An iconic form of public transportation throughout much of Central America, a chicken bus is a colloquial English name for a colofully painted, often modified, retired US school bus. Yep, THAT yellow school bus....the one that I spent many years bouncing around on in my youth going back and forth to school. THAT bus that is no longer safe to shuttle around US kids but is perfectly suitable for Guatemalan public transport :-)In Guatemala, the buses are used primarily to transport goods and peope between rural towns and villages. The word "chicken" refers to the fact that rural Guatemalans regularly transport live animals on such buses.
In planning a couple of visits to nearby coffee and macadamia nut farms from Antigua, the guide books all recomend taking one of the local chicken buses so I see a ride or two in our future. I was doing some reading, online, about chicken buses and came across this snippet. Too funny!
For bit of local Guatemalan character and color, a ride on a chicken bus is a must do on my list. Of course, I will love the experience. We'll see how the guys handle it :-)
