I could probably write a whole book about the six days it took to get from Ocotal, Nicaragua to Panajachel, Guatemala, but instead I’ll give you a few short snapshots that highlight some of the most interesting parts.
The beauty of solitude
I was alone, really alone, for the first time in weeks. As I sat on the bus midway between Ocotal and Managua I realized that I knew no one for miles and no one knew me. I was just another random gringo reading her book and occasionally staring out the window at the beautiful countryside. It was a glorious feeling, something that I hadn’t had in a long time.
The World Race is all about people and relationships, which I am truly loving, but God knew I needed some ‘me’ time. I needed a time when I wasn’t a teammate, when I wasn’t sharing a testimony, when I wasn’t holding a little kid, when I wasn’t needed for anything. The three hour bus ride was full of other travelers, but to me the bus was completely empty except for me and God.
The green house
Our destination was a green house, a former bakery of sorts, yet, almost every other house on the street was some variation of green. Not having any clue which door to knock on, we called our hosts for more specific directions. Within minutes two figures could be seen in the rearview window of our taxi motioning us back a block or two.
We were greeted with hugs and smiles as we hauled our luggage inside the house. It was beautiful, windows everywhere opening up into the center courtyard with greenery pouring out onto the newly tiled floor. As I continued to look around at our accommodations, including our air conditioned bedroom, I finally took a moment to appreciate our hosts. Nina, a native Nicaraguan who has lived many years in California, and Kay, a Texan who has been traveling to Managua on and off for years, were a God send. Stephanie had met them randomly a couple of days prior to our arrival and they had immediately offered us lodging in their home for our one night in Managua.
Throughout the night we were continually showered with hospitality by our new sisters in Christ. After making our beds, Nina made numerous phone calls trying to secure a taxi for our 4am departure, while Kay gave us a tour of the house and set out a tasty breakfast for the following morning. As stories were shared and smiles exchanged, I truly felt that I was in a God bubble. There we were, two white girls, traveling on our own, with a stopover in one of the more dangerous Nicaraguan cities, and God had provided us safe and comfortable housing with two passionate and kind christian ladies that neither of us really knew. God truly is the ultimate provider.
The clown car
Our bus ride from San Salvador was a short 5 hours across the border and into Guatemala city. At the border Steph and I befriended Alexis, a native Guatemalan who didn’t want tourists to get a bad impression of his country because of scamming border money exchangers. When we arrived in Guatemala City, Alexis offered to continue helping us by finding the cheapest way to Antigua. However, we’d also made other friends on the bus, friends that were going to Antigua as well. When we had all gathered our things and regrouped we totaled eight, plus Alexis. And so the challenge began.
We needed to get everyone and everyone’s luggage into the two taxis Alexis had acquired for us. There was Stephanie and myself, Kristin and Veronique from Canada, Sasumu from Japan, Kristina from Germany, Tom from Belgium, Kate from South Africa, and Alexis from Guatemala plus all of our luggage (each of us had two bags). The first taxi was successfully loaded and took off before ours. I can’t speak for them, but I’m pretty sure their experience was somewhat similar to ours. The best way to describe it would be like a giant puzzle. To start off with, only two of our large packs and one small one would fit in the trunk, leaving the other three big bags sitting on laps and the little ones stuffed here and there. After maneuvering ourselves and the luggage around until we found a surprisingly comfortable position, we departed for Antigua.
As we drove off I smiled to myself, we must have looked ridiculous. We were the ultimate clown car. Our driver was seated spaciously in his seat with Alexis next to him holding at least three different bags. In the back seat I was sandwiched between Steph and Tom, each holding a large backpack on their lap, with Kristina sitting on my lap, half of her forced to lean into the front seat due to the limited backseat space. Surprisingly, despite the absurdity of the situation, it was one of the more fun cab rides I’ve had. I loved sharing travel stories and plans with our European friends.
The problem with moneyWe probably should have switched our Nicaraguan Cordobas at the first border, but we were tired and didn’t think of it. It wasn’t until we reached the second border and tried to change our money that we realized our mistake. After Steph lost almost thirty US dollars in the crummy exchange, it was decided that we would wait until we got to Guatemala city to exchange the rest. Surely a large bank in Guatemala’s capital would switch currencies with us. Or least one would think they would… but they didn’t.
Our last hope was a bank in Antigua, a very backpacker friendly town. But alas, our mission failed there as well. No one wanted our money. With no other choice we began asking any backpackers in sight if they were headed to Nicaragua and would like to purchase some Cordobas from us. Success! Well kind of, one girl took a few of our Cords, but we were still left with almost 270 US dollars in an unusable and undesired currency.
