A bit of product unendorsement: if you must use a tour bus service to get around Guatemala and neighbouring countries, here's one to avoid: Tierra Maya on 6a Avenida Norte (next to El Viejo Cafe).
Notwithstanding that Guatemalan operators of such services appear all too aware of the way that shuttle rhymes with cattle, I have made occasional use of them, for airport dashes in particular.
When I left San Cristóbal I had the option of getting the OCC bus, but on my last night I had wandered past a travel agent and found that they offered a direct service to Antigua for 400 pesos which would, I thought, enable me to avoid the uncertainties of border bus changes and the difficulties involved in arriving after dark in the capital. (Though with hindsight, given that this journey was to take 12 hours in the end, I might just have well have returned via Tapachula on the ADO/Galgos route.)
I have few complaints about the service up to the border. The driver was friendly and professional, introducing himself and making short information announcements throughout our ride to La Mesilla. Unfortunately, the way these things work is that the company you have paid to take you to Antigua hands over to their Guatemalan equivalent at the frontier.
This involves a change of microbus (usually something of a downgrade) and in my case a bit of an argument about the re-location of my suitcase. It contained cosas delicadas and I was loath to leave it sunning itself up on the roof rack with all the mochilas, but even though there would still be plenty of space inside, I was still given a load of aggro over this.
The new driver — Eddy — drove us to Las Cruces and then dumped us beside the highway, having informed us that another vehicle would soon be along to collect the Antigua-bound passengers. After about half an hour he returned and admitted that the other shuttle had been detained by a blockage up ahead, and that we would all now have to go to Panajachel where another driver would take us to Antigua using the alternative route.
By now it was dark and our third driver was in a big hurry, preferring to press ahead predominantly in the lane designed for vehicles travelling in the other direction. A German girl behind me called out to him "Señoooor! queremos llegar a Antigua..." He gruffly replied that he too wanted to get to Antigua, but the previous bus had been delayed and now he was running very late. Our safety was clearly of no concern to him whatsoever.
He had earlier made note of the various destinations within Antigua of my fellow travellers, offering hotel accommodation where none seemed to have been arranged, but when we finally made it to our destination, he pulled up outside the Tierra Maya office and declared that we had arrived in the park. Servidos...
I've done this journey before and have previously had no trouble persuading the driver to leave me to last and then run me home. Now you might think that in this I have been spoiled, but I do think this particular so-and-so owed it to his other passengers to take them to their various hotels and other abodes in the centre of town...or at least the Parque where they could more easily have picked up a cab.
There was a middle-aged / middle-class Mexican couple on their first visit to Guatemala on board and Antigua must have seemed a dauntingly unfamiliar place in which to appear at 8:30pm — unlike SC de LC, taxis here tend to congregate in one place, so the pair faced a bit of walk, lugging all their cases.
There's a certain kind of business here in Antigua which appears to believe that gringos are so many objects to be moved around and that delays, fuck-ups, rudeness, suicidal driving etc. are nothing to be apologised for. Tierra Maya is obviously one of these.
At the Mexican end it's probably best to ask who they subcontract to before setting off.
3 comments:
Dear tourists and users of Tierra Maya Travel Agency.
I would warn them about the little kindness, willingness to let you anywhere on the road and not be consistent with the services they offer.
I say this because I know first hand (I have) the situation. That is, we were in the private shuttle to Panajachel to Antigua, the driver stopped the car on the blade (45minutes of arrival) and said he was not going to Panajachel Solola or because there was a breakdown between these two roads ...
How I was only offered me two options to return to old free of charge, or take up to 148 km, about 15 minutes, paid me a truck "than they spend all the time" (said by a guy phone) then he cost me the boat.
that is, almost circles the world, when I told them that I do not care if I get close to Solola (department head why we go to corduroy and is 20 minutes).
But the response from the agency, again, has been, if he wants to pay a truck passing every few minutes to go you Solola.
If I had wanted to go by truck would not have paid a private service with cost four times what it costs the truck ...
These are some of the things we have done and what I do, because who would ever think to leave people in the street, when you know what the reality of the country of Guatemala, this is one of the signs that this agency has made its customers and clients, I hope little by little less, because to stay thrown in the middle of the road, when you may not know anything, leaves much to be desired from a business like yours.
Therefore, each owned by who knows who leaves his life, but not bad that we have the experience to avoid being caught off guard.
Always carefully
Estimados turistas y personas usuarias de la Agencia de Viajes Tierra Maya.
Quisiera advertirles sobre la escasa amabilidad, predisposición para dejarte en cualquier lugar de la carretera y no ser consecuentes con los servicios que ofrecen.
Lo digo, porque conozco de primera mano (me lo han hecho) la situación. Es decir, veníamos en el shuttle privado de Panajachel a Antigua, el chófer paró el carro en la cuchilla (45minutos del destino) y dijo que ya no iba para Panajachel ni Sololá porque había un derrumbe entre estás dos carreteras...
Cómo sólo era yo, me ofrecieron dos posibilidades regresar a antigua sin costo alguno, o llevarme hasta el km 148, cómo 15 minutos más, me pagaban una camioneta "de las que pasan a cada rato" (dicho por un tipo al teléfono) y luego me costeaba yo la lancha.
es decir, casi da la vuelta al mundo, cuando yo les había dicho, que no me importaba que me acercasen a sololá (cabecera departamental por la cual pasamos para ir a pana y quedaba a 20 minutos).
Pero la respuesta por parte de la agencia, nuevamente, ha sido, si quiere le pagamos una camioneta que pasa a cada rato para que se vaya usted a Sololá.
Si me hubiera querido ir en camioneta no hubiera pagado un servicio privado con el cuádruple costo de lo que cuesta la camioneta...
Estás son algunas de las cosas que hubiera hecho y qué haré, porque a quién se le ocurre dejar a la gente en la calle, cuando se sabe cual es la realidad del país guatemalteco, esta es una de las muestras que está agencia tiene hacía sus clientes y clientas, que espero poco a poco sean menos, porque quedarse tirada en mitad de la carretera, cuándo puede que no conozcas nada, deja mucho que desear de un negocio como el suyo.
Por tanto, cada quién sabe en manos de quien deja su vida, pero no está mal que contemos las experiencias para que no les pille desprevenidos.
Siempre con cuidado
Dear tourists and users of Tierra Maya Travel Agency.
I would warn them about the little kindness, willingness to let you anywhere on the road and not be consistent with the services they offer.
I say this because I know first hand (I have) the situation. That is, we were in the private shuttle to Panajachel to Antigua, the driver stopped the car on the blade (45minutes of arrival) and said he was not going to Panajachel Solola or because there was a breakdown between these two roads ...
How I was only offered me two options to return to old free of charge, or take up to 148 km, about 15 minutes, paid me a truck "than they spend all the time" (said by a guy phone) then he cost me the boat.
that is, almost circles the world, when I told them that I do not care if I get close to Solola (department head why we go to corduroy and is 20 minutes).
But the response from the agency, again, has been, if he wants to pay a truck passing every few minutes to go you Solola.
If I had wanted to go by truck would not have paid a private service with cost four times what it costs the truck ...
These are some of the things we have done and what I do, because who would ever think to leave people in the street, when you know what the reality of the country of Guatemala, this is one of the signs that this agency has made its customers and clients, I hope little by little less, because to stay thrown in the middle of the road, when you may not know anything, leaves much to be desired from a business like yours.
Therefore, each owned by who knows who leaves his life, but not bad that we have the experience to avoid being caught off guard.
Always carefully
There are a lot of travel agency in Guatemala. I recommend the travel agency Palasan Tour.
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