trip to Abaj Takalik

on saturday we took a trip to the archeological site called Abaj Takalik with Marvin, the director of our spanish school, and the other students. it was our first ride in a chicken bus - old american school buses converted and used for transportation all over Guatemala. i didn´t get any pictures of Abaj Takalik or the chicken bus, but there are a few pictures from the traffic jam we got caught in on the way back. there are many sections of road that just got washed away during hurricane stan, and quicky detours have been constructed to go around them. on the way back a semi and a tow truck towing a chicken bus got stuck on a narrow curve and traffic stopped for a good hour while it was all sorted out. the chicken bus is a really cheap way to travel, and they pack as many people as possible in them. you are lucky if you get to sit two persons to a seat. they are all painted bright greens and reds and blues and the music is blasting constantly. it was as interesting as, if not more than, Abaj Takalik. The archeological site that is available to the public is small because most of it is on private land, but is interesting in that it contains three types of monuments: Olmec, Mayan and a local type, the name of which I can´t remember.