I’ve written in the past about public transportation in some of the Latin American countries we have visited, especially bus travel. I’ve also examined some of the differences we’ve encountered in Ecuador as compared to most of Central America. It occurred to me, however, that I haven’t given an actual account of what a typical travel day on one of our trips entails.
The first thing to know is that there is no such thing as a typical travel day. Always expect the unexpected. Be prepared for anything!
In Central America, our travel days could involve anywhere from 3 to 6 hours on various chicken busses, pick-up trucks and taxis. In Ecuador, however, we have been enduring much longer travel days, usually between 8 and 12 hours. Places are just a bit more spaced out here, with large mountains often separating various destinations.
Such was the case on one of our most recent travel days, when we had planned to go from Baños, in the highlands, to the coastal town of Mompiche. We had completed this trip in the other direction just 8 days prior, so we knew what to expect. Of course, I have already said to expect the unexpected, so, as it turns out, our previous experience didn’t mean a thing.
Our trip from Mompiche to Baños had taken about 13 hours, via 3 different buses: Mompiche to Esmeraldas (2 1/2 hours), Esmeraldas to Quito (7 hours), and Quito to Baños (4 hours). We had read that the Esmeraldas to Quito leg could take between 5 and 8 hours, depending on the company used. We, of course, used Transportes Esmeraldas, the company which was known to take the longest and cost the most. We did everything in our power to avoid this, but the bus hustler was far too persuasive for us, and we had no choice but to board his bus. (If you are not familiar with the role of ‘bus hustler’, you have to read my previous blog). We were not going to fall into the same trap on the return trip, and were confident we could shave the time down closer to 11 hours. Piece of cake.
We’ve gotten pretty good at this whole traveling thing, and know to buy our bus tickets ahead of time when possible to ensure a seat. We picked up 2 tickets from Baños to Quito for the 6 AM bus the following day, for $3 each. (It’s pretty standard fare in Ecuador bus travel – $1 per hour)
Our day started with the alarm clock at 5:30 AM. We were packed and ready to go already; all we had to do was brush our teeth and head out. We were out the door by 5:40-ish, and were barely a block from the bus station. Our first experience with the unexpected was just around the corner. As we approached the bus terminal, several men were anxiously shouting at us “Quito? Quito?!” This is pretty standard, and we paid it no mind as we continued to nonchalantly walk towards the bus, which we knew we were early for. Here came our first surprise for the day: the bus was running and ready to go, at least ten minutes early.
Our next surprise came when we boarded the bus and saw it was full. Seats 7 and 8, the ones assigned to us on our tickets, both contained Ecuadorian women. Ecuadorian women do not give up a seat without a fight. In fact, as a man, especially as a gringo man, I am expected to give my seat to any older woman in need. I respect this custom, however what is considered “older” is usually suspect. I have even had women walk onto a full bus on which I had a seat and stand directly in front of me staring intently until I gave up the goods. I didn’t like my odds for sitting on this trip!
I showed our ticket to the bus hustler, and he had one of the ladies relocate to the extra seat in the front along side the driver, freeing up a spot for Kelly. He then assured me it would only be ten minutes or so until I also had a seat. Right. Ten Ecuadorian minutes?!
About 20 minutes later, half of which I spent standing and half of which I spent sharing a bit of Kelly’s seat, complete with a large piece of metal up my ass, I was awarded my seat. Not bad, I thought. I thanked the bus hustler, and managed to catch a bit of a nap. This particular bus line, La Amazona, was actually operated very efficiently. It was clean and comfortable, and we arrived in Quito in less than 3 hours. Our day was starting to look up!
Quito has the nicest bus terminal we have seen in our travels. We’ve been there a few times, and knew just where to go, completely avoiding the ticket window for Transportes Esmeraldas and instead heading to the window for Los Occidentales. We bought our tickets for $7 each, plus the 20¢ toll to leave the terminal. Don’t ask.
We sat outside in the designated spot awaiting our bus with several other people. It arrived more or less on time, and then the usual insanity began. You see, the concepts of patience and waiting in lines are as foreign here as we are. Everyone fights to be the first to get their luggage, bags of rice or chickens stashed in the luggage hold (yes, this bus had chickens, but, unlike in Central America, in Ecuador poultry rides below). You may think you are standing in line for this, but you are wrong. Butting in line is a national pastime. Gringos have no chance.
Once these pleasantries are finished, the same ‘fight-for-your-life’ mentality dictates the boarding of the bus. Now, in this situation, leaving from the bus terminal, everyone has a ticket with a seat number. Still, for some reason all that matters is getting on board first. Kelly and I have learned to sit back and let them fight it out, then casually board last. We did this, and were off only about 10 minutes behind schedule.
We were making pretty good time, we thought. We weren’t stopping to let too many people on, and only a few vendors were hopping on and off along the route. We started the bus ride with a very compelling pitch for Ginseng pills at $3 a bottle, but we passed. We couldn’t say no the Pan de Yucca, however. This is one of my new favorite snacks. It’s usually sold piping hot (they actually have roadside ovens) and has the consistency of a marshmallow inside. We also treated ourselves to a couple Corviche. Corviche is some type of delicious cornbread-like substance stuffed with fish and a peanut sauce. They are awesome, and usually only 50¢.
We didn’t have too many other diversions. At one point we stopped for a few moments and I looked out the window to see the driver standing over his helper as he rolled under the bus with a wrench. We were back on the road shortly, so he must have fixed whatever needed fixing. I enjoyed a vampire movie in Spanish, read a bit and napped some more. All was well in bus world.
About 5 hours into the trip, while climbing a mountain pass, we stopped. We remained stopped for a while, which isn’t very unusual. What was unusual was that after about ten minutes, people started to get off the bus in a mass exodus. It was clear the entire bus was exiting, so we joined in. Once we were off the bus it became evident that, not only was everyone off the bus, they were also gathering their belongings from below, chickens and all. Several other busses were also parked, with confused passengers milling about everywhere.
We tried our best to ask what was happening, but once Ecuadorians get into crowd mentality, good luck getting answers. It’s every man, woman and child for themselves. Chickens too.
We did finally get some answers from another traveler who had learned that the pass over the mountain was closed for some reason, and we weren’t going anywhere for at least 3 hours. We were told that we could walk, and it wouldn’t be far. It seemed for a minute that that was the case, so we strapped on our packs and prepared to follow the crowd wherever it would take us.
We got about 15 feet before the police told us all we couldn’t walk anywhere. We then were told there was nothing we could do, and it would be about 3 hours. Ok, nothing to do but wait, then. We looked to return to our bus, only to realize it was no longer there. It had left just after kicking off all of the passengers, and at this point the 3 hour prediction was modified just slightly to 3 days!
People were climbing back aboard the remaining buses, and we decided to do the same. You would think there would be an over-flux of people, as at least one bus had abandoned its passengers, but this wasn’t the case. In fact, there were far fewer passengers than seats at this point, a mystery we still haven’t figured out. Somehow, somewhere, atop a mountain in Ecuador, dozens of bus passengers, chickens and all, simply disappeared!
Well, everyone for themselves, I had more to worry about than a few chickens. Kelly and I attempted to board one of the remaining two buses. Kelly climbed aboard to secure seats while I attempted to store our bags below. No one seemed to be around to help at this point, so I opened the door and loaded my bags into the storage cabin. Suddenly the driver appeared, screaming at me in anger. I was not allowed on his bus, he said. I wasn’t part of his original passenger load, so I couldn’t be part of it now. Never mind that these buses typically will stop at anytime, anywhere and pick up a potential passenger. Not this time. He quickly hopped on board and started to take off.
“My wife is on the bus!” I yelled. Or something like that, as my Spanish regresses quite a bit when I’m distressed. I might have told him my wife is a bus. Sorry honey. Either way, he didn’t seem to care. I guess he thought if my wife was a bus, I should have no problem getting myself off the mountain. He did slow the bus for a hot second, and Kelly managed to jump off.
One more bus remained, and we realized we had to be on board. This driver also was reluctant, but we said we’d pay. He told us it would be $5 each to Esmeraldas, and would take about 6 hours. We didn’t care, as long as we were off the mountain.
We got on board and had our choice of seats, as the bus was only about 20% full. This only made us wonder further unto the whereabouts of dozens and dozens of people on this mountain. We didn’t wonder for long, though, as we were safely on a bus and on our way.
We realized after a short while that the bus was going to be doing a large loop, heading south and then coming north along the coast, passing right by Mompiche. We asked to be dropped off there, and settled in to a lovely film starring Kirk Cameron. Our luck was changing.
In a few short hours we reached Mompiche. Well, we reached the road to Mompiche. We found out on our previous arrival to this town that buses will tell you they go to Mompiche, but actually leave you on the highway by the turn-off to Mompiche. On our previous adventure we were lucky enough to find a pickup driver that gave us a lift down the several-mile long winding road. We weren’t so confident this time, as it had just gotten dark and traffic seemed sparse.
We got off the bus, threw on our packs and began to walk. For some reason, our memories had this trek as a 2 mile downhill stroll. As we started off, both of our selective amnesias began to lift, and we recalled how the pickup was doing about 70mph the whole way, and it was at least a 5 minute drive. We were about to get cranky.
No more than 5 minutes into our walk, right about the time Kelly avoided a breakdown by appealing to her recently passed PopPop for help, a bus turned off the highway. (Thank you, PopPop!) We flagged it down and hopped on. A few short minutes later we were in Mompiche.
We walked to our hotel and the owner just happened to be standing right outside, another fortunate turn of events, since there is no reception at this hostel. He had a room ready for us, so we dropped our bags and walked to town to grab a beer.
So, maybe we didn’t expect the unexpected, but we got it. What was the most unexpected of all, however, was that when we checked the time upon our arrival, we realized it was only 8:30. A 12 ½ hour day. We still managed to shave half an hour off our previous try!
For all the friends and family who remain envious of our lifestyle, and for those planning to try their hand abroad, remember, it’s not always perfect! This account is more typical than not! It’s these unexpected adventures, however, that keep us going!