On one of our last adventure days, Grace and I went to Antigua with plans to go to DHL to ship some of her things home, Megapaca (a giant thrift store), and the gluten-free pizza place.
We headed for DHL first so we could drop stuff off right away, but on our way there we saw a SUPER cute coffee shop called Ojala Cafe. We decided we were gonna stop by there when we finished at DHL, before heading to Megapaca, so we dropped stuff off and walked back to the coffee shop. It was genuinely one of the most beautiful coffee shops I’ve ever been in. Even in an incredible coffee shop, I don’t like coffee, so I ordered a hot chocolate. That’s usually my go to, but it was a little strange considering it was so hot out. Then when Grace asked for sugar for her coffee they gave it to her in a shot glass. So drink-wise, it was an interesting experience, but the beauty of the place far out-weighed it.
Eventually, we decided to head for Megapaca. One of my teammates had told me it was about a 10 minute drive, so we thought we’d walk to the far side of town and catch a tuk-tuk. However, when we looked up the directions, it was actually a 30 minute drive. We thought we might still be able to catch a bus on the way out, so we started walking.
One tuk-tuk came up to us and when we said we wanted to go to Megapaca, he said it was too far and left. A little bit later, another tuk-tuk came and after initially saying it was impossible to get there, he told us to get in. I thought Grace was listening/understanding what he said because she waved me into the tuk-tuk, but I later found out she had no idea what he said, so we could have been going anywhere. After a few minutes of driving, we were right back where we started. Grace and I were so confused, but then the driver turned, so we still had some hope. Thankfully, Grace then pulled up the directions on her phone, so she knew we were going the right way. We had guessed we were going to a bus stop that would take us to Megapaca, but after passing a few, stopping for gas, and getting on the interstate (whick tuk-tuks aren’t supposed to do) we realized he was taking us all the way there.
The ride was a wild one. The road we were on was steep, so the tuk-tuk kept jerking as it was working so hard to get up the hill, but eventually we got to the top of the hill and to the entrance of a new town (which tuk-tuks also aren’t supposed to do). So the police officer directing traffic stopped us and our driver begged him to let us in because he said roughly, ‘we really needed to get to Megapaca and he was going to make a lot of money’…
The officer let him in and after a 20 minute drive that took 45 minutes, we had arrived. We got out and asked how much it would cost and he said 40… USD (280 Quetzales). Grace and I were astounded because a bus there would’ve cost Q10. We didn’t have a choice but to pool our money together and even then we only forked up Q245. He said that would be enough and sent us on our way.
We were at something like a strip mall and saw a Megapaca sign. We walked to it, but the only thing there was a giant grocery store. Grace put in directions to Megapaca and it said it was a 4 minute walk so we followed the directions and ended up in a neighborhood. We were so confused and just really hoping this Megapaca actually existed, but there was a sign, so there had to be. We went back to where we started and after walking a little bit longer, we saw another sign with an arrow leading down the road to Megapaca. We finally made it and got some good christmas shopping in ;).
Eventually, we finished up there and headed for the bus stop. In just a minute we found a bus for Q10, just as we expected, and we were back in Antigua in 10 minutes, still shocked by our tuk-tuk experience on the way there. Plus, they dropped us off barely 2 blocks away from the pizza place, so it was perfect.
We got to the restaurant and the owner was very kind. I accidentally shared that I had read online that he has Celiacs Disease, which I’m sure weirded him out just a bit, but he was still very kind and talked to Grace and I about food, Guatemala, missions, and general life here. Then after our meal, he gave us free truffles. It was so sweet :).
We left after a little bit because we had to meet Zim (our leader) at the doctor. Grace stayed with her there and Sophia and I headed back to base. We stopped at a coffee shop for a little bit on the way back and we got a message in the group chat from Lyssa that said there were no buses in the bus lot! —Usually, when you walk into the lot you’re met with multiple drivers trying to corral you onto their bus.— I told her to text me when they found one and Sophia and I would meet it on the street a few blocks away from where buses leave the lot. she told me they found one and sent no less than 17 texts saying,
“Leaving
Pulling out
driving forward
Going real speedy
we slowed
And we’re driving again
Turning right
out of the lot
Sightly stopped
moving past the parking lot
Another right
Driving
stopped
Driving
stopped
Going
Turning the corner”
At this point I was so sure it had passed where sophia and I wanted to get on and we weren’t there yet, but we got to the corner in a rush and there was the bus, 10 seconds from reaching us. I was so relieved because we were gonna be home for dinner at 5:30.
However, after driving for about 5 minutes, our bus stopped
And then moved 5 feet
And then stopped
And then moved 5 feet
And then stopped.
I wasn’t too alarmed because buses have to navigate a lot, but then they turned the engine off and sat there. I started seeing the cars piling up and came to terms with the fact that we were not getting to dinner on time. After sitting, almost unmoving, for about an hour, we started working our way out of the traffic jam. It was probably the sweatiest, most packed bus ride I’ve ever been on, with at least 3 grown people to a seat and others packing the aisle.
All the while, Lyssa was texting me from the front of the bus saying she was about to throw up, Lila was with her singing worship music and The Wheels on the Bus, and Sophia was next to me memorizing the gospel of John.
It was truly all over the place for 2.5 hours until we got back to base at about 7:15. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about our day, but I had to wait until Grace was there and her bus was about 30 minutes behind ours, going through a similar experience. Then for the rest of the night, we were telling and retelling our story to each person on our squad that joined partway through and wanted to hear more. It was definitely an adventure I’ll never forget.
