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Mar 1, 2010
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The Guatemalan Scholars' Network brings you news, fellowships and jobs.
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Jul 24, 2010
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After 11 hours or so on the road, I started to get tired. The back of the bus is a collection of all kinds of extra parts and pieces. Among these are 40 extra bus seats – the bases separated from the backs. I put my gear away, climbed back there, cracked a window and arranged 10 or so of them on top of an old bus engine and took a much-needed nap for an hour or so.
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Jul 24, 2010
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Shortly after hitting the road – less than 100 yds from our hostel - we saw a man that had just been shot dead on the side of the road. There was so little natural light out at that time that, after shooting a bit of Mingo sweeping up the bus before we took off, I had returned my camera back to its bag. At any rate, the police were just pulling up and fresh blood had begun to soak into the pores of the worn concrete.
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Jul 25, 2010
0
This is Mazatenango – a modern town with a lot of night life. I'm not sure how much “night life” I'd like to get into at this point. Car alarms are going off left and right, but I managed to fall asleep to the sounds of a parade of cars, trucks, and buses driving past us on the highway. These must be the guys that sleep by day and drive by night.
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Aug 12, 2010
1
We arrived super early this morning to Oscar and Federico's shop to try to get a shop of them arriving and opening up the yard. I'm slightly hidden behind the front wheel of a nearby truck so that I don't draw too much attention to myself and I begin to wait. Then, from behind a pile of used tires to my left, I hear Oscar's laugh - he was sitting with his buddy Pinchazo on the porch of Pinchazo's shop and they were getting a kick out of watching me try to snipe an arrival shot.
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Aug 17, 2010
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The parts arrived earlier this week. It was a huge truckload, carrying dismembered buses and bus parts. Three engines came equipped with their yellow hoods and front wheels intact. From a distance, they looked like gigantic severed, crawfish heads. We shot a bit of the unloading and were happy to know that whatever our bus needed had finally arrived.
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Aug 18, 2010
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We also find out that our bus is going to drive for the Rutas Quetzal line, which goes from Ciudad Quetzal to Guatemala City and crosses through Mixco, one of the most dangerous parts of the area surrounding the capital. I don't know the capital city well at all, but I recognize Mixco from all the sensationalized news stories about bus drivers being killed by the MS-13. I feel slapped in the face by a huge reality-check. Damn.
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Aug 20, 2010
0
We arrive to the shop at 8:00AM. All the transformation is going to take place today, but it seems like everyone knows what to do without having to discuss much. Rafael, Jose, Luis, Vinicio, Julio, Ludwig and Juan all seem to have developed their own niche by now. It was hard to believe how fast they worked – the luggage rack inside the bus was assembled and installed within one hour.
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Aug 21, 2010
0
The interview with the shop owner, Rudolfo, held a few surprises. First off, I was surprised to learn that he began working on buses when he was only 9 years old, and has been in some way involved in the bus industry ever since.
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Aug 24, 2010
0
The person who had written the proposal for the national bus plan listed the names of the bus owners that would be able to supply the buses for this new fleet. Who were these fine gentlemen and what kind of vehicles did they have to offer the country? My mind immediately though of well-groomed folks in fancy pants that happened to have the capital necessary to buy buses – therefore, they are the ones who get all the return on the investment, and thus begins the transportation system.
Mar 1, 2010 2The Guatemalan Scholars' Network brings you news, fellowships and jobs.
Jul 24, 2010 0After 11 hours or so on the road, I started to get tired. The back of the bus is a collection of all kinds of extra parts and pieces. Among these are 40 extra bus seats – the bases separated from the backs. I put my gear away, climbed back there, cracked a window and arranged 10 or so of them on top of an old bus engine and took a much-needed nap for an hour or so.
Jul 24, 2010 0Shortly after hitting the road – less than 100 yds from our hostel - we saw a man that had just been shot dead on the side of the road. There was so little natural light out at that time that, after shooting a bit of Mingo sweeping up the bus before we took off, I had returned my camera back to its bag. At any rate, the police were just pulling up and fresh blood had begun to soak into the pores of the worn concrete.
Jul 25, 2010 0This is Mazatenango – a modern town with a lot of night life. I'm not sure how much “night life” I'd like to get into at this point. Car alarms are going off left and right, but I managed to fall asleep to the sounds of a parade of cars, trucks, and buses driving past us on the highway. These must be the guys that sleep by day and drive by night.
Aug 12, 2010 1We arrived super early this morning to Oscar and Federico's shop to try to get a shop of them arriving and opening up the yard. I'm slightly hidden behind the front wheel of a nearby truck so that I don't draw too much attention to myself and I begin to wait. Then, from behind a pile of used tires to my left, I hear Oscar's laugh - he was sitting with his buddy Pinchazo on the porch of Pinchazo's shop and they were getting a kick out of watching me try to snipe an arrival shot.
Aug 18, 2010 0We also find out that our bus is going to drive for the Rutas Quetzal line, which goes from Ciudad Quetzal to Guatemala City and crosses through Mixco, one of the most dangerous parts of the area surrounding the capital. I don't know the capital city well at all, but I recognize Mixco from all the sensationalized news stories about bus drivers being killed by the MS-13. I feel slapped in the face by a huge reality-check. Damn.
Aug 20, 2010 0We arrive to the shop at 8:00AM. All the transformation is going to take place today, but it seems like everyone knows what to do without having to discuss much. Rafael, Jose, Luis, Vinicio, Julio, Ludwig and Juan all seem to have developed their own niche by now. It was hard to believe how fast they worked – the luggage rack inside the bus was assembled and installed within one hour.
Aug 21, 2010 0The interview with the shop owner, Rudolfo, held a few surprises. First off, I was surprised to learn that he began working on buses when he was only 9 years old, and has been in some way involved in the bus industry ever since.
Aug 24, 2010 0The person who had written the proposal for the national bus plan listed the names of the bus owners that would be able to supply the buses for this new fleet. Who were these fine gentlemen and what kind of vehicles did they have to offer the country? My mind immediately though of well-groomed folks in fancy pants that happened to have the capital necessary to buy buses – therefore, they are the ones who get all the return on the investment, and thus begins the transportation system.