Hitchhiking

This past week, I had my first hitchhiking experience, and in Guatemala of all places. Starting where I left off, after spending a nice relaxing birthday swinging in a hammock for my birthday and feasting on a buffet for dinner, we left Finca Ixobel to make our way to Fray Bartolomey de Las Casas. Unfortunately, this place left much to be desired. We considered trying to make it to Semuc Champey that afternoon, but it was doubtful if we could make it before dark, so we decided to stay the night there.

As Amit and I have said all trip long, whenever you travel, it's just a series of ups and downs, and Fray was definitely a down day. We walk into supposedly the best hotel in town and we find a pool infested with algae and tadpoles. The manager wakes up from his nap, and as we peek behind him into his room, there is a shotgun lying on his bed. The room we're led to is muggy, dark, and sparse, the toilet doesn't flush, there is a pair of men's briefs lying outside our doorway.

Fortunately for us, but perhaps unfortunately for them, a couple of fellow travels stroll into the same hotel about an hour later and ask Amit for a room, mistaking him for the Guatemalan owner. When that confusion is resolved, we discover that we are both headed for Semuc and ended up stranded in Fray for the day. Lara, a cute blonde girl from Michigan, and Ryan, a Kiwi.

We get an early start the next day, and Amit and I head to the bus station to discover that all of the shuttles go all the way to Coban, and we have to catch a ride from there to Semuc, even though Semuc is about halfway between. The reason is that there is construction on the road between Fray and Semuc, so we have to go around, all the way down to Coban. We weren't about to waste our time going to Coban, and Lara and Ryan had mentioned trying to hitchhike down to Semuc, so we return to our hotel, and decide to travel together.

This is where the story gets interesting. If you're ever interested in hitchhiking in Latin America, just have a blonde girl who speaks Spanish, and you are golden. Lara had spent a year in Chile as an undergrad and another year after college working at a vineyard. Her mom moved to Honduras a few years ago to open up a restaurant, so Lara has become fluent through all of these experiences.

Our first ride happened to be on the back of a semi that was driving through some little country road. As soon as the driver realized that there was this blonde chica asking for a ride, he stopped the truck, and we all hopped on the side. After getting dropped off at a crossroad, we walked down the street and past the barricades onto the road that was being constructed. The guy guarding the gate seemed to excited to see us come (or at least to see her), and he enthusiastically let us pass. After about 15 minutes of walking, a truck on its way to the construction approached, and again, she charmed our way onto another ride. Somehow, the three of them got to sit in the cab of the truck, and I sat in the back, along with all of the materials, construction workers, and two soldiers with automatic rifles on either side. I figured I was either really safe or in a bit of danger, but I tried to assume the former.

This ride on the back of the truck will definitely go down as the most beautiful ride through Guatemala. Riding through such pristine wilderness and having a 360 degree view was amazing. The truck stopped after about 30 minutes, and we got off to continue our hike.

As we walked along the incomplete road, all of the workers waived and yelled at us (or maybe it was just her), and we all kind of felt like minor celebrities. Workers blowing up rocks, chiseling at boulders, hanging off of cliffs would all stop their work and wave. We got to a village after a few minutes, and the same thing continued. It was like they had never seen a group consisting of an American, a Japanese, an Indian, and a Kiwi.

We finally made it to Semuc that afternoon, and after grabbing a bite to eat, we tubed down the river, and it was one of the most peaceful experiences ever. After jumping off a bridge into the river, we drifted down, and it started to pour, except the sun was still shining. A rainbow formed in the middle of the river, and having seen both ends, I can now confirm that no pot of gold exists at either end. The rain falling into the turquoise waters created an appearance that miniature fountains were shooting up all around us to shower our voyage. Yup, after the lows come such highs.

Chicken bus diaries

My friend Amit rolled into town last Friday, and with the suggestion of my roommate Josh, we decided to take the week off and travel. My original plan was that this week, I would spend volunteering at a daycare and then traveling next week, but since Josh was heading out this week, and Amit just came into town, I figured why not travel this week and enjoy it?

When I told my host mom Trinise about this, she sounded a little disappointed with the news. I think people have a misconception about what first year medical students can do. When most people hear about medical students volunteering, they believe that we're basically miniature doctors, when in fact, we're still more like medical scientists with little clinical training. I don't really blame people for holding such a notion because I think that in the first year of medical school, we should at least be taught the basic clincal skills, so that we can at least hold our own in a clinic instead of just sitting around twiddling our thumbs (the Guatemalans have an expression for that hear, but it is quite vulgar). I did feel a little guilty since now she feels I came down here as a regular tourist, but I can't deny that this year.

Last year, my main purpose for going to Ecuador was to volunteer. This year, it was to learn Spanish, travel, and volunteer, in that order. I've learned my Spanish, and I'm traveling now, and I won't be able to volunteer, but so be it. As cynical as this may sound, one week of volunteering wouldn't have really amounted to much of a contribution.

So now, I'm on the road with Amit. We went to Lago Atitlan over the weekend where we jumped off some cliffs into the water, yesterday we went to the Mayan ruins at Tikal, and the rest of the week should turn out something like this - today at Finca Ixobel, tomorrow at Fray Bartolomey de Las Calas, Friday get to the Coban area, Saturday at Semuc Champey, and Sunday ride back to Xela. Round up my stay in Xela and get to Antigua before my flight back on Thursday. It'll be good to be back home.