The Wheels on the Bus

A large percentage of my life here in Nicaragua consists of riding public transportation: taxis, bikes, buses, trucks, tricículos, mototaxis—you name it, I’ve been on it.  Today was no exception.  Today, I spent a whopping 4 hours on the bus transiting between León and Managua.  Since public transportation is still a rare thing in the United States, I thought I’d share with you a little bit of what it’s like to experience such an adventure. 

Hello, my name is: BUS.  You’ve probably seen someone like me in your neighborhood, filled with schoolchildren on the way to class.  In your mind, picture this beautiful yellow school bus.  Now, add 20 years—enough age so that there are rust spots and torn cushions and maybe a tiny hole in the floor or two.  Now add a few repairs and some updates to give me some new life: paint me with bright colors (some that clash a bit too), add a decal of a Christian blessing or of Jesus or a rosary, throw in some colorful streamers, a luggage rack on top and inside, and don’t forget some new speakers.  Yes, do you see it now?  That’s me :)

Now these buses are the cheaper way to travel throughout the country: my total trip today cost me 80 córdobas (just under $3).  These buses are fondly known around the globe as “chicken buses”—which is quite the misnomer here as I’ve only seen a total of two chickens ever while riding on the bus.  Mainly, these buses are crammed to the brim with all sorts of cargo (humans, baskets, produce, tires, furniture, etc.).  These buses are not the fastest mode of transportation as they tend stop every little bit or so to let anyone on and anyone off.  If you want to hop on the bus, just stick out your hand to wave it down.  If you want off the bus, just whistle loudly or yell at the driver.  High-pitched whistles mean both stop and go here.  When people are getting off, you’ll hear several men yelling, “Suave! Suave!” telling the bus driver to “hang on just a sec” and then when everyone’s set to go either you’ll hear a high pitched whistle or someone will yell, “Jale!”  It’s a very sophisticated system. 

The bus driver today,
surrounded by some lovely streamers

Now mind you, these buses were built to hold around 60 small schoolchildren.  At its fullest, I bet these buses hold double that of adults.  It’s tight.  The seats each carry two or three people.  The aisle is packed two-by-two.  Sprinkle in some people every so often who hop on to sell home-cooked goodies or something to drink (very handy if you’re suddenly craving something).  Wind ever blowing in your face, Spanish pop music blaring from the speakers, and people pressing in on you from every side, these long bus rides are the perfect place to catch a nap.  Every time I’m on the bus now, I am either taking a nap or trying very very hard not to fall asleep.  Instead of narcolepsy, I must have a bad case of buscolepsy…  When you need to get off, well, you need to wiggle and squeeze your way through this human barrier to either exit out the front door or the back door (aka the emergency hatch).  The emergency hatch is sometimes the easier way to go as more people crowd in the front.  Then again, you have to yell or whistle much louder from the back to indicate to the driver that you would like to get off as soon as possible. 

Every single time, it’s an adventure.  You’re never quite sure if the bus you’re riding will break down along the way.  You’re ever so pleased when you don’t have to run to catch the bus, but you’re even more impressed with your athletic ability when you do.  Every time you exit the bus it’s a miraculous event—how could that many people fit in there and how in the world did I manage to squeeze my way out??` And at the end of the day, you’ve saved so much money by cramming into various modes of public transportation that you can treat yourself to a nice ice cream cone :)  Like this one:

Stay tuned!