Guatemalan Chicken Bus Ride

On Saturday, my friend Stephanie and I decided to travel on a chicken bus to the farmers market in a small nearby town of Salcajá. The Spanish school is owned by Gladys; her 31 year old son Eduardo offered to be our guide for the morning. The ride each way cost us three Quetzal (about 50 cents). Getting on the bus was no problem at all. You pay mid-ride. The bus honks its horn as it goes down the road and there are always two people running the bus: the driver and hist assistant. The job of the assistant is to hang out the front door way signal traffic to move aside as the bus changes lanes or turns. He also tells the driver if it is clear to change lanes or if someone riding a bike is about to get squished. The solution to all situations is to bonk the horn and yell loudly. As passengers the only problem I had was fitting between two seats. On the way there I sat right behind the driver where I was about to get my knees around the drivers seat from behind. However, on the way back I literally had to sit sideways in the seat given there is only about six inches between the seat and the back of the next seat. Seems the Guatemala man next to me had no problem. But for me there was no way I could ever fit.