This has proven to be a beneficial characteristic as a traveler. I generally opt for local buses rather than shuttles, however on this particular trip I made an exception. Much as chihuahuas, and other annoying small dogs feel the need to bark incessantly at larger dogs in their desperate desire to to appear tough, our driver felt the need to prove his manliness and flirt with death as he overtook chicken buses on blind corners, blazing his horn while doing so.
But sometimes the big dogs bark back, resulting in yet another terrifying experience as the two attempt to bark it out until oncoming traffic demands otherwise. I did my best to take in the beautiful villages and unique scenes that flashed before me as we blazed through the country side; this involved an eagle almost flying into the car, dogs and people jumping out of the way as we flew around corners and military enjoying the shade of trees as they polished their guns.
Although I generally love transport hubs due to the chaos and jumble of people and sounds, I struggle with board towns. This particular town on the border of Guatemala and Mexico was just as sleazy and unnerving as most crossings. Unfortunately your border-crossing-experience is generally completely dependent on the mood that the officer is in on that day. I happened to catch someone on a very off day. And oh boy did he make a fuss about it when he did; a missing exit stamp from June , this was a big score for him.
I lack that skill that many have that allow them to stay calm in unfortunate situations, instead, I began rapidly cursing at this man in my most vulgar Spanish. So snatching my passport and pointing at the freshly stamped page I told him thank you and to go fuck himself. Outside of the immigration office I find that the shuttle decided that this whole ordeal was taking too long and so very reasonably dropped my bag and all my belongings in the middle of the road and left me fuming at the border, another 4 hours away from my destination.
What do you do when the travel bug bites? Do you ignore it and hope the itch dies away β which we all know it never will β or do you strap on backpack and set off to relieve the itch? Since arriving things have taken a wonderful turn which has lead to opportunities more amazing than I could have ever dreamed of.
