slingadventures.com\/destinations\/guatemala\/chicken-bus","title":{"rendered":"Chicken Bus Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"There's always a risk when travelling that you'll have a bad day. You know it's going to happen, just not when.\r\n\r\nAll began peacefully with a journey north via taxi heading to Poptun, Guatemala. En route to Poptun town we intercept the south bound Modesto Mendez bus which was the bus we intended on catching when we arrived in Poptun. Seems it was ahead of schedule. OK, let's be honest no bus runs to schedule in Central America. Mostly because there is no schedule. Before we know it, all our bags are switched to this bus and we are on our way.\r\n\r\nInto Modesto Mendez, which I would call a one horse town, except for that I actually saw two. Our next bus takes off with 20 people on board in a bus designed for a maximum of 8 people. A gravel road starts soon after. An argument ensues with the conductor about the price of the fare we are charged. Unresolved we spend the next 2 hours of the journey wondering if they will hand us over to the gunman who are known to roam these isolated hills.\r\n\r\nOur bus was supposed to arrive in Frey Bartholomew de la Casa but the bus stops about 30km short. We are made to change to another bus. This next bus managed to get 30 people into a similar\u00a08 seater bus for a painful hour long trip to Frey. I stood bent halfway leaning over a small family, my left hand and left foot the only means of balancing along the rocky road.\r\n\r\nWe arrive into Frey at about 12:30pm we are informed buses to our intended destination of Lanquin being finished for the day. Frey being nothing more than a few shacks we negotiated a trip to Coban which is three and a half\u00a0hours away in yet another over crowded 8 seater van. The bus heads further into the hills and the roads become steep and windy with not much separating us from gorges hundreds of metres below. Both my legs go to sleep at this point and I've forgotten what it is like to move.\r\n\r\n