Those of you that have traveled in different countries around the world know that driving styles vary, as do the individual countries approach to road layout.
For instance, Mongolians were famous for their ability to drive cars as if they were riding the horses. They constantly eased over next to you until you were herded into the next lane. Jordanians drove using the inshallah principle, god willing. If god wills it, so it will be. Not a great attitude to have when you are hurtling through a city. The Greeks feel that passing on the right, at any speed, is de rigor. My Colombian motorcycle friends thought nothing of passing at a high speed on a blind curve. In Africa it was not so much the way people drove, but the animals on the road. Cows, goats, sheep, donkeys and the occasional elephant were things that you needed to look out for.
Having been well versed in the art of international driving, I felt that I was prepared for almost anything here in Guatemala. I learned to drive in NYC, so I understand traffic. Although there is indeed plenty of traffic here, at times, it is nothing unusual. It is also true that Guatemalans have no idea what it means to keep right. They poke along in the left lane or act like speed racer in the right. I was specifically told not to honk my horn at other drivers because “many of them have guns.” But it is not the drivers that are unique to Guatemala, it is the roads.
Guatemalans seem to have a distinct adversity to allowing two lanes going in the opposite direction to touch. Any ‘almost’ major thoroughfare is a divided road. Divided by concrete barricades, divided by grass medians or divided by overgrown jungle. So getting to the other side is an adventure, especially when the road on the other side can have a different name then the road you are on. On our first trip to Antigua we managed to get lost and needed to find a “retorno” in order change our direction. It took 8 kms to find one. Of course it just became an opportunity to see more of the countryside, albeit an unexpected one.
Our directions for going to Antigua were to get on such and such road and go straight. Now the area around Guatemala City is rift with volcanoes and steep valleys. There are no straight roads. If you continue down any of the roads they split and your choice is forty five degrees to the left or forty five degrees to the right. And some of those places where the roads go are into “Zonas” that you don’t want to be in. Of course being new to the city, we don’t really know which ones are the bad zones. Kind of gives new meaning to a thrilling ride.
Having spent some time being lost in the city, I still don’t understand why I can make it home on Avenida Reforma by taking it either north or south. Or that I can leave my house go down to Vista Hermosa and travel in either direction and still get to the airport. There are no good maps, but I am hoping to get a card for my GPS.
Being a fairly tropical country, Guatemalan roads are lined with drainage areas, a good idea in a country that gets heavy rainfall. However, they do not quite have that concept down pat. The drainage ditches are 18 to 24 inches deep and are rectangular in nature. There is no easing off into the road shoulder. Once you put your wheel into one of these troughs, you need a jack to get back out. As a motorcyclist I know that I will have to use extreme caution.
I am sure that we have some exciting riding/driving ahead of us and we look forward to the challenge.
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