Chicken Bus/Camioneta

Many foreign travelers consider “Chicken Buses” to be representative of travel in Central America. They are old school buses from the U.S., painted, decorated, and somehow converted into a local bus for a set route. The owners go all out on decorating, including everything from painting the outside, to decorating the inside, and of course, adorning each with (often several) blessings or religious sentiments. Guatemala is no exception to this tradition.

In addition to the beautiful color, they are also known for being quite the experience. First of all, it’s crowded. Remember your old school bus, where two kids would sit on each seat, with an aisle between two seats? Well in the new life of these buses, three adults and seemingly limitless amounts of children can sit in each seat, leaving no aisle room, because the last person only puts half of their butt on the seat, the other half in the aisle. The area above the seats can be full of packages, and the cargo area on top of the bus may also be full of furniture, bags, boxes, etc. Passengers are let on and off, and bags are dropped practically (and sometimes) while the bus is still moving. Two people run the operation, a driver and an assistant. The assistant climbs around wherever is necessary to do his job, shouting in a singsong voice the name of the destination at each major stop to herd people onto the bus. When the bus is navigating a difficult curve, he hops out and guides, then hops back on while the bus is still moving. Every 15 minutes or so, vendors are let on and off to offer you nuts, candy, ice cream, or whatever plastic junk they are selling.

Because these busses are so different, so vibrant, and full of color, strange sites, sounds, and smells, many travelers like to experience them, saying they have seen the “real” culture. My first time on one of these buses was in Costa Rica, and it's fun to see it in another location. I have to say, the painted colors remind me a lot of the trucks in India. They are decorated with such care!

I took the bus pictures at the start of the route, because when the bus got full, there was hardly room to move my arm, let alone try to take a picture.