I was sitting in a cafe in the village of Panajatchel on Lake Atitlan recently and marvelled at the modes of transport that are used in this region. Here is a sample of the activity I witnessed during my visit:

By Foot
Women and Girls of all ages in Guatemala are very adept at carrying multiple items on their body. On the head items can include large bowls filled with fruit, wrapped bundles which are often extremely heavy and cumbersome, eggs in cartons, large bunches of flowers and textiles. On body - babies on back wrapped tightly in brightly coloured textile slings, handicrafts and textiles over shoulders and bracelets, sunglass holders and other items hanging from their arms.

I have also seen men and boys carrying piles of wood, bags of cement, bags of large avocadoes and large bags filled with plastic bottles and boxes of glass bottles on their backs. Usually the items are strung together will long belt or sash and (the sash) rests on the forehead.

By Cyclo or Tuk Tuk
Inevitably the Tuk Tuks are red in colour (may be it is because the colour red is fast?) and act as a taxi (albeit on three wheels). In Panajachel, the Tuk Tuks either had numbers or names such as Eduardo, Torito, Wilo, Angelito and Danielito. They are a cheap and clean way to get around the villages. Much better than some of the buses or taxis!

Pick up (or UTE)
Enterprising people in Pick up trucks drive from village to village especially where there is no regular public transport. They literally pick up people who hail them for a lift. It is not unusual to see 10 or 12 people in back of pick up. I even saw one truck with plastic bbq chairs in back and two people hanging on for dear life!

Chicken Bus
These buses are often called Esmerelda and covered in dust and usually puffing out black diesel from exhaust. These buses are aptly named for two reasons.... the first, is as well as people, there are chickens, eggs, fruit, vegetables and other items crammed into the bus. The second reason, is a lot of tourists 'chicken out' of travelling in these buses as the drivers are often frustrated racing car drivers who revel in terrifying passengers with their driving skills. Have had many conversations with fellow backpackers who felt they were not going to survive their journeys whilst travelling on these buses.

Lanchas-ferries
various fibreglass and-or wooden boats which sail to each village on the lake. On my first trip, I wondered why many of the passengers carried large plastic bags with nothing in them... it was to keep of the water as the captains ploughed through the waves on the lake! I caught one Lancha to Santiago de Atitlan and half way across the lake realised that there were no life jackets and the wood on the roof of the boat was really cracked. Luckily the Captain was a skilled navigator and he was wearing a Jesu Cristo teeshirt. He was obviously well connected.

Shuttle Buses
for the faint hearted! mostly tourists take this form of transport. door to door and in style of mini bus. Usually costs 10 times as much as the Chicken Bus!

Other forms of transport spotted during my visit also included wheelbarrows, a few cars, bicycles ad motor bikes. A very entertaining sojourn.