Sunday, May 8, 2011--Chiquimula to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
What a bus ride I had today! I left the hotel at 7:40 and caught a bus to Puerto Barrios. It was a mini-bus, and they were trying to completely load it before taking off. That meant pushing everyone into tight seating. Just before it was full, there was a mini-rebellion with a few people getting off and refusing to ride in such tight quarters. A few minutes later, we were full again and took off. As we drove, they kept putting more and more people standing in the open space near the door. At one time, there were at least 10=12 adults standing and 54 people seated (6-7 to a row including about 6 children standing near their parents, since children are not allowed to take a seat due to the ride being free for them)!
About 1/3 of the way through the 4 1/2 hour trip, there was a pop and a flutter. We had blown a tire! I was amazed that they were able to hop off and change that tire within 6 minutes! Something else slowing us down was the appetite of the driver! He had a huge, round belly, and he stopped 3 times to get food to eat on the trip. It was like he was making a tour of his favorite snack spots between the two cities.
About 2/3 of the way through the trip, there was a sudden squirt. A little boy standing right behind me had gotten car sickness and was throwing up. It hit my ear, my neck, the shoulder of my shirt, and left a few spots on my pants. Fortunately, the parents spun him around fast, or I would have been soaked. I had some tissues in my pocket, so I wiped up what I could including what was on the back of my seat.
It was a relief to finally arrive in Puerto Barrios at 12:30 and get out of the crowded bus which had also become hot as we got closer to the coast. I grabbed my things and headed straight for the hotel I had chosen. Fortunately, they had a room that was fine and at a reasonable rate.
I was hungry, so I immediately headed out to find a Cuban restaurant I had read about. It was about 9 HOT and HUMID blocks from my hotel. And when I got there, it no longer existed. I lucked out, however. I had passed a very clean looking place with what looked like the owner and her family sitting at a table eating. I returned to there and they were just finishing. My only choices were fried chicken or a pork chop. I went with the pork chop even though the one they had been eating looked as if it was very dry. I couldn't have been luckier. My pork chop was nice with a sauce of tomatoes and onions on it. It came with tasty rice that seemed to have shredded pumpkin or something similar in it. And best of all, it came with a huge fresh salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. I wolfed everything down while drinking a Sprite. UMMM. It was the closest thing to a nice, homemade meal that I have had since I left home 6 weeks ago. And the surprise was that it only cost $3.90 including the drink.
Coming back toward the hotel, I explored more of Puerto Barrios. Unfortunately, it is an UGLY town. It was founded as a company town for the U.S. banana trade. Today, there is still a port area just for Dole and lots of Dole trucks on the roads. The only other Caribbean coastal town in Central America that I have visited is Limon in Costa Rica. Although poor, it is a cute town with brightly painted houses. Here, everything is drab and just a hodge-podge of ugly buildings. I found the one tourist site to see--a statue of a black man carrying a bunch of bananas--and even the statue was poorly made and ugly (and no photo of it could be found on the Internet). I returned to my hotel and stayed inside with the air conditioning the rest of the day.
My main purpose for coming here was that I can catch a boat from here to my next stop (which can be accessed only by boat). Tomorrow morning, I will head out and not miss Puerto Barrios.
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