After waking up at 7:00 and getting a ride with a local taxi to the bus station we started the first day of are Guatemalan Adventure.
The day was warm and humid as we weaved our way through hawkers trying to sell their wares in the open air bus station. Spotting a waiting area up ahead we quickened our pace trying not to run into the small kids polishing shoes.
Just moments earlier after reaching the bus station we had discovered that the bus we where supposed to take had been sold out. We decided we where just going to have to sit down and wait it out. I guess sitting down gave the impression that we where not going anywhere soon. Because it didn’t take long for the local hawkers to notice that they had a captive audience and start advertising their hand-held wares.
After telling them repeatedly that we where not interested in their black market DVD movies and other products, most of them left. Only one dark man with a pronounced Spanish accent selling sun glasses stayed. His vigilance payed off as soon as my dad (a sucker for sunglasses) heard that he could buy Ray Bans for both of us for just $1.50 each!
Seeing us buy the sunglasses gave the other hawkers fresh courage and pretty soon we where surrounded by determined sellers showing us their stuff. Some with bright hair clips and belts others with shiny key chains. Luckily for us our taxi driver had heard about us not getting on the bus and came back for us just in time to save us.
After that we realized that it would be 2 and a half hours before the next bus so we decided to take our guide up on his offer to go on a tour of the city. Inside the cab I took a closer look at the Ray Ban glasses we got. I quickly realized that the serial number was the same on both pairs of glasses and that the “Ray Ban Made In Italy” logo was crooked on one of them. I guess one good lesson I can learn is that if a deal in Guatemala is too good to be true it probably is… but I am not complaining, I got glasses for $1.50.
