Guatemala Living Blogs

Guatemala Living Blogs and Bloggers is a topic of great on-line conversation and debate. Having written over 900 original articles about Guatemala Living including topics about, Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Livingston, Monterrico and Tikal I feel I have the right to talk about bloggers that go on line to talk about Guatemala Living.

Guatemala Living and Ex Pats, well I have a mixed opinion about Ex Pats writing about Guatemala Living. I have great friends in Guatemala that over the years I have helped with there own web sites Blogs giving suggestions on topics, ideas for travel and use photos. Not stock images go out and take a picture of something special in Guatemala.

Most blogging about Guatemala Living is done by those that own a business and are self promoting there own interests to draw attention to there business through the use of blogs. It is a free world so blog away. The annoyances I find with these bloggers is the fact that little research is done about topics, mostly cut and paste from other articles. Take a trip, go to a Finca, meet local people and before you write a word truly get to know Guatemala.

George at Georges Travel Club, Nancy from Guatemala Reservations, Lee at Lake Atitlan Travel Guide are purest Bloggers. They being Ex Pats write about there real experiences of Guatemala Living. George and Lee are amazing writers, Nancy while long winded sorry Nancy, all cover and express different yet amazing points of view about Guatemala Living.

Guatemala Living

They all own business’s in Guatemala and respect the gifts Guatemala has given them as business owners. Each in there own way have built over the years business interests which started from at first coming to and experiencing Guatemala Living.

Take Elizabeth Bell with Antigua Tours as an example of a person that has taken Guatemala Living and taken it to the highest level of community interest through her business. Walk into Elizabeth Bell’s Antigua Tours office and you will find the walls adorned with awards, letters and support from all over the world in the work Antigua Tours and Elizabeth Bell has done to maintain the heritage of Antigua Guatemala. Does Elizabeth Bell blog no, she is very active on Facebook.

Blogging about Guatemala Living is not an easy task to have your articles found on line or in fact anyplace at all. Bloggers often think I have a blog and I will be found on-line. Perhaps after 200 original blog articles on very specific topics will result in a few second or third page placements in search engines. Or asking your friends on Facebook to follow your blogs well they will tire of that quickly.

Guatemala Living is a great topic to write about if you have the experience of Guatemala Living not from behind the gated communities of Antigua.

A Guatemala Chicken Bus ride is different

Guatemala like many Central American Countries has an interesting transportation system. A Chicken bus which is a colloquial English name for a colorful, modified and decorated bus that transports goods and people between communities foremost in Guatemala.

The base vehicle is usually a retired North American school bus on a light or medium truck chassis. The word “chicken” refers to the fact that rural Guatemalans occasionally transport live animals on such buses–a practice that visitors from other countries often find remarkable.

Often two young men will partner in the operation of a bus, one of whom will have his license, while the other dubs himself the Ayudante or “helper”.
Some buses sport vibrant paint including the bus’ name and permanent route. Such forms of transport are completely stuffed with passengers (whenever possible) and then hard-driven to their destinations at top speed.

Having lived in Central America and Guatemala for a number of years I have found that a Chicken Bus is an inexpensive and safe form of Transportation within most of Guatemala. One will find on line a number of reviews, reports and concerns about the Idea of using a Chicken Bus as a primary form of transportation within Guatemala. Tripadvisor, Lonely Planet are travel review sites and those that seek information about riding a Chicken Bus will find in some cases reviews that do not always clearly explain the facts of a travelers experiences, meaning that some travelers find this form of transportation not acceptable.

First of all I have taken Chicken Buses for travel over most of Guatemala. My experiences cover 3 years of in most cases weekly and some times daily required this form of Transportation that is reliable and safe. I have found that with every outing on a Chicken Bus in Guatemala the ayudante or “helper” made sure I knew where my stop was and made sure I knew when I departed the direction I should take from that point.
For some a ride on a Chicken Bus is either an adventure or for some that have written reviews on-line not so much of an adventure. Stories of wild rides, out of control drivers and un safe practices appear all over review sites. Well that is just the point of view of Travelers that perhaps should not be in Guatemala.

I often leave on my Chicken Bus adventures from Antigua Guatemala main market. There all you have to do is yell out the name of the Village or destinations and you will find the Ayudante or “helper” at the front of the line of Chicken Buses whom will kindly direct you to the right bus. That is when the fun begins if you like an adventure.
Prior to departure a slew of different vendors selling stuff will enter the Chicken Bus and offer everything from medicine to ice cream and candy. Then you know you are about to depart.

Upon departure the bus may not be loaded to capacity, enjoy the room you have in your seat because that will be short lived as the ayudante will be calling out the route as the Bus leaves the terminal in Antigua and heads to its destination. Along the way the driver will stop at what appears to be random locations and continue to pick up passengers. Soon you will find yourself packed in 3 to a seat and on sitting in the middle isle of the bus.

This is a very orderly process without a lot of shoving or pushing. Guatemalans are accustomed to this and everyone gets along without any directives, it just works. What amazes me the most of this experience is how the ayudante collects fares or in my case how he remembers who paid and who has not. As the Chicken Bus moves along its route to my final destination passengers come and go on this now packed to capacity well over capacity bus yes the ayudante know who had paid and who has not.

Yes the drives appear to be driving FAST. Then again we are not on 4 lane freeways we are on 2 lane roads some with narrow passages with what appears to be building just inches from the Chicken Bus windows. All this makes for what appears to be a wild ride. 30 mph  can appear like 60 mph when one is in a confined area.

Some have said Chicken Buses are unsafe to ride for many reasons. Having spent hours on Chicken Buses I disagree. A Chicken Bus is the pride of the owner and or family that scraped together enough money to convert this old yellow school bus into this colorful and highly decorated work of art and pride. One will see the ayudante at ever stop and chance washing, cleaning and servicing the bus making sure the bus is in perfect condition.

A Chicken Bus ride is different then any form of North American Transportation one has ever experienced. Remember you came to Guatemala to have an experience be patient have some respect and you will have a safe and enjoyable Chicken Bus ride like millions do every day in Guatemala.

Antigua Guatemala Top Vacation Rental on Tripadvisor FlipKey

What guest reviews say tells our story about Antigua Guatemala.

• Have you ever left a B&B; asking yourself how can they possibly make any money doing this? Or how can we possibly reciprocate given such kindness and hospitality.
• Or left planning how best to talk Jim into coming to Canada so we can play host to Jim instead!!!
• The home is spectacular as you can see from the web-site but what was the highlight for me and my three traveling companions was the time spent with our hosts.
• How about arriving to a big hug after a day of traveling, ushered into a room where the wine is abundant, conversation easy and where you can plan or not plan your days with expert advice from Jim our host.
• We trotted along beside our host as he took as to their favorite haunts in Antigua, ex-pat restaurants like the Cargo Room as well as the “hole in the wall best place visited by locals.”  Angie Angie’s was a treat as is Angie and without question the Best Tapas in Antigua Guatemala will be found here.

 

 

• We learned more than we ever could possibly know about the history of the city as well as the local characters – of which Jim is definitely one – and the Mayan villages and culture surrounding Antigua Guatemala. Laid back, but involved if asked to be in every aspect of our trip, our stay with Jim.

21 5 star reviews tells a lot about how our business in Guatemala which how we receive and help guests find life in Guatemala as it should be.

Our Antigua Guatemala Best Vacation Property won an Award our first year in business from FlipKey, with the most 5 star reviews on FlipKey and Tripadvisor.

Yes Antigua Guatemala Best Vacation Property we offer help with tours if need be to like Tikal which trips to Tikal can be confusing to Plan. Or just hanging out with us in our daily life in Antigua.

For some reason our Guests find our life style in Antigua interesting to just hand out with. If you are looking for the canned tours packages offered by Antigua or Guatemala tour operators you will find many to help you with a half day or full day activities.

For our guests they prefer as our reviews on tripadvisor indicate they love to be cared for and have fun just hanging out. We can arrange experiences for our guests we hate to call them tours.

Thanks you Gals from Campbell River, British Colombia Canada  for giving us the opportunity to find new friends.

Antigua Guatemala Top Vacation Rental Tripadvisor