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.

Some of the finest back strap loom weaving in Guatemala

The textiles that are woven in San Antonio Aguas Calientes are considered to be the finest in all of Guatemala.

 

Guatemalan woman weavers today use the same backstrap loom method of weaving that their mothers and grandmothers used for centuries to create beautiful textiles. Their weaving skills have been passed down through the generations from mothers to daughters and in some cases, to their sons.

Weaving has been a way for many Guatemalan women to support their families. Some of the finest back strap loom weaving in Guatemala is from San Antonio Aguas Calientes located a twenty-minute bus ride southeast of the city of Antigua Guatemala on the slopes of Acatenango volcano.

The textiles that are woven in this small village are considered to be the finest in all of Guatemala.

Guatemalan woman weavers today use the same Backstrap loom method of weaving that their mothers and grandmothers used for centuries to create beautiful textiles. Their weaving skills have been passed down through the generations from mothers to daughters and in some cases, to their sons.

Weaving has been a way for many Guatemalan women to support their families.

Some of the finest back strap loom weaving in Guatemala is from San Antonio Aguas Calientes located a twenty-minute bus ride southeast of the city of Antigua Guatemala on the slopes of Acatenango volcano. The textiles that are woven in San Antonio Aguas Calientes are considered to be the finest in all of Guatemala.

While traditional native dress has disappeared in many parts of the world, Guatemala remains a place where the vast majority of the Mayan people still proudly wear their traditional dress, called traje. The women wear traditional huipiles (woven blouses) and cortes (long woven skirts ).

Maya woman weavers often say their identity is their traje as it is a very personal, communicative, and significant part of their Mayan cultural heritage. The weave, design, and colors of the huipil represent an identity and culture going back centuries and is used to identify the specific village of the weaver.