Emmanuels mood is no better the next morning, and I can guess what the problem is. He wants to be alone with Jenny and I'm keeping them apart by sharing their room. I resolve to get a separate one wherever we end up next. It is time to leave so we pick up our things and rush to get out before checkout. Left with the problem of figuring out where to go..
A decision is made to go to the peacock farm to feed peacocks. Free food and internet is what sells us, and the peacocks of course. I call the number I got to organize a pick up from the city but the its disconnected, I try again and again but to no avail. I head back to the sad looking couple that is Emmanuel and Jenny and tell them the news. We have no option but to head straight onto Tikal, which means catching a bus to Barrios.
The bus depot is dirty like the rest of the city. Tired men and women with ragged clothes and snotty children stare at us with the same suspicious dislike as when we arrived to this smog filled metropolis. Jenny cops it the worst, she is a tall white californian girl covered in tatoos and piercings, and stands out in stark contrast to the Guatemalan populace, I feel uncomfortable but she scoffs at the stares and continues to suck on a lollypop.
Our bus comes and I sit on the back of the by myself. A stop later and a man in his thirties wearing a sombrero and a worn button up shirt hops on and sits next to me. We talk about books, god and life. He is a religious man who writes songs. I tell him about my band back at home and he is delighted to hear all about it, we share thoughts and ideas, he then sings to me and I enjoy his off pitch and out of tune ditties immensely. He is an honest man with an open heart and mind, the best sort. I lend him a book on the Tao by Osho and he lends me a short play about a group of tricksters whose job is to trick people into happiness. I struggle to finish it before the sun sets and barely manage. It is a satisfying read and I am glad to have met the man. He leaves me with a strong handshake and I fall asleep in the darkness and rumble of the buses ragged backseat.