Day 8: Overnight bus Peruvian style
Getting to Ayacucho is certainly one of the more memorable travel experiences of my life. I took the overnight bus, with company named Ormeno which I had heard good things of. What I ended up experiencing was nothing near what I had imagined.
I got to the station at about 845 pm, about 15 minutes early to be on the safe side. I look around the bus for the luggage compartment - there was none. Great, so me and all my stuff have to fit on the bus. But that's ok right, I mean how many people go from Ica (on the coast) to Ayacucho, a provincial town way up in the Andes? And better yet, how many people make that trip on a 9 pm bus on a Tuesday night? Well my assumptions couldnt have been more off base, as this bus had 40 seats and about 50 people who made the trip. I fortunately had a seat booked, so I was not one of the unlucky ones sitting in the aisle or in the stairwell. Unfortunately I had to find a way to stow my stuff, as the overhead compartment was too small for me to get my main backpack into.
Remember how I had mentioned being the center of attention while in the market in Lima? Multiply that by 1000. Here's me, the giant gringo (relative to them) who has a backpack that won't fit in the overhead bin, and is somehow figuring out how he and his giant pack and his daypack are all going to fit into one crunched in seat. The bus was only 3/4 full when I got on it, and every single one stared at the lone gringo who was making an ass of himself. Not helping any was the fact that my seat was in the very back corner, next to four Peruvians who were already there.
I decided there was no way I'd fit there, and that I would just stand and wait till the bus was about to leave to find two empty seats next to eachother. 9 pm arrives, I sit down on one seat and put my crap on the other, and expect us to happily shove off on our trip. Nope. We waited another 15 minutes as the bus driver continually kept filling seats. I'm sure you can guess what happens next... me having to move as I was sitting in someone's seat. Then me having to move again. And then again. Talk about making a dumbass out of yourself in front of 50 people, who already think you're crazy to begin with for going to their town, as you have to get up repeatedly and say lo siento and look like a moron dragging your bags down the aisle yet again.
I finally had worked my way all the way up to the first row, where luckily two empty seats still remained. I took them, and amazingly we finally set off. I thought I was on easy street and started to relax. Yea, wrong. We stop at another town about an hour into the ride, at about 11 pm and let even more people onto the bus. There was a huge mob outside all shouting at the ticket seller. Most of them made it on, meaning lucky me had to put his big pack at his feet, where I spent the next 8 hours attempting about 35 different leg positions to get comfortable as my feet were blocked from the floor. Not exactly a real great way to get some sleep.
Somehow I made it though, no exciting climax like a highway robbery. The bus had no bathroom though, so we had to stop about 5 times for people to go run into the rocky areas around the road to duck and pee. I never felt so immersed in the local culture as when I stood 10 feet from my fellow bus compatriots as we pissed into the damn cold Andean night.
I got to the station at about 845 pm, about 15 minutes early to be on the safe side. I look around the bus for the luggage compartment - there was none. Great, so me and all my stuff have to fit on the bus. But that's ok right, I mean how many people go from Ica (on the coast) to Ayacucho, a provincial town way up in the Andes? And better yet, how many people make that trip on a 9 pm bus on a Tuesday night? Well my assumptions couldnt have been more off base, as this bus had 40 seats and about 50 people who made the trip. I fortunately had a seat booked, so I was not one of the unlucky ones sitting in the aisle or in the stairwell. Unfortunately I had to find a way to stow my stuff, as the overhead compartment was too small for me to get my main backpack into.
Remember how I had mentioned being the center of attention while in the market in Lima? Multiply that by 1000. Here's me, the giant gringo (relative to them) who has a backpack that won't fit in the overhead bin, and is somehow figuring out how he and his giant pack and his daypack are all going to fit into one crunched in seat. The bus was only 3/4 full when I got on it, and every single one stared at the lone gringo who was making an ass of himself. Not helping any was the fact that my seat was in the very back corner, next to four Peruvians who were already there.
I decided there was no way I'd fit there, and that I would just stand and wait till the bus was about to leave to find two empty seats next to eachother. 9 pm arrives, I sit down on one seat and put my crap on the other, and expect us to happily shove off on our trip. Nope. We waited another 15 minutes as the bus driver continually kept filling seats. I'm sure you can guess what happens next... me having to move as I was sitting in someone's seat. Then me having to move again. And then again. Talk about making a dumbass out of yourself in front of 50 people, who already think you're crazy to begin with for going to their town, as you have to get up repeatedly and say lo siento and look like a moron dragging your bags down the aisle yet again.
I finally had worked my way all the way up to the first row, where luckily two empty seats still remained. I took them, and amazingly we finally set off. I thought I was on easy street and started to relax. Yea, wrong. We stop at another town about an hour into the ride, at about 11 pm and let even more people onto the bus. There was a huge mob outside all shouting at the ticket seller. Most of them made it on, meaning lucky me had to put his big pack at his feet, where I spent the next 8 hours attempting about 35 different leg positions to get comfortable as my feet were blocked from the floor. Not exactly a real great way to get some sleep.
Somehow I made it though, no exciting climax like a highway robbery. The bus had no bathroom though, so we had to stop about 5 times for people to go run into the rocky areas around the road to duck and pee. I never felt so immersed in the local culture as when I stood 10 feet from my fellow bus compatriots as we pissed into the damn cold Andean night.
But it's so cool to read about it and when you write about it I can imagine I'm there. The next best thing, I guess. (Comment this)