All the busses from Flores (near Tikal) to Guatemala City take the only good highway – often the only paved road at all – which goes all the way east to the Caribbean before coming back all the way west to Guatemala City. Aside from that, there’s only two or three other roads that will take you between there and El Petén. It’s 8 a.m. and I am currently sitting on the side of one of them, along with Graham, the Canuck, hoping to flag down the first motorized vehicle that passes (it’s been one long wait and may well keep being one). We’re two rides out of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Our last ride left us here, wherever here might be. It’s a small collection of simply built houses, a church, some pigs/dogs, and it’s in a beautiful green valley. This area’s full of beautiful green valleys, and I saw a good many of them from my 15’ up vantage point atop a fully laden cargo truck. For four hours. Four very bumpy hours down the only road for miles with its quality varying from bad to less-than-unpaved. That road got us as far as Fray by night fall. Fray is a happening place on Friday night. There’s a pool hall with nice tables. There’s a hotel with a pool with water in it that you can’t see through. It’s supposed to be the best in town. But no hot water in the showers, and for a few minutes, no water at all. Unfortunately for Graham, he was covered in soap during those fateful minutes, and the empleada girl he was beseeching over the top of the shower door to bring him a bucket of water stood there dumbfounded while I couldn’t help but just listen and laugh… she didn’t speak Spanish and was in the most precious state of innocent confusion I think I have just about ever seen.

Saturday morning (today) we got up at 5:45, as early a start on getting the hell out of there as possible. And here I am, a wait waiting. Thinking of all the LOSERS who just take the bus.