On January 4th, 2009, there was a huge landslide on the road from Coban to Nebaj that rendered it impassable. A detour was created, however many people advised against taking it because it was unsafe (single lane, steep and curvy dirt road). Anna and I wanted to do a 3 day trek from Nebaj to Todos Santos and this was the most direct route to get to our starting point. Otherwise, we'd have to take a bus back to the Capital, then back up again, which would take twice as long. We took an informal poll of locals and extranjeros to see if it would help us choose our route. We ended up taking the detour. And while there were moments when I was a little scared, it really wasn't that bad. So...5 buses, 1 taxi, and two chickens (almost in my lap) later, we made it to Nebaj.
With all the fuss that was made over this road, I was way more scared on the roads we took yesterday and today. There is a stretch of carretera between Cocales and Mazatenango where the chicken bus drivers get a little out of control. There was more than once in the past two days when we almost hit an oncoming car while passing another. I remember at one point saying in my head after a near miss, 'Jesus f***ing Christ' and then looked up and saw the JesuCristo sticker on the front of the bus. I had to laugh.
(and by the way...we arrived safely in Antigua today)
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