I am sorry to say that the chicken busses are indeed not made of chicken. They are ex-USA school busses, driven to Guatemala and then painted bright colours and strung with religious paraphenalia (to ensure that the driver does not crash and die a horrible death). The Guatemalans know the busses as 'busses', it is us tourists who call them chicken busses, due to the strange array of articles that are often carried on the roof. On one bus, we definately had chickens in a basket on the roof above us. On another, we had an array of garden furniture. On most trips, the 'conductor' (for want of a better word. He is a general dogsbody that does anything the driver cannot, including selling tickets and stowing luggage) will spend his time moving between the inside, outside and top of the bus, usually while it is in motion. Its' quite odd to see a guy hurtle down the isle while the bus is doing 70 down a hill, open the back door and climb up the rear ladder onto the roof. I certainly wouldn't want to be a chicken bus conductor.
In my defense, there was no editorial discretion taken in my description of Caye Caulker. The island is made of sand and situated in the middle of the Carribean. The people do tell you off when you walk to fast. I did go and drink cocktails as the sun set last night (three Lizard Juices, which taste like paint stripper, but at least they're cold) and I have had lobster for lunch and tea while I've been here.
