As the Sun Goes Down I Follow the Locals

In the tropics people start their day pretty early, and their day tends to end earlier too, as it basically following the progress of the sun.

There are many good reasons for this, especially on travel days when I like to get a bus to my destination between 7-9 a.m. in order to arrive at the next town & get settled before it gets too hot in the afternoon.

And though I used to be a night owl when I was a journeyman musician working the bars & clubs, these days I'm not at all into the nightlife scene when I'm at home or on the road. When I'm traveling it definitely helps keep the budget balanced if I'm not spending very much on drinks & nightclubbing.

At sundown people here head home, and all over the city the gates are coming down--not just on businesses & restaurants but on the one & two star hotels where I hang my hat, and the gates are coming down on people's homes too.

Given that most guidebooks advise foreigners to avoid walking the streets after dark and to take taxis everywhere (for even a short trip to the wealthy Zona 10 from the hotel in my less-wealthy Zona 9--just a ten minute walk--it is recommended that you take a taxi), I tend to follow the locals when in Rome. So here in GC after dark I prepare to take an evening meal somewhere nearby and pretty much call it a day after that.

¡¿Where's the D%&ç Bus Station?!

One of my least favorite chores on the road in Latin America is figuring out which bus I need and from which bus station I have to find my way out & onward to my next destination. Unlike in some countries, Central American bus companies have their own private terminals, and most big cities have several of these large, chaotic terminals spread out over a wide area. So it can be tricky to navigate your way from hotel to terminal--especially if you want to save money on taxis--and from terminal to hotel in the next town or city.

Even when I have the assistance of maps & guidebooks, as I do here, I am often frustrated in my research. For example, my Guatemala Rough Guide indicates that the Tica Bus Company, which runs major routes all over Central America, has its terminal just three blocks west of my hotel (unusally convenient for me, in my experience!), but when I went for a walk to look for it yesterday I found no sign of it. Errgghhh. . .

Sometimes the bane of my traveler's existence, Latin American buses are a reality you have to deal with sooner or later--if you want to stay on budget and get around overland. But unsurprisingly I will sometimes stay an extra day someplace just to avoid dealing with it a little bit longer. . .