We woke up at 6:15 and packed everything up. We ate two plates of eggs with plantains, beans, plantains, and toast and a bowl of cereal with banana. We paid our bills (they kept a running tab during the time we were there) and I owed 535Q including our shuttle ride to Rio Dulce. We left at 7:40 with the couple from New Zealand. They want to open a hostel. On our way to Lanquín, we had to stop for a truck that couldn´t make it up a hill and was blocking the road. Finally we arrived in Lanquín and we changed to another bus. This time, it was just us and three girls from England. We got stopped another time along the road because a gas truck was stuck trying to come up a hill on a curve and couldn´t turn in time. Our driver maneuvered around the stuck truck with the other guy directing. We made it safely around with three inches to spare! The road to Río Dulce was not really a road, it was more like a gravel trail filled with hills, curves, and potholes. In two places, we had to get out of the bus and walk so that the bus could go up the hill! I gave Amber a massage, which was possible because she was sitting in the seat in front of me. We guessed when we would arrive in Río Dulce, and my guess was 2pm. We stopped at 11:30 at a restaurant and some people ate sandwiches. Amber was sleeping during part of the stop. We switched vans again, and I was happy that the driver put our bags inside the van because I was scared it was going to rain and our stuff would get wet. The new bus did not smell so good. I read the rest of my book (Cast Two Shadows) and then we arrived in Río Dulce at 2pm! We decided to look for a bus to get to Puerto Barrios because it is closer to the border with Honduras. A bus man wanted us to spend the night in Río Dulce and take a direct bus to San Pedro Sula the next day for 130Q, but when we didn´t want this option, he showed us a colectivo to Puerto Barrios that cost 30Q. We wondered if we had paid too much. I sat with Lauren and worked on my memory verses while she read the Bible. This trip was much smoother with a better road. We kept stopping and picking up people. We arrived in Puerto Barrios around 4:30 (which was faster than I had anticipated). We tried to find information about the bus for the next day, but we did not have success. We went to Pollo Campero for dinner. I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a vanilla ice cream cone. It began raining. We decided that Lauren and Amber would go look for information about a bus, find a hotel, find a grocery store, and call Lauren´s uncle while I stayed at Pollo Campero with our stuff. I was going to write about things I had been thinking about on the bus, but I met a new friend instead from the table next to ours. Her name was María José and she was 7 years old. Her little sister was named María Alejandra and she was 9 months old. María José sat next to me at my table and we talked for a long time. When she found out I was from the U.S. she asked me if I had seen a pregnant dark-skinned woman with black hair without any moles on her face: her cousin from Los Angeles. She was disappointed that I didn´t know her. I learned that there is a Chuckie Cheese in Guatemala City. The sky was very dark with lots of rain. María José wanted her family to take to a hotel. It was a bit awkward because she would go over to her dad and whisper in his ear and ask if they could take me to my hotel. I didn´t want him to think that I had asked her to ask him! Finally her family left and I began to write. I had scarcely begun when my friends returned. Their mission had been successful. They had reserved a room for us at a sketchy hotel, found information about the buses, a supermarket, an ATM, and a place for us to eat breakfast, and Lauren had talked to Tio Victor… all in the space of about an hour, in the rain! It was still raining a bit when we walked back to the hotel. I paid (Q123 for the three of us). A hotel man showed us to our room and it was funny because he pointed out the bathroom and the TV about four times each! We left our bags there and went to the ATM and the supermarket where we bought snacks for our trip (cookies!). The city was a bit sketchy, especially at night. The Lonely Planet book described Puerto Barrios as a sketchy and unfriendly place that most tourists leave as quickly as possible. There are many bars and brothels. We returned to our room. Amber gave me a massage which helped my tense muscles. I wrote a bit in my journal and we went to bed around 9:30.
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