Transportation

We´re a Statistic

On one of our most recent bus trips to Montanita (along the coast) to visit some Boulder pals, Ted and I got robbed. Well, robbed is the wrong word as nothing was taken by force – I guess you would say we were burglarized. No matter what you call it, it sucks!

When it was all said and done, the creeps got away with an iPod, Ted´s sunglasses, $40 cash oh, and our COMPUTER. Yep, they scored big.

They were able to easily access our precious cargo because we conveniently had it stored above our seats on the bus. We had been very cautious of our things and carried our day packs on our laps for all of our previous bus rides. Seriously, this day was the first day we had ever stored our bags up above. Obviously, we should not have done this and that is why it is so incredibly frustrating to have learned the lesson we already knew!

However, to our credit, the bus we were riding on was an “executivo” style bus that requires passengers to have pre-purchased tickets and only makes select stops. It had air-conditioning, showed a movie (Pistol Whipped starring Steven Seagal, seriously) and was less than half full. We were a short distance from our final destination and I guess you could say we just got falsely comfortable/confident. The other buses we have ridden on have been packed with people, standing and sitting, and there is so much coming and going it would be silly to abandon our bags up above. But not on the fancy executivo bus, right? WRONG!

The bright side of this story is that we had the experience of riding in an Ecuadorian police car, visiting several Ecuadorian police stations, and submitting a police report (for travel insurance purposes) that was typed in front of our eyes by a stoic Ecuadorian police detective on a TYPEWRITER. Yes, it was quite the experience.

So, the moral of the story (that we already knew) is that you should not store your stuff above you on the bus and there is no such thing as being too vigilant.

Oh, and also that you can´t let the little things get you down. The stuff that was taken from us was just stuff. We were super-bummed that it happened but at the same time, there was absolutely nothing we could do at that point to change the outcome.

So take that you f-ing thieves! I hope you can´t figure out how to access our password-protected computer, that you hate bluegrass and jamband music, and that Ted´s big head makes the sunglasses worthless to you!


The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round

I had been promised that bus rides in South America were quite an experience and not for those that value personal space so I was surprised on our first bus ride from Quito to Otovalo. We arrived just in time to purchase tickets and when we got on the bus, only one other person was on board! However, between when the bus left it’s parking place and when we actually started driving, we picked up 5-6 additional stragglers as well as a host of vendors selling everything from ice cream cones to newspapers. They’d come on the bus, try and pitch their wares and then get off a hundred yards later – it was quite entertaining.

Our second bus ride was absolutely nothing like our first. We were headed to Pucara with our friend Peter and as he lives in Pucara part of the time, he was bringing back some supplies for the house he is in the process of building. He was also traveling with his newly adopted dog, Princessa. So there we were, 3 gringos, two big packpacks, a dog and 4 large sheets of glass trying to get on this nearly-full bus. Luckily, Peter had purchased us seats ahead of time or we would have been standing the whole 2.5 hour bus ride to where we were going. As Peter and I finagled our way to our seats through passengers, vendors, kids, old women in their traditional dresses, etc., Ted was outside trying to store our backpacks and hold onto the dog. In hopes of helping him out, I was sandwiched between a large-breasted woman selling limonadas and the glass Peter purchased while taking Princessa’s leash from Ted and holding onto her while leaning out the window. It was absolutely overwhelming and hilarious at the same time. Eventually, Ted gets on the bus, as does Princessa, the vendors make their final sales and we’re off!

Once we were in Pucara, the bus system works a bit differently. There are no tickets and few actual bus stops. If you want to get on a bus, you simply wave it down. When you want to get off the bus, you just say so and they stop. Some buses are crowded and some are not. There are a few going each direction each day so you plan your trip around these times and you’re good to go. The bus driver has a helper who gets out to help people with bags store them under the bus. The helper also collects the bus fare from the passengers and is the point of contact if you need anything. The driver just drives.

On our way home from some hot springs that we visited on Sunday afternoon, we were waiting at one of the few bus stops for our 6-7 mile trip home with 20-30 other people. When the bus arrived is was already PACKED! I was sure there was no way we’d all fit but sure enough, we were packed in like sardines. In fact, the bus driver didn’t even close the door and two people stood on that bottom step about a foot above the road. At the next stop, I’m not kidding you, they managed to smoosh on even more people – apparently “the bus is full”, is not an option.

Lucky for us, we had a short trip home however, many people on that bus were headed over 2.5 hours back to Otavalo and were destined to be standing on the bumpy, windy road the whole time!


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