Plastic sacs full of volcanic ash that line the street. These ones were practical, but there were also lots of flimsy bags that you knew, as soon as anyone tried to pick them up, would surely break. Also, Dan and I wondered where all this stuff went? There didn't seem to be any city or government workers cleaning it up. All clean-up seemed to be undertaken by property owners. But as to where it was taken to be disposed of, who knows?


A blur whizzes past, trailing choking exhaust. Yes it's a public bus in Guatemala City. Sounding. a horn that blares to burst your ears, the bus lets you know that if you want to ride you'd better get ready to jump on, 'cause they don't stop for long. A guy who rides shotgun out of the open door (who you can see is an orange blur), spots would be passengers. He alerts the driver, jumps off as the bus slows (but rarely stops), shunts the passengers in, and then alights back to his position. It's pretty crazy to watch.



In Guatemala City, as in many cities, you see this kind of crime perpetrated against the public. A large open, undeveloped space in the midst of concrete buildings and skyscrapers. Throw a couple benches in here a tree and some flowers and such spaces would serve well as parks, even if one day they will be developed. The cost related to such a green space is marginal and the benefits are huge. Property owners who sit on land like this in the urban jungle and administrators that allow it to happen should give their heads a shake.



Close-up on the graffiti tableau in the space I talk about above. Thankfully, for some people, a fence only serves to highlight a blank canvas.


Where would Dan and I be without cheap street food? We'd be hungry.