Two More Ways to Get Around

By public transport, that is...

1. Tuk Tuk. Yes, the tuk tuk has entered Guatemala with a vengeance, and every city we've been to so far has tuk tuk taxis, and they call them tuk tuks! They're called moto-carros in Mexico, which is way more descriptive, since it is basically what you'd get if you bred a motorcycle with a car. Anyway, they're fun to take around town, but more expensive than the...

2. Pickups. The pickups ply all the main streets in small towns, and even between towns as far apart as 150 km. In Santiago, the pickups are regular Toyotas, or other familiar pickup, but as we've traveled farther east and north, the pickups have gotten bigger, and some of them around Lanquin were full on trucks, with a bed nearly 20 feet long. All versions of the pickup transport have had a frame over the bed, like the collectivos in Mexico minus the tarp. More people pack into the pickups than I could possibly imagine, as many as 20 people crammed in, with the truck riding so low on its tires that the slightest bump causes it to hit bottom, and the more adventurous riders hanging onto the outside of the frame with their feet on the bumpers.
-Sarah