The morning took its time roll on in and my slumber in my little cot was wholesome and entirely rejuvenating. Brisk mountain morning air passed through the open slits in the tin roof and a little bit of rain pattering on the in wooed me to sleep and awake again as softly as I could have hoped for. The thin flannel blanket provided provided the essential amount of warmth for the evening and all in all, there really couldnt have been a better evening to spend our last night in the mountains than the one given to us.
I also gently awoke to the sound of packing and zippers being closed up. My eyes rolled open and I saw Anne was already showered, dressed and almost ready to go. In no hurry at all, I rolled over on my side and tried to catch a few more moments of bliss. Once that was accomplished, still in slow moving morning delight, I peeled myself from my cozy bunk and began to do the same. I wasnt nearly as concerned with my general hygiene because i knew the day would be spent on a bus. A shower could be had when we were back in Guatemala City.
when the packing was complete, we ate a light pancake breakfast and then found Edgar to figure out what our hostel tab was and that the bus was actually going to take us to an ATM. Honestly at this point, we were starting to believe that they didnt exist anymore and the financial structure of the entire country had shifted to 100% cash. Our tab was reasonable and Edgar assured us that the bus would take us directly to a functioning cash machine. Still we were skeptical but it was all out of our hands.
Not too long after breakfast, the little tour van showed up and we loaded our belongings on the roof. Allen the crazy irishman and a few other guests we had come to know at the hostel were accompanying us on our journey to Coban but after that we would all be going separate ways. We spent the next few hours squished together in the van as we trailed the rocky dirt Guatemalan roads. There was a slight mix up with who was going where when quickly stopped in Lanqin before making our final departure, but it was a minor hold up in the grand scheme of things. We stared back in awe at the mountains of Semuc Champay and said our goodbyes as it slowly waned from our view.
A few hours later, the bus abruptly stopped in what appeared to be just another little passerby village but actually turned out to be Coban. Nothing was going on in this little town, but Anne and I were eager to see if these ATM rumors were true. The bus driver let us out and walked us into an Alley where sure enough, there was a cash machine. One by one, we stepped into the little booth and withdrew hearty amounts of Guatemalan currency. I took enough to pay my hostel tab and to pay my way out of Guatemala entirely. Anne damn near emptied her bank account and was pretty much running on fumes in hopes to make it safely back to the U.S.
Cash in hand, we payed the bus driver as Edgar said we would and like that, our extreme poverty was over. Now we were back into the "marginally stretching the budget" traveler mentality which was more than comfortable for us given the events of the past week and a half.
The tour van pulled away, we said goodbye to the people who stayed on it and then marched down to the bus station to catch a chicken bus to Guatemala City. It was all too easy. We hopped a bus and in three hours or so, we were back into the most dangerous city in central america. Luck was on our side once more and we arrived in the daylight, and in the same bus station that I had put my old sugar daddy on a few weeks prior.
Satisfied that I knew where I was in the city, we disembarked from the chicken bus and luggage in hand, made the march a good eight blocks to pension meza. It was quiet but bright we arrived and we quickly got in and got ourselves a room. I kept looking around for Mateo but I didnt see him. I figured he was probably out on the street selling his jewelery somewhere. In the back patio area, the same group of scraggly latin americans were gathered around the table smoking joint after joint... just as i had left them. There were however a few newer additions to the crew, but everybody was high spirits and from what i could understand, the conversation still hadnt drifted far from what kind of pot they were smoking, where they got it, and how much they love to smoke it.
At one point, I saw Danilo, the tico kid who was drumming on the water jug my last time at the hostel. I flagged him down and asked him if Mateo is still staying in the hostel. He told me he was, but couldnt remember who i was. Either way i was pretty excited to play some music later in the night. as for now, Anne and I unpacked what we needed for the evening and began to brainstorm our plan of action for the morning. mid discussion, I had to leave to go into the patio and accompany one of the scraggly old men who was strumming out a favorite buena vista social club song of mine. As soon as I began playing the guy, Danilo ran up to me and told me he remembered who i was and that I had to go the park and play with them that night. I obliged to him but thought it probably wasnt the best idea to be strolling the city streets at night. nonetheless, it wasnt my top priority to worry about the evening at this point. I was consumed in in music and still had to finish detailing the travel plans with Anne.
When Anne and I finally got down to business, she told me that she had to catch a shuttle to the airport that left from the same bus station we had come in on. She had done her research and the shuttle was at 8am. Next on the list was getting me out of Guatemala and back into Nicaragua. We hit the streets and were going to return to the other hotel I had stayed at to use their internet, but on the way, we heard a man calling out in the street about tickets for a bus to Nicaragua. He told us it was a straight shot to Managua and it was a 24 hour ride for 25 bucks. This sounded so much better to me than taking the three day ticabus jaunt and having to fend for room and board each night as well. I bought a ticket from him right there and he told me to return at noon tomorrow. We continued for a little while walking through the city and every time we would see the ticket vendor, he would remind me of my ticket and what time the bus was. I guess that was a case where it helped to stick out like a sore thumb. He wasnt about to let me miss this bus.
We continued our walk through the city and returned back to pension meza as the sun was starting to set. When we got there, Mateo was sitting on a bench putting away his jewelery that he had been trying sell. He was pretty excited to see me and I told him the feeling was mutual. Returning to this hostel was like yet another homecoming. After being away for a while and going through some adventurous but trying times, the little bit of familiarity and friendship was very comforting.
After lounging around for a few hours, we got a knock on our door from Danilo and Mateo telling us it was time to go to the park to play music. I then questioned about the safety of it all and in few words, they tried their best to reassure me. After talking with Anne, we came to the consensus, if there was every a time to trek the city at night, it was now, and with these two who had been living there for some time. With that, I grabbed my guitar, Mateo grabbed his and Danilo strapped the water jug to his bike and we all set out to the park.
After walking for a little bit, we entered through large rod iron gates into "the park" and were instantly told that whatever was going on there was not normal. There were swarms of people. Thousands crowded the confines of the park and we weaseled our way through the masses to get to the back area which was slightly less crowded. Kids walked around with instruments and street vendors lined the inside selling food and merchandise. Mateo told me he had never seen so many people there and didnt know what was going on.
The three of us squeezed onto a small section of stairwell that was already overly crowded with people and pulled out our instruments. Mateo and Danilo were seasoned. They had a busking routine they knew and knew well and barreled into it. I just kept up by backing the chords mateo played and adding some extra voice whenever i could figure out what they were singing. In the midst of all the other noise, we were loud and people began to turn.
As soon as we kicked it off, a small crowd began to circle around us. A few minutes later, the crowd had increased. When our numbers grew to about fifty or sixty, Danilo put down his water jug and ran to his bike while Mateo and I kept playing. Before I knew it, something lit up space right in front of us and looking up, I saw it was Danilo with Poi lit on fire. He danced with the burning ropes while we continued to play. Once the flames lit up, even larger crowds of people surrounded us and it seemed like we were a spectacle from within the park. We kept the show going for a little while and eventually Mateo and I stopped playing while Danilo kept entertaining everybody with some jokes and a speech that was extremely hard for me to understand. I also cant remember even remotely what it was about, but I do remember that it had everybody laughing and applauding.
pretty abruptly after Danilo's speech, almost as if it had been preplanned and synced up, live and heavily amplified music began belting from the center of the park where we could see a stage and speaker setup. After asking a around, we were told that it was the semifinals for the latin american idol championship. It was being held in Guatemala City and what i found most interesting is that it was free for everybody to enjoy. I doubt anything like that could ever happen in the U.S.
After sticking around for a bit, Anne and I left the concert as a latin american idol allstar was singing none other than "my heart will go on" and hoofed it the few blocks back to the hostel. Thoroughly spent and exhausted from the days travels and adventures, we set out alarms for the morning hours and knocked out cold.
The morning came swiftly this time and Anne threw her bags together in minutes before we set out to get her a cab to take her to the station. With a cab hailed, we said our goodbyes and I sent her on her way. My adventure companion was gone and I was now on my own again.
The rest of the morning was spent lounging around the hostel and mingling with the group of people that seemed to never leave the patio table. When the hour was right, I grabbed my backpack and guitar, said goodbye to Mateo and headed back to the bus station. When I got there, the man who sold me the ticket flagged me down and told me once again about every detail of the bus trip, only this time he said it would take about 15 hours instead of 24.
With a little time to spare, I checked my wallet to see how much money I had left. I had a few dollars in Guatemalan currency and about twenty in Nicaraguan currency. I hoped that the bus would travel as quickly as planned, because I would have two countries to cross who use other currencies than what I had. I walked across the street to a little vendor and purchased two small packets of ciki cookies (which i had come to love over there) to tide me over for the day of travel. I gave the rest of my money to a street beggar as I knew that I wouldnt be coming back to the country and didnt have a use for weighty coins. I took a brief moment to chuckle at the fact that I was flat broke again and then walked across the street o board the bus. After sitting there for about an hour, we finally embarked.
I'd like to also add a little bit about what Anne is currently doing. After spending almost a year back in Seattle, she has made her way back to Guatemala where she aligned herself with an organization teaching English in the city of San Pedro Carchá. She also maintains a blog about her experiences and if you wish, you can follow her at http://abarkett.blogspot.com/
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