Monkey, Hippo, and the Eif-faux Tower

I slept quite well last night, at least after putting on some mosquito repellant after getting bit once and then hearing one buzzing around my head. Got up around 9, had the included breakfast, and after consulting the calendar, decided to spend another night in the city so that I'd have a full day to explore.

Hopping on my bike, I headed off to explore and get some information about buses to Costa Rica, such as how much more it would cost to take the bike, since I was considering breaking it apart and packing it into its travel bag if the extra cost was significant.

On the way to my first intended stop, the Ticabus terminal, I passed by what might be the little Seoul of Guate: several Korean groceries and restaurants, most with signs only in Hangul, no Spanish or English. I hadn't seen that in a while, and my mind and (salivary glands) turned towards kalbi, bulgogi, kimchi, etc. Not to mention san-nakji (live octupus), and dog soup, although I doubted whether they had those delicacies... or whether I'd order them even if they did.

It turned out the terminal had moved and the security guard and a random pedestrian I'd asked for help told me more or less where it was, but didn't know the address, and since it was at least 5 km away by their estimates, I decided to continue exploring and check on a couple of other places first.

I was heading generally north, but veering off in different directions as I tried to avoid some of the main arterials and find quieter and more pleasant streets to bike on, without much success.

At one point I saw the top of a pointy iron tower several blocks away, and figured it was probably the mini Eiffel Tower thing I'd seen in a Guatemalan film a while ago, so headed over to check it out. It straddled an intersection, and resemblede the general shape of the Paris landmark, but was much smaller and had several "booster rocket" type shapes that I don't remember seeing on the original. I'm not quite sure what the story behind it is, and so far no one else I've asked really knows either.

After puzzling over the tower a few minutes, I decided to head towards another bus company, but somehow managed to end up getting turned around and ending up in a section of town off my limited map of the city. Getting completely turned around and lost in a new city is always kind of exciting, since I normally have a pretty good sense of direction and it doesn't happen much. Of course, it didn't really matter, and I just sort of randomly wandered northward until I recognized an intersection I'd passed earlier on my way to the tower, and then headed to one of the bus companies.

This area was very different from the area I was staying, more similar to what I'd become accustomed to in the rest of Guatemala. There was an open air market, the streets lined with booths and tables selling anything and everything, pavement choked with all manner of traffic: cars, trucks, and brightly painted school buses, with motorcycles, bicycles, push carts, pedestrians, and packs of dogs threading their way between the larger vehicles. Amid the choas, I said hello to a trio of bicycle police looking somewhat awkward on their shiny and brand new (although rather low quality) bikes, and found the bus station I was looking for. I picked up a schedule, and was told I wouldn't be charged anything extra for the bicycle. The cost was US$10 to San Salvador.

I then headed to the central plaza to admire the foutain and colonial buildings for a few minutes before heading to an ice cream shop that had been mentioned in my guide book. They served several odd flavors like fish and beer (two differnet flavors, not one!) but I settled on a cone of the rather tame but tasty strawberry and pineapple.

I then headed back to the hostel to find out the address of the Ticabus station, and rode out to check the schedule and prices. Once again I was told I wouldn't be charged anything extra for the bike.

On the way back to the hostel, I came upon a truck, and noticed a spider monkey scampering about, tied with a rope around its neck to the metal cage over the bed of the truck. Looking more closely at the other animals in the truck, I saw a couple of small cows, and a real, live hippopatumus! A truck from the zoo maybe? Or are they farming hippos in Guatemala? Unfortunately I didn't have time to get out the camera for a photo, but I resolved to keep my eyes open for hippoburgers.