Bus Stuffing

The roosters have gotten it all wrong. It’s a little after 11 pm and I hear them going to town with their cock a little do. Maybe they are Chinese roosters and still haven’t grasped they are on the other side of the world now. Or maybe they’ve been sleeping all day, seeing as it is Saturday and rained straight through the afternoon and evening. That’s what I would have done had I not gone exploring.

I did catch a hole in the clouds this morning; big enough for me to go do check out Managua, public transportation style. It’s always interesting (read frightening) to test the waters of a different developing country’s transportation systems. I did have a few things going for me this morning. One, it was sunny for the most part and no matter how many twists and turns we made, I had a clear read on the shadows. Two, I had time, all day in fact, to get lost and straighten it out if need be. Thirdly, it’s really kind of hard to get lost when you speak Spanish. It’s like if you were in New York and spoke English…I mean you just stop and ask for directions.

So Managua’s transportation resembles Panama’s in that they both rely on the old yellow American school bus. They just differ in the extent to which they use said school bus. Panama’s drivers, probably do to heavy American influence over the years, are some what more respectful of personal space. They must read the capacity sign on the front of their buses. In Panama, if capacity says 60 they may stretch it to 70, and everybody’s still ok. But in Managua they take the capacity sign down to make space for one more person! Think of a school bus with 1,000 people in it. I’M NOT LYING! I dare say they give Dominicans a run for their pesos. I actually would like to see a bus stuffing competition between Dominicans and Nicas. Nicas might win, seeing as they make full use of not only the inside of the bus but the top of the roof as well.

I know it might sound like, “wow, I don’t think I would have enough room to even breath!?” And while that is a legitimate concern, it should not be the principal worry. You need to be worried about how you’re going to get off the thing. And you don’t have the Jaws of Life coming to cut you out. Oh and actually before that, you first need to figure out where you are going to get out. Have you ever tried to orientate yourself while standing up inside a yellow school bus? You can’t! Unless you’re a midget. You have about five feet from the side of the bus to study the road/sidewalk and figure out where you are. And don’t think your going to duck or bend over to steal a glimpse out the window. Remember there’s no space for that nonsense!

Anyway, I also felt more at ease figuring out the whole transportation system as I studied a Budget Rent-A-Car map relentlessly over the past week. Although no street names are used in real life, I did have a basic understanding of the layout of the town. So I knew that when I arrived to Bello Horizonte after about an hour winding through the Managua streets I was much too far east, almost to the airport. My goal had been to make it to the central shopping area where I could exchange my somehow overly complicated cell phone for one that was actually sensible. Although I knew I had been going east for far too long I let myself wander. For one thing, I had a seat and could actually see out the window. I took advantage of the view and the opportunity to see a bit of Managua.