Church decked out for Lent
Our last morning in Antigua, so we took the opportunity to have a leisurely breakfast on the rooftop overlooking the city, whilst talking to a young couple from Perth.
Packed up, then went for a walk around the city to get some supplies. The cathedral was actually open now that all the parades and processions had finished, so we popped in as we walked past. Being decked out for Lent, it looked lovely, and had a great example of the Lent ‘carpets’ which are made out of flowers, plants and seeds, and in this case some fruit too.
Picked up right on time by our driver and shuttled back into Guatemala City. For some reason there was only half the traffic on a Monday that there was at the weekend. We had a couple of hours to hang around the hotel, which doubled as the bus terminus because it was in a safe part of the city, so we headed off and got some pizza for lunch to while away the time.
Boarded our double decker bus, executive class of course, though the executive class is the cheapest there is. Departed right on time and had a great view of the city as we climbed out of Guatemala.
Halfway up the hill the stewardess turned up with a Hungry Jacks hamburger for each of us, so we had the surreal experience of climbing out of Guatemala City eating a Hungry Jacks hamburger and listening to Crowded House on the bus stereo – in Guatemala!
All was going well for about half an hour till we came to a grinding halt, and didn’t move for the next two and a half hours. Ambulances and police all came past us on the wrong side of the road so we guessed that there had been accident, and sure enough we were correct.
Honestly, Guatemala drivers have a little idea about the logistics of cars and driving. Saw several of them get beached as they attempted to do a U-turn in a standard sedan across the median strip of a four-lane highway, supposedly aided by at least half a dozen of the surrounding drivers who were all pointing and waving in different directions. Then they started piling up rocks from the side of the road to stick under the wheels to push them off.
Finally got going again. Darkness had already fallen, so progress was much slower than it would’ve been normally. Crawled along amongst the huge number of cars and trucks that had been queued up to get past the accident, but after an hour traffic thinned out as we headed towards the border.
Reached the El Salvador border around 8:15. Exit formalities at Guatemala were straightforward, though we had to get off the bus and go into the office. On the El Salvador side of the border one of the officers came on board and checked all of our passports, but didn’t stamp them in any way. We were on our way again around 8:45.
We were very impressed with the highways in Guatemala around the main cities and tourist areas. The infrastructure and grade separations were very extensive, and traffic flowed easily with very few traffic lights. However, when we got out in the country and towards the El Salvador border, the roads became very average indeed. So we expected the roads across the border in El Salvador, a poorer country, to be even worse, but we were pleasantly surprised that most of the highways were four-lane, separated roads with lines and cats-eyes. Picked up speed very rapidly once we crossed the border.
Arrived around 10:15, and walked briskly to our Airbnb which had closed because we were so late, but had left us a key. Fell into bed.
Charly’s Place, San Salvador
Easter carpet of plants, seeds and fruit
Bus to El Salvador
Charly’s Place