Monday, February 23, 2009

Of Future Plans and My Lack Thereof


At this very moment, or at the moments just previous to my writing of these very words, I am, or was, really, planning my upcoming trip to Copan Ruinas, Honduras, where I am going to meet my friend Blair. Blair is in Copan working to set up an after-school program for the kids of the small town. I am very excited to make this trip out of the city, and even out of the country, as I have not travelled save for one trip to the beach since I have been living here.

I am leaving from San Salvador this Thursday morning, and will (hopefully) arrive in Copan that afternoon. Saturday morning, Blair, Blair's comrade, and I will be making the short pilgrimmage across the Guatemalan border to the small town of Esquipulas to see the famed Cristo Negro. Apparently, in 1995, Pope Leo II declared Esquipulas and the church that houses the Black Christ as the spiritual center of Central America. So, I guess that means something. I just hope I get some good Passport stamps.

The problem is, I don't really know how I'm going to get there. I have options, sure, but like with many other things down here that really do require a certain availability of necessary information, such necessary information is most often unavailable. So I am having to rely on internet travel forums to make my trip.

My first option is to take a "luxury" class bus. Now, this sounds good. It even has air conditioning. But I have no idea where it is going to drop me off. And I called.

My second option is to take one of the "regular people's" buses. These buses might also be known as chicken buses, non-dependable, and unpredictable as far as personal safety goes. The route I would take can be found here. Yeah. It's in there somewhere.

My third option is to stay here. So I'm going with 1 or 2. I'm leaning toward #2 because I expect it to be a bit more exciting, and it is about 400% cheaper.

Speaking of which, I did have my first bus experience in-city here on Saturday. It wasn't bad. I must admit, I've been very much of a chicken when I've thought about getting on one of these buses, but Saturday I took the plunge. Sure, it was about a 15-block drive in one of the safest areas of the city, but it was still a bit of a personal achievement. My destination? Galerias.

Now to try to decode my returning trip from Esquipulas.

1 comment:

Molly said...

Exciting! I hope you took the chicken bus. Either way, I'm sure you'll have some great stories and pictures when you get back.