My team and I live just outside of a town called Parramos, Guatemala. It is about 30 minutes from Antigua and 15 minutes from Chimaltenango. The school we teach at is a middle/high school in Chimaltenango. Our primary means of transportation to and from ministry each day is via Chicken Bus.
Chicken busses are old school busses sent down from the United States. They are refurnished to have wider seats (and a negative amount of aisle space), poles on the roof of the inside to hold on to, and racks overhead for storage. Sometimes a huge TV screen is fastened to the front of the bus playing music videos.
Why are they called Chicken Busses, you might ask? Because they squeeze as many possible human beings into the bus, and then a few more. We are packed in like chickens.
I thought I might give you a few tips and tricks to maneuver this nifty means of transportation if you ever find yourself in Central America looking for a cheap way from town to town.
DO….Wipe away every concept you have of “personal space.” It does not exist in the slightest
DONT…do hundreds of squats Thursday night because Friday chicken buses are ALWAYS full and you will find yourself squatting in the aisles: extremely painful if you are sore.
DO…Sit down on the edge of the seat, even when there are already two people in the seat, because the money collector will yell at you if you dont.
DONT…Be afraid to shout, whistle, or do whatever it takes to get the attention of the bus driver and/or money collector when your stop is nearing.
DO…grab ahold of the pole immediately upon stepping foot in the chicken bus because the driver WILL immediately take off before you try to figure out where to sit or stand comfortably.
DONT…accidentally give your transportation money to the vendors who get on the bus trying to sell newspapers, chocolate, or whatever. The vendors do not care if you make a mistake. They will walk away with the money the second it leaves your hand.
DO…ignore the music videos playing at the front of the bus because they usually are PG13 on a good day.
DONT…stress about hitting oncoming traffic when the driver inevitably drives on the wrong side of the street, he will most likely swerve at the very last minute to avoid collision. Have faith.
DO… ENJOY 🙂 Chicken busses are cheap and can be so much fun if you let them be.
